A routine repair job at a Brazoria County machine shop has landed a local technician in a courtroom fight with one of the world’s biggest rocket companies. Freeport worker Humberto Benavides is suing SpaceX and a valve manufacturer after a component allegedly blew apart during a test at Dooling Machine Products on July 10, slamming into him and leaving what his lawyers describe as devastating, life-altering injuries.
In a lawsuit filed in state district court, Benavides’ attorneys accuse SpaceX and Irving-based New Gen Products LLC of negligence, pointing to alleged failures in training, supervision and safety protocols that they say led to the valve’s failure, according to Express-News. The complaint claims the part "failed, separated and impacted" Benavides, causing what his legal team calls catastrophic injuries. Federal workplace regulators have now opened an investigation into the incident.
What The Suit Says About Injuries
Benavides’ lawyers say the blast left him with serious trauma, including broken ribs, internal organ damage, fluid around his lungs and lingering headaches that have not subsided since the incident, according to a statement from his attorneys. The lawsuit seeks damages for those injuries and argues the accident should never have happened, blaming what the plaintiffs describe as inadequate instruction and supervision by the companies involved, as stated by the firm representing Benavides.
OSHA Probe And SpaceX’s Safety Record
The new OSHA investigation in Freeport arrives against a backdrop of broader scrutiny of SpaceX’s safety practices. A prior investigation by Reuters documented hundreds of workplace injuries at the company and highlighted a January 2022 pressure-test event in Hawthorne that fractured a technician’s skull and led to regulatory penalties, placing the Freeport case in a wider pattern of concerns about worker safety at SpaceX facilities.
Responses And Court Timeline
SpaceX and New Gen have denied the allegations in court filings. SpaceX’s attorneys argue the lawsuit is vague and does not give the company fair notice of the claims against it, as reported by Express-News. Benavides’ legal team has proposed a schedule that would send the case to a jury in November, although the judge still has to decide whether to adopt that timeline.
What Comes Next
The case is now set to move through state-court discovery while OSHA continues its separate probe, and any citations that emerge could later be used in the civil suit. Benavides’ attorneys say they plan to dig into company records and practices to support their claims of safety failures, while SpaceX and New Gen are expected to contest both liability and the cause of Benavides’ injuries, as per Arnold & Itkin.
