Jose Herrera is an active father and a husband. He had a good job working as a pipefitter at the Citgo refinery in Corpus Christi. One morning, he was going about his normal routine repairing a poorly maintained pipe when it ruptured, scalding his face, neck, hands, and legs with crude oil heated to 550-degrees. Jose was harnessed to scaffolding and could not free himself while the oil scorched over a third of his body.
Today, Jose is confined to a wheelchair and is in excruciating pain. Because the Entergy decision protects Citgo, Jose can no longer provide for his family and he faces a mountain of ongoing medical bills.
Jose decided he wanted to do something about this – not for himself – but for families who could face a similar fate. No father should be forced to look into his son’s eyes and tell him that he can no longer put food on the table. No father should be denied the opportunity to run and play with his son or even give him a hug without it being painful.
When legislation to ensure that refineries like Citgo are held accountable for failing to provide a safe place to work was brought before lawmakers, Jose knew he had to be there. With Texas Watch’s help, he wheeled into a legislative hearing room packed with powerful lobbyists in thousand-dollar suits and politicians sitting on a raised platform. Amid the physical and emotional pain, with the odds stacked against him, Jose told his story. He said that working men and women are not tools, they are human beings. When he spoke, you could hear a pin drop.
Story from Texas Watch.
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