City of Ralls Toxic Exposure and Industrial Injury Guide: Holding Corporations Accountable for Mesothelioma, Benzene Cancers, and Oilfield Accidents

You did the work. For decades, the men and women of the City of Ralls and Crosby County have been the backbone of the Texas High Plains, operating the cotton gins, maintaining the oil rigs, and building the infrastructure that fuels our state. You showed up, worked double shifts during the harvest, and endured the heat of the West Texas sun to provide for your family. No one told you that the dust you inhaled while repairing a ginner’s press or the chemical vapors you breathed on a drilling pad outside the City of Ralls were microscopic time bombs.

Maybe it started with a persistent cough that wouldn’t go away, even after a visit to Crosbyton Clinic Hospital. Maybe you were told it was just “old age” or “smoker’s lung,” only to have a specialist in Lubbock finally say the word that changes everything: mesothelioma. Or perhaps your oncology team at UMC Health System is asking questions about chemical exposure because they’ve diagnosed you with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

If you or a loved one in the City of Ralls is facing a life-altering diagnosis like mesothelioma, asbestosis, or a benzene-related cancer, you are likely reeling from a sense of profound betrayal. You worked hard for companies that knew—often as early as the 1930s—that their products and work environments were lethal. They suppressed the studies, they manipulated the safety data, and they treated your health as an acceptable trade-off for their quarterly profits.

At Attorney 911, led by Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña, we don’t believe your health was an “acceptable trade-off.” We believe in accountability. Ralph Manginello brings over 27 years of trial experience to your case, including direct involvement in the historic $2.1 billion BP Texas City Refinery explosion litigation. He knows how to take on the world’s largest corporations and win. Lupe Peña is our nuclear advantage; he spent years as an insurance defense attorney, learning exactly how corporate legal teams in Texas value, suppress, and attempt to deny claims from workers in the City of Ralls. He knows their playbook because he helped write it—and now he uses that insider knowledge to destroy their defenses.

You have rights that extend far beyond a standard workers’ compensation claim. Whether you were exposed to asbestos in a cotton gin, benzene on an oil rig, or toxic pesticides in the fields surrounding the City of Ralls, there are multi-billion dollar trust funds and legal pathways designed to compensate you. The clock is ticking, however, due to the Texas discovery rule and the constant depletion of bankruptcy trust assets.

Call Attorney 911 today at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free, no-obligation consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we advance every dollar of the legal and scientific costs, and you owe us nothing unless we secure a recovery for you and your family.

Attorney Ralph Manginello explains the value of pursuing every available legal pathway in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmMwE7GqUFI

The High Plains Discovery: Why Your Illness Was Preventable

The “discovery moment” is often the most painful part of a toxic exposure case. You realize that your current suffering was set in motion 20, 30, or 40 years ago at a job site near the City of Ralls. In Crosby County, the industrial landscape is unique, blending heavy agriculture with energy production. This means workers here often face “stacked” exposures.

A ginnery worker in the City of Ralls might have spent decades repairing equipment lined with asbestos insulation while simultaneously handling pesticide-treated cotton and breathing diesel exhaust from nearby truck traffic. An oilfield hand working the formations in the Permian Basin or along the outskirts of the City of Ralls may have been exposed to high levels of benzene in crude oil and respirable crystalline silica during fracking operations.

The science behind these illnesses is settled, even if the companies responsible still try to cloud the truth. When you inhale asbestos fibers—common in the brake linings, gaskets, and insulation used in older Ralls industrial facilities—those fibers are biopersistent. They do not dissolve. They lodge in the mesothelial lining of your lungs (the pleura) or abdomen (the peritoneum). For decades, your body’s immune cells, called macrophages, try to destroy these fibers. They fail every time. This “frustrated phagocytosis” creates chronic inflammation that eventually damages your DNA and deactivates tumor suppressor genes like BAP1.

By the time you feel that first sharp pain in your chest while walking down Main Street in the City of Ralls, the cancer has already been developing for years. According to the National Cancer Institute, there is no safe level of asbestos exposure.
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/asbestos/asbestos-fact-sheet

We understand the specific industrial history of Crosby County. We know which cotton gins in the City of Ralls area used asbestos-containing machinery and which oilfield service companies failed to provide adequate respiratory protection. Our firm doesn’t just “handle” cases; we investigate the specific site conditions of your career.

