MARTINEZ REILLY, PLLC: Texas Jury Returns Landmark $1.6 Billion Total Verdict for Workers Rights against Hazardous Chemicals Facility in Explosion which Killed Two Workers<\/h1>\n
PR Newswire<\/p>\n
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas, April 20, 2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Texas jury reaches a landmark verdict against the owner of an oil refinery in Pecos, Texas.<\/i>\u00a0<\/p>\n
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, Texas\u00a0<\/span>, April 20, 2026<\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ — A Starr County, Texas jury has rendered a landmark verdict in favor of the family of a deceased worker who was killed in an oil facility in Pecos Texas. The verdict was part of a joint trial by two families who brought the case against the owner of the facility.<\/p>\n Following a two week trial, the jury determined that the owner,\u00a0Upton Assets, LLC, must pay $817 million to the widow, parents, and daughter of the young welder killed at the facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n During the trial, attorneys for the families of the two men killed presented evidence of serious failures of workplace safety and conditions one expert testified were “deplorable.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The verdict in favor of the young welder who was killed includes over $208 million in compensatory damages and $609 million as exemplary damages against the company. The jury found the company, Upton Assets, LLC, 100% to blame for the worker’s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n The damages award is part of a total verdict of $1.6 billion awarded for the deaths of two workers at the facility. The family hopes that the case makes an important statement about the rights and dignity of workers in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n The family was represented by John Martinez, Marion Reilly, Michael Richardson, and Matthew McMullen of Martinez Reilly, PLLC.<\/p>\n CONTACT: matt@mrtrial.com<\/a><\/p>\n![\"MARTINEZ](\"https:\/\/mma.prnewswire.com\/media\/2960926\/5926596\/Martinez_Reilly_PLLC_Logo.jpg\" "\\"MARTINEZ"){kind=logo}
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