A recent court filing highlights a harrowing workplace incident that left an employee severely injured due to alleged negligence by his employer. On July 23, 2024, Neriv Gonzalez filed a complaint in the District Court of Harris County, Texas against Maviro, Inc., detailing the events that led to his injuries and accusing the company of gross negligence.
According to the lawsuit, Gonzalez was employed as a Hydro-Blaster Technician for Blast E&I Supplies & Services when he was assigned to work at a petrochemical refinery managed by Enterprise Products Partners and Maviro, Inc. On April 27, 2024, Gonzalez claims he was instructed by a Maviro supervisor named Paul to perform "hand-lancing" hydro-blasting—a task requiring specialized training which Gonzalez did not possess. Despite expressing his discomfort and lack of experience with this type of work, Gonzalez alleges that Paul threatened him with termination if he refused. Under duress, Gonzalez attempted the task but was provided incorrect and unsafe tools by Paul.
The petition describes how these unsafe conditions led to a catastrophic injury: "As a result...the tool provided to Plaintiff by Paul failed and shot out of Plaintiff's hands...spraying dangerously high water pressure toward Plaintiff, tearing through the side of his abdomen." The document further alleges that after the incident, Maviro's employees tried to cover up their negligence by coercing Gonzalez into signing safety documents post-incident and instructing him not to disclose details about his injury or hospital visit.
Gonzalez's complaint accuses Maviro of multiple counts of negligence including failure to provide proper training and supervision, inadequate safety measures, and creating hazardous working conditions. He is seeking damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, physical impairment, disfigurement, life care plan damages as well as punitive damages for gross negligence.
Represented by attorneys C. Chad Pinkerton, Samuel Kinnear Jr., and Joe De Leon from The Pinkerton Law Firm PLLC in Houston, Texas, Gonzalez’s case has been assigned Case ID 2024-46092 in the 152nd District Court presided over by Judge Marilyn Burgess.