PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The operator of a Delaware oil refinery has agreed to pay $36.4 million to settle a lawsuit by the family of a worker killed when a huge tank of sulfuric acid exploded and collapsed in 2001.
Jeffery C. Davis, a 50-year-old boilermaker, was on a catwalk above the tank when it erupted at the Motiva Enterprises refinery in Delaware City. He was presumed to have disintegrated in a flood of leaking acid.
A federal judge in Philadelphia approved the civil settlement Tuesday, two weeks before the case was to go to trial. Davis' widow and five children will share in the award.
``We hope the settlement serves as an acknowledgment of our profound regrets while providing the Davis family with a financially secure future,'' said Motiva spokesman Shawn Frederick.
Motiva pleaded no contest to criminal charges related to the disaster in July. The company, which is jointly owned and operated by Saudi Refining and Shell Oil, had been cited repeatedly for safety violations.
One of the Davis family's attorneys, Thomas Kline, said the settlement ensures the company will be held accountable for its negligence.
``This man died in a fiery hell,'' he said. ``This a recognition that the loss of Mr. Davis really meant something.''
A judge previously fined the company $296,000 for the accident, which injured six other workers.
Frederick said the company, based in Houston, Texas, was committed to improving workplace safety and has worked to address the factors that contributed to the accident.