If you suspect your workplace in the City of Ralls made you sick, watch Ralph Manginello describe the first steps you must take to protect your rights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCox4Lq7zBM

Mesothelioma and Asbestos Exposure in the City of Ralls

Mesothelioma is a hallmark of corporate negligence. Unlike many other cancers, it has almost no natural causes. If you have been diagnosed with pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma, it is almost a certainty that you were exposed to asbestos at some point in your life. In the City of Ralls, this exposure frequently occurred in trades like pipefitting, electrical work, insulation, and machinery repair.

The Biological Mechanism of Harm

When an insulator or mechanic in the City of Ralls cut into a section of Kaylo pipe covering or a Johns-Manville gasket, millions of microscopic fibers were released into the air. Once inhaled, these fibers migrate into the pleura. Because they cannot be expelled, they cause oxidative DNA damage through the constant generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Over a 15-to-50-year latency period, this cellular damage leads to the malignant transformation recognizable as mesothelioma.

Why Your Claim in the City of Ralls is Still Valid

Many people in the City of Ralls believe that because their exposure happened in the 1970s or 80s, or because the company they worked for has shut down, they cannot recover damages. This is false.

1. The Texas Discovery Rule: Under Texas law (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003), your two-year statute of limitations generally does not start until you knew—or should have reasonably known—that you had an injury caused by asbestos. This means a diagnosis at a Lubbock hospital last week could be the trigger that opens your window to file. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm
2. Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts: There are currently over 60 active asbestos bankruptcy trusts with roughly $30 billion in remaining assets. These trusts were created by court order to ensure that even if a company like Owens Corning or United States Gypsum goes bankrupt, the workers they poisoned in places like the City of Ralls can still receive compensation without ever stepping foot in a courtroom.
3. Third-Party Litigation: You can often sue the manufacturers of the products you used, the premises owners of the sites where you worked, and the contractors who brought asbestos onto the job site. These claims are separate from workers’ compensation and offer much higher recovery for pain and suffering.

Ralph Manginello and our legal team are admitted into Federal Court (Southern District of Texas), giving us the reach to handle multi-state trust claims while staying rooted in your local City of Ralls community. We’ve seen how these cases progress, and we know that the median survival rate for mesothelioma is only 12 to 21 months. We move with the urgency that a terminal diagnosis demands.

Are you worried about the timeline of your case? Listen to Ralph Manginello explain how we speed up the process for terminal patients: https://share.transistor.fm/s/ea9a9136

Crosby County’s Benzene Risk: From the Oilfield to the Gas Station

Crosby County is situated in a region defined by petroleum production. Benzene is a natural component of crude oil and a primary chemical used in refineries and chemical plants along the Texas coast, where many City of Ralls residents have worked in “turnaround” crews.

Benzene is a Class A known human carcinogen. It doesn’t just “irritate” your system—it targets your bone marrow. When you inhale benzene vapors on a rig near the City of Ralls, your liver converts that benzene into benzene oxide and then into a metabolite called muconaldehyde. This specific chemical is a bone marrow toxin. It attacks the hematopoietic stem cells that produce your blood.

Continued exposure to benzene in the City of Ralls oil and gas industry leads to:

• Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML): A fast-acting cancer of the blood and bone marrow.
• Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS): A condition where the bone marrow stops producing enough healthy blood cells.
• Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL): A cancer of the lymphatic system.
• Aplastic Anemia: A condition where the body stops producing enough new blood cells.

According to OSHA (29 CFR 1910.1028), the permissible exposure limit for benzene is 1 part per million (ppm). However, many industrial hygiene reports from Texas facilities show workers were routinely exposed to levels 10 to 50 times this limit without adequate vapor recovery systems or respirators.
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.1028

Lupe Peña’s background as an insurance defense attorney is critical here. Corporations often try to argue that your leukemia was “genetic” or “random.” Having seen the defense side, Lupe knows how they try to hide air monitoring reports and safety logs. He knows how to subpoena the documents that prove the company knew their Ralls-area workers were being poisoned.

A 2024 verdict in Pennsylvania saw a jury award $725 million against ExxonMobil for benzene-induced leukemia in a former worker. While every case is unique and results vary, this proves that juries understand the scale of corporate misconduct.

If you worked in the petroleum industry near the City of Ralls and have been diagnosed with a blood cancer, call 1-888-ATTY-911 immediately.

The Insider Advantage: Why Lupe Peña Changes Your Outcome

When you call most law firms about a toxic exposure claim in the City of Ralls, you are talking to a lawyer who knows the law. When you call Attorney 911, you are talking to a team that includes a lawyer who knows the defense strategy.

