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Ex-BP worker tells of broken equipment: 2 friends died in earlier 2004 accident, he says(Houston Chronicle (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 26--GALVESTON -- A former BP employee suing the energy company for injuries allegedly suffered in the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion testified Wednesday that he had asked supervisors to fix broken equipment for years before the blast. Charles Pinder, 50, who also testified that two of his friends were killed because of a faulty valve in 2004, is suing for physical and emotional injuries he claims resulted from the blast. His claim is complicated because he had admittedly abused alcohol and drugs, including cocaine, and struggled with depression as his marriage collapsed in the year before the blast. His former wife testified earlier in the case that they were working to stay together until the explosion sent Pinder back to drugs and alcohol. Pinder said he had been leading a normal middle-class family life. He acknowledged having problems, and that the explosion pushed him over the edge. "Things were breaking down at the plant and at the house," he said. Pinder said he is still haunted by the image of flat ground where trailers had stood before being blown away by the explosion -- with workers inside. "I see that image quite frequently," he told the jury. Pinder is one of 10 workers and their four spouses suing BP in the ongoing trial, now in its fifth week. BP has settled nearly all of the 4,000 death, injury and property-damage claims resulting from the blast, which killed 15 people and injured scores more. The company questions the extent of the injuries the plaintiffs claim and their demand for $950 million in punitive damages. [email protected] To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Houston Chronicle Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |