Houston truck driver files lawsuit against company at center of Channelview chemical fire
CHANNELVIEW, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston truck driver is filing a lawsuit after a massive chemical fire burned for hours at a transit facility in the Channelview area last week.
Houston attorneys Benny Agosto Jr. and Ben Agosto III said they filed the suit on behalf of Antonio Alvarez on Tuesday against K-Solv, the company that controls the facility of the fire.
K-Solv provides environmental protection, disaster services and chemicals to the petrochemical industry. The company is said to be a transit facility, meaning that they don't manufacture products at that location, but rather accept and ship chemicals.
READ ALSO: Massive fire burning at facility in Channelview
Massive flames shot out of the K-Solv warehouse on Lakeside Drive around 4 p.m. last Wednesday. According to the fire marshal's office, known chemicals on site included, but were not limited to, hydrochloric acid, acetone, ethanol, ethylene dichloride, and other acids.
After monitoring air and water quality levels the following day, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said it did not find any areas of concern.
READ ALSO: Chemicals that burned in massive fire in Channelview still not yet known
Alvarez's attorneys said the driver, at the time of the fire, was at the facility to make a drop-off and pick up a product. When the fire went off, Alvarez ran and stumbled to the ground as he was trying to get away, according to attorneys. He reportedly sustained "substantial injuries and trauma."
"As sequential explosions rang out, Mr. Alvarez made it to a high fence that he and other facility contractors squeezed and pressed against, while trying to scale it to escape the facility," read a statement issued by Alvarez's attorneys.
Alvarez and other workers say they found a ladder and climbed over the fence.
SEE ALSO: Residents say industrial facility fire in Channelview sounded like explosion
"Mr. Alvarez was able to escape the facility and successfully board the vessel but not without sustaining substantial injuries and trauma as a result of the chaos and destruction following the fire," the statement continued.
Alvarez was reportedly hospitalized shortly after and was treated for injuries to his lungs, neck, shoulders, and back.
The lawsuit claims K-Solv was negligent, did not create and/or enforce safety rules and guidelines, provide timely assistance or warned anyone of a known hazard. The amount Alvarez is seeking was not disclosed.
Eyewitness News has reached out to K-Solv for a response but has not received one.
This is not the first time the company has experienced a fire. In 2007, the company experienced a similar incident that reportedly injured one of its employees.
