Pasadena company sued over drilling platform explosion

A man assigned to clean an offshore drilling platform is suing the Memorial and Pasadena companies that operate it after he was allegedly hurt in an explosion.

Kevin P. Senegal filed the lawsuit April 19 in Harris County Circuit Court against BP Exploration and Production Inc., BP PLC, BP America Inc. and BP Products North America Inc. Halliburton Energy Services Inc., of Pasadena, was also named as a defendant. Senegal says he was working as part of a cleaning crew aboard the platform.

Senegal says he was employed by Offshore Cleaning Systems aboard the Deepwater Horizon in April 2010. Senegal says BP, to rush the drilling operation and save money, allegedly used the wrong type of drilling mud to control the pressure in the oil well, causing an explosion.

Senegal also claims the Memorial-based oil company did a poor job of cementing the well, which he says also contributed to the problem.

Senegal alleges he was hurt in the explosion. He accuses BP and Halliburton of negligence and of operating an oil drilling platform without regard for the safety of the workers.

Senegal is asking for an unspecified amount of money in damages for medical bills, lost wages and court costs.

Attorneys John W. Stevenson Jr. and Mark T. Murray are representing Senegal.

Harris County Circuit Court Case No. 2011-23923.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.