Texas Jury Slams Company with $1.6B Verdict for Worker Deaths

RIO GRANDE CITY, TX – April 20, 2026 – A Starr County jury delivered a historic blow to corporate negligence, awarding more than $1.6 billion to the families of two workers killed in a 2023 plant explosion. The unanimous verdict holds Upton Assets, LLC, 100 percent responsible for the deaths, finding the company guilty of gross negligence in what is now one of the largest wrongful death verdicts in U.S. history.

The decision, reached late Friday after a two-week trial, marks a somber end to a legal battle that began after the catastrophic explosion on October 7, 2023, at the Pecos Liquids Handling Facility in West Texas. The blast claimed the lives of Reinaldo Garcia Pena, 57, and Angel Alaffa, 30, both of whom had traveled hundreds of miles from their homes in the Rio Grande Valley for work.

A Systemic Failure of Safety

The Pecos facility, which processes highly flammable materials from the Permian Basin, is designated by the federal government as a Process Safety Management (PSM) facility. This designation mandates a strict set of safety protocols to prevent catastrophic incidents involving hazardous chemicals. However, evidence presented during the trial before Judge Jose Luis Garza painted a starkly different picture of operations at the plant owned by Upton Assets.

Trial testimony revealed a complete breakdown of mandatory safety procedures. Reinaldo Garcia Pena, a husband of 37 years and a father of two, and Angel Alaffa, a young husband and father, were part of a crew hired to perform welding on a tank. Unbeknownst to them, the tank still contained flammable hydrocarbons, and the gas monitor they were given was incapable of detecting the very vapors that would fuel the deadly explosion.

The families' lead attorney, Rob Ammons, argued that the tragedy was not an accident but the inevitable result of the company's choices. "Oil and gas companies that cannot follow basic safety rules have no business operating in the State of Texas," Ammons said following the verdict. "This jury, after hearing all of the evidence, rejected that argument completely and held Upton Assets fully accountable."

Gross Negligence Uncovered

The two-week trial laid bare a culture of indifference to federal safety regulations. Thomas Oliver Hanks, Jr., the president of Upton Assets, admitted under oath that he had never read the federal PSM standards governing his own high-hazard facility, nor could he name a single employee who had.

Evidence showed the company bypassed bids from established, qualified contractors, instead hiring an unvetted crew from the Rio Grande Valley. This crew, which included Garcia Pena and Alaffa, received no safety orientation, no training, and was not even provided with the company's own safety manual.

Further testimony revealed that the highest-ranking manager on-site lacked a college degree, held no PSM certifications, and had never completed a single OSHA course on the subject. The cascade of failures was so profound that, under cross-examination, Upton Assets' own expert witness was forced to concede that the event was not an accident but a "systemic failure of safety."

"Reinaldo Garcia Pena was the heart of his family," said Heriberto "Herbie" Montalvo, another attorney for the Garcia family. "Since October 7, 2023, Reinaldo's family has had to navigate life without him — a loss no family should have to endure, and one that never had to happen. Every safety failure that led to the explosion was preventable."

A Landmark Verdict in a High-Risk Industry

The $1.6 billion award is believed to be the largest verdict for a workplace fatality in Texas history, sending shockwaves through the state's dominant oil and gas industry. The sector, a cornerstone of the Texas economy, is inherently dangerous. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the natural resources and mining sector, which includes oil and gas, consistently ranks among the most hazardous for workers. In 2023, the sector accounted for 51 fatalities in Texas alone.

This verdict goes beyond mere compensation; it is a powerful punitive statement. The jury awarded the Garcia and Alaffa families a combined total of over $400 million in compensatory damages for their loss. But the bulk of the award—over $1.2 billion—came in the form of punitive damages, a measure explicitly intended to punish Upton Assets for its gross negligence and deter similar conduct by other companies.

Legal experts note a rising trend of "nuclear verdicts," where juries issue massive awards to hold corporations accountable for actions that demonstrate a disregard for human life. The finding of "gross negligence" was key, as it signifies a conscious and extreme degree of risk-taking that showed an utter indifference to the rights, safety, and welfare of others.

The federal PSM standard (29 CFR 1910.119) was established by OSHA specifically to prevent catastrophic accidents like the one in Pecos. It requires a comprehensive management program integrating technologies, procedures, and management practices. The complete absence of these measures at the Upton Assets facility, as established in court, represents a foundational failure to comply with the law designed to protect workers like Reinaldo Garcia Pena and Angel Alaffa.

'A Serious, Knowing Disregard for Safety'

The jury's unanimous decision assigned 100 percent of the blame to Upton Assets, rejecting the company's two-and-a-half-year effort to shift responsibility onto the victims and other parties.

"Upton Assets spent two and a half years telling these families that Reinaldo Garcia and other parties were to blame," Ammons stated. "The jury spoke with one voice: This was entirely Upton Assets' fault, and it wasn't a mistake — it was a serious, knowing disregard for safety."

For the families, the verdict provides a measure of justice, though it cannot replace what was lost. Reinaldo Garcia Pena died just months before he was to become a grandfather for the first time. Angel Alaffa left behind a young daughter who will grow up without her father. The jury's award specifically apportions damages to the widows, children, and parents of the two men, acknowledging the deep and widespread impact of the tragedy. The staggering sum is a clear signal to the industry that cutting corners on safety can carry a cost that far exceeds any potential savings, demanding a new level of accountability for the lives of workers in Texas and beyond.