Available 24/7/365
Free Consultations
(800) 349-0000
Common causes of pipeline explosions include material, welding, or equipment failure, excavation damage, corrosion, overpressure, and inadequate maintenance. Those injured in a pipeline explosion that occurs for these or other reasons should seek legal help immediately.
Talk with a pipeline explosion attorney if you are injured in a pipeline blast. Your lawyer can evaluate your case and, if warranted, guide you through the process of filing a claim or lawsuit against anyone liable for the explosion and your injuries.
Pipeline materials can deteriorate over time. When these materials fail, the walls of a pipeline can weaken, and microscopic fissures can grow. These and other material-related issues can ultimately trigger explosions.
Meanwhile, poor workmanship can contribute to weak joints in a pipeline. Defective pipe-seam welds can rupture under high pressure. If these issues go unaddressed, they can lead to a blast that causes serious harm to those involved.
Without proper care and maintenance, valves, regulators, connectors, and other pipeline equipment can degrade or become loose. Such problems can cause gas leaks that result in explosions.
In an excavation, buried pipeline infrastructure can be weakened or punctured. This may allow flammable gas or liquids to escape and ignite.
Even if a pipeline is damaged in an excavation, it won’t necessarily break right away. However, a scrape, gouge, or dent can strip away at the pipeline’s protective coating and metal wall. As such, the weakened pipeline may not be able to handle internal operating pressure for an extended period. Eventually, natural gas can travel through underground soil or utility conduits, and it only takes a single ignition source to trigger a catastrophic blast.
A pipeline can corrode when it’s exposed to moisture or soil water. Alternatively, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, or other chemicals inside a pipeline can cause internal corrosion.
When corrosion occurs, a pipeline weakens, and cracks can form along its structure. The weakened pipeline can rupture when it can no longer contain the internal pressure. As a result, escaping flammable hydrocarbons can mix with ambient air, ignite, and result in a blast.
Pressure regulator failures, closed valves, and sudden changes in pump speeds are among the issues that can cause a pipeline’s pressure to reach a dangerous level.
If a pipeline breaks due to overpressure, large amounts of flammable gas or liquid will enter the air. At this time, if a cloud of gas meets an ignition spark, it can lead to a catastrophic explosion and a powerful shock wave.
How well a pipeline is maintained can have far-reaching effects. If unchecked corrosion, faulty valves or meters, or other maintenance issues arise, a pipeline and its components won’t perform at peak levels. Thus, this problem has the potential to cause structural failures and hazardous gas leaks that result in explosions.
If you want legal guidance and support in the aftermath of injuries you’ve suffered in a pipeline explosion, now is the time to meet with an attorney with relevant case experience. Depending on the circumstances, your lawyer can help you pursue compensation for your injury-related losses as part of a claim or lawsuit.