Pipeline Explosion Lawyer

Virtually all of these explosions are predictable, preventable and inexcusable.

Attorney Fred Pritzker

Attorney Eric Hageman represents people injured, and the families of those killed, by pipeline explosions involving gas distribution, gas gathering, and transmission pipelines. He and the Pritzker Hageman trial team have obtained 8-figure recoveries on behalf of their clients.

These explosions involve homes, schools, businesses, health care facilities, automobiles, and any other location or facility at or in which people are harmed or killed by leaking gas.

These explosions occur because utility companies consistently fail to comply with federal and state pipeline safety laws and regulations, as well as the companies’ own policies and procedures for inspection, maintenance, monitoring, testing, and personnel training.

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Finding the Cause of the Explosion and Origin of the Gas

When we become involved in a pipeline explosion personal injury or wrongful death case, the first thing we do is determine the cause of the explosion and the origin of the gas that fueled it. This involves a painstaking analysis of the following:

• photos and videos of the explosion scene;
• witness interviews; and
• records from responding fire and police departments, the state fire marshal, and state and federal agencies with jurisdiction over such incidents.

It also involves identification, removal, and testing of machinery and equipment that may have failed or could be evidence of the cause of the explosion.

Pipeline Explosions are Caused by Human Error

Virtually all pipeline explosions are the result of human error based on failure to comply with safety rules and regulations. This requires identification—with as much detail as possible—of the actions (or failures to act) of the pipeline personnel that caused the explosion. For example, if the pipeline ruptured because of corrosion, we find out how and when the pipeline was first constructed, the type of metal and coatings used in the pipeline, how sections of the pipeline were welded together, how and how often the pipeline was inspected and tested, the operating pressure of the pipeline, changes to flow and pressure, soil composition, anti-corrosion measures taken, geologic conditions, and scores of other factors that may account for rupture of the pipeline.

Once we understand the failure mode and the human error that caused it, we conduct an exhaustive analysis of the safety rules that govern such conduct. Reduced to its essence, this is a comparison of what should have been done vs. what was actually done.

Determining if Laws Were Violated or Pipeline Safety Standards Were Not Followed

The rules that govern pipelines are complex, convoluted and very difficult to understand without training and experience. These rules include federal and state statutes and regulations, industry standards (that often form the basis for the federal and state regulations), and the pipeline companies’ own internal standards and practices (which are often required by state and federal regulations). In addition, we evaluate equipment manuals and instructions, maintenance records, training manuals, operating procedures, and any other document that establishes the conduct required to safely operate a pipeline.

Our Pipeline Explosion Lawyers Have the Experience Needed to Win

Because of the cost and complexity of these cases, very few lawyers and law firms have the skills and resources necessary to win them. That’s why burn survivors and their families turn to Pritzker Hageman. Attorney Eric Hageman and the firm trial team represent pipeline explosion survivors in cases throughout the United States, which include some of the biggest recoveries ever obtained in the states in which they occurred.

If you were hurt or a loved one was hurt or killed in a pipeline explosion, you owe it to yourself and your family to contact attorney Eric Hageman for a free consultation.

Pipeline explosion cases on this site are handled by the trial team at our national law firm, Pritzker Hageman. Read more about how our gas explosion lawyers investigate pipeline failures and represent survivors and families in cases across the United States.