Houston company blamed for explosion

A Florida man is suing a Houston company after, he says, he suffered severe external and internal injuries during a liquid propane explosion. 

Florida resident Thomas Stuart filed a lawsuit on Aug. 27 in Harris County District Court against Dixie Pipeline, with headquarters in Houston, Enterprise Products and Enterprise Propane Terminal & Storage, citing negligence and gross negligence. 

Stuart says on May 27 he suffered debilitating injuries while attempting to transport liquid propane from the Dixie Pipeline plant in Albany, Ga. to Florida for his employer, Ferrellgas. According to the brief, as Stuart filled a tanker with liquid propane, the propane exploded and knocked him to the ground.

The suit alleges the accident occurred because the defendants failed to inspect the workplace properly, among other things, even though they knew of the potential dangers. 

Stuart is seeking damages and court costs. He is being represented in the case by Houston attorney Benny Agosto Jr. 

Harris County District Court Case No. 2012-49241.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.