A Harris County jury ordered global corporation 3M to pay $61.5 million to two dozen homeowners devastated by a 2020 industrial explosion at Watson Grinding in northwest Houston.
“This verdict finally gives these families the true accountability and justice they deserve,” said Robert Kwok, lead plaintiffs attorney in the yearslong effort to get restitution for the blast that killed three people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.
Juries have heard four bellwether cases against 3M focused on different victims of the explosion. The company prevailed in one previous decision in May, when jurors unanimously cleared it of wrongdoing, but lost two others. Before Monday’s verdict, it owed victims more than $156 million.
“We disagree with the verdict in this case and believe that it is unsupported by the evidence and the law,” a 3M spokesperson said, adding that the company plans to appeal.
Upwards of 2,000 additional plaintiffs have yet to go to trial in the multi-district litigation. A notice on the website of law firm Kwok Daniel said attorneys were already preparing for October, when the next 50 community members will take the international company to court.
Many victims are still reeling from the aftermath of the explosion at Watson Grinding & Manufacturing, a family-owned machine shop, after an overnight leak of flammable propylene gas went undetected. A U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigation later said the blast “could have been prevented,” pointing in part to the facility’s inoperative gas-detection alarm and shutoff system, which 3M was contracted to inspect and maintain.
The federal agency did not name 3M, instead focusing on the culpability of Watson Grinding’s owners, but attorneys argued that the detection system failures were due in part to the corporation’s negligence. While the now-bankrupt Watson Grinding and Watson Valve Services Inc. previously settled with victims over their responsibility for the blast, 3M did not settle.
“3M’s failure included actual knowledge that the Watson gas detection system was defective for years leading up to this explosion,” Kwok said in a Monday news release.
Remember that explosion, in January 2020? As I said in that post, I was awake when it happened, and I heard it clearly in my house, with all the doors and windows closed, more than ten miles away. That’s a really big goddamn bang, and as noted it followed several other massive disasters in the county. Harris County filed a lawsuit against Watson Grinding shortly after, alleging multiple violations and seeking to shut them down until everything was cleaned up. I don’t know what came of that action, but here’s a story about the previous judgment won by plaintiffs against that company and 3M that has some updates.
The explosion occurred on Jan. 24, 2020, in a residential area in West Houston near 4500 Gessner Rd. at the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing facility. Three people died, and at least 18 others were sent to nearby emergency rooms. Nearly 200 homes were reported as having some sort of damage as a result of the blast.
In June 2023, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board found that the explosion was a result of a “degraded and poorly crimped rubber welding hose,” which caused propylene, a flammable gas, to leak throughout the building overnight.
This is the second time this year that a Harris County jury has awarded victims of the explosion millions of dollars. In June, five victims were awarded nearly $38 million as a result of the damage they and/or their property sustained from the explosion.
Neither 3M nor Watson Grinding immediately responded to request for comment regarding the most recent verdict.
Several other lawsuits filed in response to the explosion are pending.
See here for more on that federal investigation. I’d like to think we’re in better shape now in terms of chemical plants suddenly going kerplooey, but if we are it’s not because the federal or state government are more vigilant about them. For now, at least, all of that is on us in Houston and Harris County.
did you see this?
‘Show How 3M Is 0% at Fault:’ Expert Witness Used ChatGPT to Write Report Defending Company in Deadly Explosion Lawsuit
https://www.404media.co/show-how-3m-is-0-at-fault-expert-witness-used-chatgpt-to-write-report-defending-company-in-deadly-explosion-lawsuit/
I literally moved from that neighborhood less than a year before the explosion. I lived there for 8 years and there was absolutely no indication that anything dangerous was nearby (they certainly didn’t let us know about it). I’m glad that they’re getting some relief from the courts.
Brittanie, I had not seen that before now, thank you for sharing it. And OMFG.