GALVESTON – A Harris County man has filed a lawsuit after allegedly sustaining a left foot injury while cleaning the inside of an oil storage tank, recent Galveston County District Court records show.
Raymond Brown’s suit, which was filed on July 6 in the Galveston County 56th District Court, claims Brown suffered the injury three months ago at a facility in Galveston owned by Texas International Terminals Ltd.
Court documents explain that Texas International initially hired Eagle Construction and Environmental Services, LLC, doing business as SWS Environmental Services, for the task. The latter, in turn, then contracted with Brown’s employer, New Direction Environmental, to perform certain parts of the cleaning service.
The plaintiff was reportedly required to use a high-powered pressure washing gun “inside a dark and slippery oil tank.”
“Inside the oil tank, the plaintiff slip and fell, and the high-powered pressure washing gun sprayed across his left foot, causing severe injuries,” the suit says.
SWS joins Texas International as a co-defendant in the case.
“The defendants were aware of the unsafe condition created by the lack of lighting inside the oil tank yet ordered that the plaintiff perform the cleaning work in the dark anyway,” the suit says.
Consequently, Brown seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Megan C. Savage and Joshua D. Lee of the law firm Armstrong Lee Savage LLP in Houston are representing the complainant.
Galveston County 56th District Court Case No. 18-CV-0889