A worker in east Texas died recently in an accident caused by an exploding natural gas pipeline. Investigators say that the 32-year-old man, who was the father of four children, accidentally hit a live pipeline while he was running a mulching machine as part of his job duties. The line ruptured and the worker was instantly killed.

These types of accidents are somewhat common and pose major risks to individuals who work in the natural gas industry. Although in some cases these explosions are simply accidents, in other situations negligence may be at fault. Some of the most common causes for natural gas explosions are violations of federal, state and industry safety requirements, poorly maintained equipment, failing equipment, failure to deodorize gases, inadequate wiring or poor grounding of wires and improper ventilation.

There are also a number of parties who could be responsible for these accidents — and in fact multiple people or organizations could be at fault at the same time. In a workplace explosion, it could be determined that the company operating or working on a pipeline failed to maintain adequate safety procedures to protect workers. It is also possible a company allowed maintenance to be deferred for too long. Supervisors or co-workers could also make key mistakes that lead to an explosion accident.

In addition, equipment manufacturers or subcontractors on a particular jobsite could bear some responsibility, especially if they acted negligently or recklessly and those actions directly resulted in the accident.

The injuries and risk of death caused by gas pipeline explosions are extremely serious, and it’s important to hold employers or negligent parties responsible for these accidents. For the legal advice you need when dealing with a severe workplace explosion-related injury, consult a knowledgeable workers’ compensation attorney in Missouri.