Oh, The Humanity! TX Oilfield Waste Company Pays $32,000 Fine After Worker Dies; Multiple Injuries And Lawsuits

By the time emergency medical providers reached McBride Operating in Waskom, Texas, a small town near the Louisiana border, it was too late. Pedro Julian Garcia, a father of two, died after being struck by a pump valve at the oilfield waste company on the night of Feb. 6, 2024. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspectors later found McBride had not adequately trained Garcia. They uncovered a host of other problems, from hazardous extension cords to missing safety paperwork. McBride, headquartered in Longview, paid over $32,000 in fines to OSHA for a dozen workplace safety violations and separately settled a civil lawsuit filed by Garcia’s family.

McBride’s operations had already generated controversy in the tiny town—Garcia’s death is one in a series of worker safety and environmental incidents in the five years McBride has operated in Waskom. Pedro Leyva, an attorney with Glasheen, Valles and Inderman Injury Lawyers who represented Garcia’s family, called McBride a “bad operator” with aging equipment held together by “Band-aid” fixes in an interview. Prior to the fatality, McBride settled another lawsuit in 2024 with another employee who sustained two on-the-job injuries. Neither party admitted wrongdoing. Charlie Rose, a spokesman for McBride Operating, described Garcia’s death as “a heartbreaking loss.” Rose said McBride “is deeply committed to safety, compliance, and operational excellence across all of our facilities.” He declined further comment on the accident.

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“We categorically denied the allegations and stood firmly by the integrity of our safety practices throughout the process,” said Rose, the McBride spokesperson. “We firmly disputed Mr. Jackson’s claims during the legal proceedings and the parties disagreed over responsibility, but we were pleased that the matter was ultimately able to be resolved amicably with him and without admission of wrongdoing by either party.”

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Josh Maness, a Waskom attorney representing Jackson, deposed McBride’s operations manager Carrie Dowden in November 2022. Dowden said that McBride employees only receive “on the job” training and that the facility has no designated safety consultant or coordinator. Dowden herself lacked any oilfield experience when she began managing the facility; she had previously worked as a bartender. Maness also asked whether McBride had an operations manual.“Could be,” Dowden replied. “There’s a lot of manuals in my office.” When asked about a safety pamphlet she had mentioned, Dowden said the pamphlet could “possibly” be at her office but warned that “it’s a mess up there.” She was equally vague when Maness asked about attendance lists from any safety presentations. Dowden appeared unfamiliar with the OSHA rules that require reporting serious workplace injuries. Dowden said that McBride does not provide any personal protective equipment (PPE) to its employees.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/05092025/mcbride-operating-oilfield-waste-texas-worker-death/