The fertilizer plant that exploded last month in West, Texas, holds just $1 million in liability insurance, a negligible amount compared to the estimated cost of the damage caused by the blast, lawyers said.
John McCoy, one of the attorneys representing the company that owns West Fertilizer Co., confirmed the amount in an email to the Los Angeles Times after the Dallas Morning News reported it Friday. He said the plant did not hold excess or umbrella insurance policies.
“We do not yet know how this horrific accident occurred,” McCoy added in the email. “We are waiting for federal and state officials to … complete their investigation.”
The April 17 blast killed 14 people, injured more than 200 and leveled buildings several blocks away. The office of state Insurance Commissioner Eleanor Kitzman said in a statement quoted by the Dallas Morning News that the amount of damage may run into the tens of millions of dollars.
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