Welder alleges sandblaster sandblasted him

Alleging he was blasted by a stream of sand, Rene Torres has filed suit against Southern Sandblasting & Coatings and Beacon Maritime.

The suit was filed July 25 in Jefferson County District Court. 

According to the lawsuit, the incident occurred at Port Arthur dry dock where Beacon was doing repair work and Southern Sandblasting was sandblasting.

Torres was working as a welder for Gulf Copper when a Southern Sandblasting employee, who had been cleared to work in the area, unintentionally shot him with a stream of sand.

The suit accuses the Southern Sandblasting employee of negligently sandblasting toward the area where Torres was working.

As Torres attempted to run away from the sand, he fell on unstable scaffolding and ruptured a disc in his lower back.

The suit accuses Beacon of negligently failing to restrict sandblasting operations where Torres was working.

The plaintiff is suing for his alleged past and future medical expenses, mental anguish, pain, impairment and lost wages.

Beaumont attorney Steven Barkley represents him.

Judge Gary Sanderson, 60th District Court, is assigned to the case.

Case No. B194-564