Lupe Peña spent years working for a national defense firm. He sat in the conference rooms where insurance companies and billion-dollar corporations decided how much to offer (or withhold) from injured workers in Texas. He knows that they use “delay, deny, defend” as a core principle. They want you to get tired of the process. They want you to settle for the first lowball offer because they know your medical bills are piling up at facilities in Lubbock.

Lupe Peña switched sides because he saw the injustice. Today, he uses that “insider” knowledge to anticipate their moves. If a defense firm tries to use a “state-of-the-art” defense—arguing they didn’t know the risks in the 1980s—Lupe is ready with the industry documents that prove they were warned by their own medical departments decades earlier.

This insider perspective is why we have earned a 4.9-star rating across 270+ verified Google reviews. Our clients realize that they aren’t just getting an advocate; they are getting a strategist.

As Ken T. wrote in his 5-star review: “Ralph Manginello listened intently… he treated me professionally, with respect and understanding. He communicates promptly, discusses all relevant matters, and follows up… basically he delivers!”

Watch Lupe Peña describe the tactics used during legal depositions to protect your interests: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_qCwqfeRRs

Agricultural Exposures in Ralls: Roundup, Paraquat, and Pesticides

The City of Ralls is defined by its agriculture. From the Ralls Cotton Gin to the vast fields managed by local families for generations, the use of herbicides and pesticides is part of daily life. Unfortunately, the companies that manufacture these chemicals—such as Monsanto (now Bayer) and Syngenta—have been caught concealing the health risks of their products.

Roundup and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Roundup (glyphosate) is the most widely used herbicide in Crosby County. In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Internal documents revealed in litigation, now known as the “Monsanto Papers,” showed that the company ghostwrote scientific studies to declare Roundup safe while attacking the credibility of independent researchers.
https://monographs.iarc.who.int/substances/glyphosate/

If you have used Roundup for several years in your Ralls-area farming operations and have been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, you may be entitled to a significant settlement. Multi-billion dollar verdicts have been handed down in these cases because juries were outraged by the company’s deceit.

Paraquat and Parkinson’s Disease

Paraquat is a highly toxic herbicide restricted to use by certified applicators. For years, evidence has mounted that chronic exposure to Paraquat causes Parkinson’s Disease. The chemical causes high levels of oxidative stress that specifically kills dopaminergic neurons in the brain. If you worked as a mixer, loader, or applicator of Paraquat around the City of Ralls and now have a Parkinson’s diagnosis, we can help you join the active MDL (Multidistrict Litigation) to seek compensation.

Agricultural workers in the City of Ralls often face language barriers or fears regarding their immigration status. Attorney 911 is a bilingual firm—hablamos español. We believe every worker, regardless of their status, has the right to a safe workplace and fair compensation for injuries.

Listen to our podcast episode on how immigration issues affect workers’ rights: https://share.transistor.fm/s/692cfb1a

Dangerous Industries in Crosby County: Beyond General Liability

While toxic exposure is a silent killer, many workers in the City of Ralls face acute, catastrophic injuries in dangerous industries. Our firm specializes in the “Axis 2” of industrial law: where you were working and how the mechanics of that job failed you.

Onshore Oil and Gas Rigs

The Permian Basin and High Plains formations are high-risk environments. We represent Ralls-area roughnecks, derrickhands, and floorhands who have suffered from:

• Well Blowouts: Uncontrolled pressure releases that cause catastrophic explosions.
• Struck-By Accidents: Drill pipes and heavy equipment that cause crush injuries or amputations.
• H2S Gas Exposure: Hydrogen sulfide is a deadly gas common in Texas wells. A single “breath of death” can cause permanent neurological damage or fatality.

Construction and Scaffold Falls

The City of Ralls and Crosby County infrastructure requires constant maintenance. OSHA data shows that falls are the leading cause of death in construction. If you fell from a scaffold that was improperly erected, or if you weren’t provided with a personal fall arrest system (PFAS) as required by 29 CFR 1926.501, you have a claim.
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.501

In Texas, many construction companies are “non-subscribers,” meaning they don’t carry traditional workers’ comp. This actually gives you the right to sue them directly for full negligence damages, including your pain, suffering, and elective medical care.

