Services Emergency Response

Kean Miller represents energy, petrochemical, and manufacturing clients with accidents investigations, emergency response, and crisis situations of any size and scope, from single person incidents to mass tort litigation. We have extensive experience with respect to explosions, fires, releases, spills, exposures, and other accidents related to offshore and onshore platforms, chemical plants and refineries, pipelines, barges, tugboats, and ocean-going vessels as well as vehicular and workplace accidents.

Our extensive history with the energy and petrochemical sectors provides us with the knowledge and substantive skill to address practically any incident. Our teams are equipped to handle environmental reporting, interfacing with state and federal authorities, protecting and preserving evidence, producing documents and reports, interviewing witnesses, securing the services of experts and consultants, advising corporate officers, assisting with incident investigation, and working with the media to protect our clients’ interests and the public. We regularly provide assistance with communications and complex negotiations with governmental and administrative bodies such as state police, Chemical Safety Board (CSB), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), United States Coast Guard (USCG), Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and other regulatory agencies. Many of our attorneys practicing in this area have Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWIC).

We prepare emergency action plans and training, critique plant process safety plans, review insurance coverage, and manage high-stakes litigation.  We also provide the legal services our clients need to begin the process of recovery, including contract review, insurance evaluation and coverage claims, and legal work and claims evaluation in preparation for personal injury, mass tort, class action lawsuits, and potential criminal investigations.

Representative Experience

• Representation of a chemical manufacturer in connection with an explosion and fire at a Louisiana facility. Our emergency response team assisted with official notifications, evidence preservation, incident investigation, interaction with multiple state and federal regulatory authorities, litigation management, and complex mass joinder and personal injury trial defense in multiple venues, including taking several cases to verdict.
• Representation of a Fortune 500 corporation with a wax producing facility in Orange, Texas in connection with a personal injury claim and regulatory inquiry. Our emergency response team assisted with evidence preservation, interaction with multiple state and federal regulatory authorities, and the entire management of both the litigation and cross and third-party claims for indemnification from on-site contractors.
• Representation of a global natural gas pipeline company in separate explosion matters in Louisiana. Our response team was on site within hours of the incidents and handled inquiries from PHMSA, OSHA, and other state and federal agencies.  From contesting venue and jurisdictional issues, through discovery, litigation and trial, our team has handled every aspect of these matters to successful resolution.
• Representation of an international energy company in multiple plaintiff personal injury lawsuits due to a fire at a Texas facility. Kean Miller’s emergency response team and trial team members have worked with key client contacts about required notifications, incident investigation, on-site evidence preservation efforts, and post-incident expert retention.
• Representation of a global energy and chemical refinery in incidents arising from three explosions and fires at their refineries. In each incident, the Kean Miller team assisted in every aspect of the situation, including sending required notifications, interfacing with state and federal authorities on-site, evidence preservation, securing experts for immediate post-incident evaluation, collecting witness statements, and subsequent litigation. In two incidents, a Kean Miller team was on-site within two hours and engaged outside air modeling consultants and health consultants to secure background information for the ensuing litigation. As a result of our efforts, we preserved the record of constituents of the air plume and evidence of cause and origin. This action limited the potential class area significantly.
• Representation of an international energy company in multiple plaintiff personal injury lawsuits due to a fire at its Deer Park, Texas, facility. Kean Miller’s emergency response team and trial team members worked with key client contacts about required notifications, incident investigation, on-site evidence preservation efforts, and post-incident expert retention.
• Representation of terminal service company in response to a fire on their Texas property causing a significant air and water pollution event. Kean Miller attorneys immediately assisted with the emergency response and to establish the property and toxic exposure claims handling process. Thousands of claims were submitted as a result of the multi-day fire, smoke plume, and water pollution from firefighting water runoff. Claims were also submitted for loss of business along the Houston Ship Channel which was shut down due to the response activities.
• Representation of a chemical plant in a 20,000+ claimant class action as a result of a significant release of SO2. The Kean Miller team was on-site when state and federal authorities demanded entry into the facility. We assisted the investigating team, assembled outside consultants and experts, and handled the litigation. As a result of our efforts, we achieved a relatively fast resolution of class action litigation on a favorable basis to the client.
• Representation of an international energy company in defense of thousands of property damage, personal injury, and remediation claims arising from the Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire. Our attorneys assisted with the initial emergency response and coordinating the containment of the fire and oil spill. We transitioned into setting up property claims handling offices for the client along the entire Gulf Coast. We were also integrally involved in the Vessel of Opportunity program which used local vessels to assist in oil spill clean-up operations. Almost all those vessels submitted property damage claims having been exposed to oil during the clean-up.
• Representation of a chemical manufacturer regarding two chemical releases from their facility. Within hours of the release being contained, the Kean Miller team was on-site with the client’s risk management professionals. The Kean Miller team participated in the investigation of the releases, including conducting interviews of witnesses, identifying and gathering relevant documents, reviewing reports, providing advice on responding to media inquiries, and assisting in dealing with claimants. As a result of our early intervention in the investigation, our client avoided pitfalls related to not identifying and maintaining documents. From a technical standpoint, the documents were irrelevant to the root cause analysis. However, the documents would have become relevant during litigation. In addition, we identified issues with the investigative reports’ wording that would have negatively impacted subsequent litigation. Finally, we identified and resolved some claims before the intervention of other counsel.
• Representation of a pipeline company in connection with the release of over one million gallons of gasoline from an interstate pipeline. The gasoline contaminated a drinking water aquifer, and soluble constituents leached into surface waters in a nearby recreational creek. We defended the client in a class action lawsuit, resulting in a favorable class settlement well below the potential liability predicted by mock jury trials. We also represented the client in related enforcement action instituted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and assisted the company’s counsel in connection with claims by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department.
• Representation of a global fertilizer producer concerning a surprise investigation by the EPA NEIC and the FBI. The investigation commenced with a search warrant covering all facility activities concerning the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Ten plant managers and employees were targeted in the investigation. Over ninety-two federal agents participated in a two-and-a-half-day on-site investigation with multiple weeks of follow-up. The Kean Miller team was on-site within one hour of notification, counseled on-site personnel, and interfaced with the U.S. Attorney and lead investigators. We provided counsel to on-site personnel regarding their rights and obligations, preserved evidence, secured legal counsel for targeted managers and employees, secured experts for immediate post-incident evaluation, collected witness statements, and represented the company in the subsequent litigation. As a result of our actions, we assisted in maintaining a calm and thoughtful response in a crisis, advised corporate officers on immediate follow-up operations needed, used local contacts to assist in dealing with public statements and suppliers and customers, and provided thorough follow-up audits with consultants to lay the foundation for defense and plea agreements as well as significant narrowing of targets and issues.