Two Starr County families are getting closure after a jury awarded them more than $1 billion in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after two men died in a West Texas plant explosion in 2023.

Pecos explosion that killed two Starr County men caused by tanker exploding

"The Alaffa family fought for two years to have justice, and that's what this jury delivered," Attorney Matthew McMullen said.

Angel Alaffa, a welder from Rio Grande City, and another Starr County man — Reinaldo Garcia Pena — died in October 2023 while working at a chemical plant in Pecos, Texas, owned by Upton Assets LLC.

According to court documents, the two men were working inside a silo when it exploded as they began to weld.

McMullen said the jury found that the plant owner failed to provide a safe work environment.

"What the jury was shown was that one of the things this plant owner failed to provide these workers is a safe work environment; there was contamination in the tank they were working in," McMullen said.

McMullen  said OSHA safety standards were not followed. Court documents show the jury found Upton Assets LLC fully responsible for the men's deaths.

"Ultimately what we found is that the plant owner, Upton Assets LLC, was seriously deficient in following the required standards required by federal law,” McMullen said. “Juries in the Rio Grande Valley understand that workers have dignity and rights, and those rights were trampled on in this case to the detriment of two lives."

McMullen said the Alaffa family wants workers in the Rio Grande Valley to speak up if they feel their workplace is unsafe before it's too late.

"You have a right to a workplace that preserves your integrity and dignity as a worker, and your safety is paramount to that," McMullen said.

Channel 5 News reached out to the attorneys who helped represent Upton Assets LLC for comment. They did not respond by the time this story aired on Tuesday night.

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