Electrocution and High-Voltage Injuries

Utility workers and industrial electricians in the City of Ralls work with enough voltage to cause “ventricular fibrillation” in a fraction of a second. We investigate whether your employer followed Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures under 29 CFR 1910.147. If they didn’t, their violation of federal law is “negligence per se.”
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.147

If you were injured in a refinery or power plant accident, listen to Ralph Manginello discuss your options: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YZefHeT8dY

The Real Cost of Corporate Negligence: Your Damages

When we take on a toxic exposure case for a City of Ralls resident, we aren’t just looking at medical bills. We are looking at the total destruction of your quality of life. In legal terms, this is categorized into economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages (The “Checkbook” Losses)

• Medical Expenses: This includes your past surgeries at UMC Lubbock and your future chemotherapy, home health care, and oxygen needs. Mesothelioma treatment can easily exceed $500,000 per year.
• Lost Wages and Earning Capacity: If you can no longer work at a Ralls cotton gin or oilfield, you have lost decades of potential income. We use expert economists to calculate the present value of every dollar you would have earned.

Non-Economic Damages (The Human Cost)

• Pain and Suffering: The physical agony of cancer or the trauma of a burn injury.
• Mental Anguish: The terror of a terminal diagnosis and the grief of knowing you may not see your grandchildren grow up in the City of Ralls.
• Loss of Consortium: The damage to your relationship with your spouse.
• Disfigurement: Permanent scarring from industrial accidents.

Punitive Damages

In many toxic exposure cases, we seek punitive damages. These are designed to punish the corporation for “gross negligence.” When a board of directors knows a chemical is causing leukemia and hides it from their workers in the City of Ralls, they deserve to be punished financially.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but our experience is deep. Ralph Manginello was part of the BP Texas City Refinery explosion litigation, which resulted in over $2.1 billion in total payouts. We fight for the “maximum” and we do not settle your City of Ralls case for pennies.

How do we calculate pain and suffering? Ralph Manginello breaks it down here: https://share.transistor.fm/s/398d3090

Evidence Preservation: Why the City of Ralls Needs to Act Now

In a toxic exposure case, time is your enemy. Evidence doesn’t just “go away”—it is actively destroyed.

• Employer Records: Many Crosby County companies only keep exposure logs and OSHA 300 logs for five to seven years. If your exposure was 20 years ago, those records might be in a shredder right now.
• Co-Worker Witnessing: The people who saw the dust clouds or the chemical leaks at your Ralls job site are getting older. We need to take their depositions now to preserve their testimony.
• Trust Fund Depletion: Asbestos trust funds are finite. Every month, new claims are filed. Some trusts have been forced to lower their “payment percentage” from 25% down to 5% because the money is running out.

If you call Attorney 911 today, we send “spoliation letters” to every potential defendant in your Ralls case within 48 hours. These are formal legal notices that forbid them from destroying any records relevant to your exposure.

As Brian B. shared in his review: “Attorneys… were at the bottom of professions that I respected… Attorney 911/Manginello Law Firm have definitely changed my views on this… Melanie was excellent. She kept me informed…Very informative and professional.”

Watch Ralph Manginello explain how you can use your own cellphone to document evidence right now in the City of Ralls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLbpzrmogTs

Frequently Asked Questions for City of Ralls Residents

1. Can I file a claim if the exposure happened 30 years ago?

Yes. Under the Texas discovery rule, the timeline for filing your claim usually begins when you receive a diagnosis and realize it was caused by your work. For mesothelioma and other latent diseases, this is the standard. Don’t let a company tell you “it’s too late.”

2. What if the company I worked for in Ralls is gone?

This is common. Many companies filed for “pre-packaged” bankruptcy to shield themselves. When they did, they were required to set aside billions of dollars into trusts. You don’t sue the “gone” company; you file a claim against the trust fund. We have the database to find which trusts cover your specific Ralls workplace.

3. Will filing a lawsuit affect my Social Security or VA benefits?

Usually, no. Personal injury settlements and trust fund payments are secondary to these benefits. Our team can help you structure your recovery so that it doesn’t disqualifying you from other essential High Plains resources.

4. How much will a lawyer cost me?

With Attorney 911, you pay zero dollars upfront. We take every case on a contingency fee. If we don’t put money in your pocket, you don’t owe us a dime. We take on the financial risk because we believe in the strength of your City of Ralls case.

5. I worked in a cotton gin. Is that a risk for asbestos?

Yes. Historically, industrial cotton gins used asbestos for heat shields, gaskets, and insulation because it was fire-resistant. If you spent years maintaining gins in the City of Ralls, your risk of asbestosis or mesothelioma is significantly higher than the general population.

6. Do I have to travel to Houston for my case?

No. While our principal office is in Houston, we represent clients across the entire state of Texas. We can handle your consultation via Zoom or phone, and we will travel to the City of Ralls or Crosby County for any necessary in-person meetings or trials.

