BEAUMONT – More than 20 companies have been named as defendants in a benzene lawsuit brought by a man who was allegedly first exposed to the chemical in the 1960s.
Seeking punitive damages, Travis Bergeron filed suit on July 26 in Jefferson County District Court.
Some of the defendants include BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, Texaco and Marathon Oil.
According to the lawsuit, from 1967 to 1978 Bergeron worked for Sinclair Koppers (sued as Atlantic Richfield) in Port Arthur, where he was exposed to benzene and developed multiple myeloma as a result.
The defendants allegedly knew the benzene products they placed in the stream of commerce caused cancer but acted with indifference towards the welfare of others, the suit states.
Nederland attorney Tina Bradley of Hobson & Bradley represents the plaintiff.
Judge Kent Walston, 58th District Court, has been assigned to the case.
Case No. A-202147