7. My husband died of cancer last year. Is it too late for me?

You may have a “wrongful death” or “survival action” claim. In Texas, the statute of limitations for wrongful death is generally two years from the date of death. If your spouse was a worker in the City of Ralls and died from an exposure-related illness, please call us today.

8. I am a veteran. Does the VA provide enough for toxic exposure?

VA benefits are helpful, but they rarely cover the true cost of cancer treatment or the total loss to your family. The PACT Act and the Camp Lejeune Justice Act have opened new pathways for veterans to seek additional compensation. We have decades of experience helping veterans coordinate their VA benefits with civil legal claims.

9. What is a “B-Reading”?

In an asbestos case, a “B-Reader” is a specialized radiologist certified by NIOSH to detect mineral fibers in your lungs. A standard X-ray at a Ralls-area clinic might miss early signs of asbestosis. We send your scans to the nation’s top B-Readers to ensure your medical evidence is ironclad.

10. Does a smoking history disqualify my case?

No. Companies love to blame smoking. However, the science shows that while smoking causes its own issues, it does not cause mesothelioma. Furthermore, for lung cancer, the combination of asbestos and smoking creates a “synergistic” effect—meaning the company’s asbestos made your health risks 50 times worse. They are still liable for their portion of the harm.

Medical Resources for the City of Ralls and the High Plains

If you have been diagnosed with a toxic illness, you need world-class care. While the local providers in Crosby County are excellent for primary care, specialized toxic exposure diseases require academic research centers.

1. MD Anderson Cancer Center (Houston): Ranked #1 in the nation. They have a dedicated mesothelioma program and are the destination for Ralls residents seeking the most advanced clinical trials. https://www.mdanderson.org
2. UMC Health System (Lubbock): The nearest major medical hub for City of Ralls residents. UMC has a strong oncology division and participates in cutting-edge research. https://www.umchealthsystem.com
3. Covenant Health (Lubbock): Another high-tier resource for High Plains residents, offering comprehensive cancer center services. https://www.covenanthealth.org
4. Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (UTHealth): A NIOSH-funded center that specializes in documenting workplace hazards and their health impacts. https://sph.uth.edu/research/centers/scoeh/

Getting the right medical documentation is step one in your legal case. We often facilitate the transfer of records to specialist reviewers who understand the litigation requirements for toxic tort cases.

Check out the Attorney 911 guide on “Getting the Right Medical Help After an Injury”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SS2zvUDW8k

Why Attorney 911 is the Right Choice for the City of Ralls

You have a choice. There are “national” firms you see on television that will treat you like a number in a giant database. They sign thousands of clients and never return their phone calls.

Then there is Attorney 911. We are a boutique trial firm. When you call our office, you talk to people like Leonor, Amanda, and Melani, who treat our clients like the Ralls neighbors they are. You get direct access to Ralph Manginello. You get the tactical advantage of Lupe Peña.

We know the companies that operate in West Texas. We know the history of the Ralls industrial base. And we have the track record of success against Fortune 500 defendants.

As Chad H. shared in his Google review: “A true PITT BULL and fighter. He don’t play!… Atty. Manginello and I had DIRECT COMMUNICATION on my legal issue… You are FAMILY to them and they protect and fight for you… Thank you for being an advocate for us when we felt there was absolutely no hope!”

Don’t let a corporation that valued profits over your life stay silent. Make them pay for what they took from you and your family in the City of Ralls.

Our principal office is located in Houston, Texas, but our heart and our practice extend to the City of Ralls, Crosby County, and the entire Texas High Plains.

Call 1-888-ATTY-911 now for your free consultation.

Attorney Ralph Manginello discusses “Who Will Be Handling My Case?” in this video: https://share.transistor.fm/s/995adcb8

Your Recovery is Our Mission

We focus our practice on:

• Mesothelioma
• Benzene Leukemia (AML/MDS)
• Asbestosis & Silicosis
• Refinery & Chemical Plant Explosions
• Oil & Gas Burn & Crush Injuries
• Roundup & Paraquat Mass Torts
• Construction Accidents

Statutes of limitation are strict. Many trusts are approaching final asset distribution. If you wait, you may lose your right to recover forever. Call the 911 for legal emergencies. Call Attorney 911.

Free Consultation. No Fee Unless We Win.
Call 1-888-ATTY-911 today.
Principal Office: Houston, Texas.

Hablamos Español. Llame a Lupe Peña al 1-888-ATTY-911 para una consulta gratis. Su estatus migratorio NO afecta sus derechos legales. https://share.transistor.fm/s/692cfb1a