GALVESTON, Texas -- The deadly explosion at BP PLC's Texas City plant was a result of unsafe working conditions caused by the oil giant's appetite for profits, an attorney for four workers said Wednesday in the first trial stemming from the 2005 accident.

Brent Coon, an attorney for four contract workers suing BP for injuries they claim resulted because of the blast, told jurors during opening statements that BP was responsible for the accident because it ignored routine maintenance, overworked employees and failed to install safer equipment.

The March 23, 2005, explosion killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 others.

"This case is about knowingly putting people at risk," Coon said. "They cut too many corners unnecessarily to make profits they don't need, putting people at risk unnecessarily. That's wrong. They should be punished for that.

"It's about these people getting hurt. It's about all of the warnings that BP had that could have and should have avoided this from ever happening in the first place," he said.

But attorneys for BP said the oil company didn't knowingly put workers at risk. And they tried to cast doubt on whether the workers suing the company were actually injured as a result of the blast.

Otway Denny, a BP attorney, said while the company takes responsibility for what happened, it has always tried to provide a safe working environment.

"There will be no evidence there was a conscious indifference to the rights, safety and welfare of others," Denny said. "There is no evidence we knew a tragedy like this would occur."

The company's attorney said that the injury claims are not legitimate.

"He had no back pain, no cuts, no scratches, no blood, no bruises," Denny said.

The explosion at the plant, located about 40 miles southeast of Houston, occurred after a piece of equipment called a blowdown drum overfilled with highly flammable liquid hydrocarbons.

The excess liquid and vapor hydrocarbons were then vented from the drum and ignited as the isomerization unit -- a device that boosts the octane in gasoline -- started up. Alarms and gauges that were supposed to warn of the overfilled equipment didn't work properly.

Coon said the isomerization unit was in such a bad state of disrepair that it had become "a rust bucket." On a screen behind Coon was a photograph of a rusted bucket. Next to him was a scale model of the isomerization unit, which he pointed to as he talked to jurors.

"That one plant made a profit of almost $1 billion (in 2004). That's the kind of money big oil makes," he said. "In spite of (that) they didn't fix any of these problems."

The jury of eight women and four men was set to hear evidence related to five lawsuits. But one filed on behalf of the 6- and 11-year-old sons of Rene Cardona Sr., 26, from Baytown, was settled about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, said the boys' attorney, Robert Kwok. The terms of the settlement were confidential but Kwok said "the boys' future is financially secure."

Cardona was a contract worker for engineering and construction company Contech Control Service. He committed suicide six weeks after the blast. Kwok attributed his suicide to the emotional trauma Cardona experienced because of the accident.

About 1,350 of the thousands of lawsuits filed since the accident have been settled.

The 12-person panel of eight women and four men was chosen on Tuesday after three days of jury selection. Four alternates were also chosen for a trial that could last two months.

One of the first witnesses to testify, Lance Emord, a contract employee working near the blast site, told jurors how the explosion pushed him back 10 to 15 feet.

"People were running around screaming, crying. People were trampling over people, trying to get out of the way," said a teary Emord, who has a separate lawsuit pending against BP.

The plaintiffs in the four lawsuits, sitting in the courtroom's front row, cried during Emord's testimony.

The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, one of several agencies that probed the accident, found BP fostered bad management at the plant and that cost-cutting moves by BP were factors in the explosion.

An internal report by BP released in May said there was a culture at the plant that seemed to ignore risk, tolerated noncompliance and accepted incompetence.

Originally seven lawsuits were to be tried, but two were settled before jury selection began.

The plaintiffs in the four remaining lawsuits are:

Nara and David Wilson, both 44, from Santa Fe, Texas. The couple, who filed separate suits, worked for mechanical contracting company Altair Strickland.
Scott Kilbert, 48, from Bellville, an instrumentation supervisor for construction company JE Merit.
Rolando Bocardo, 41, from Baytown, an instrument fitter for JE Merit.

Attorneys for the Wilsons, Kilbert and Bocardo said their clients have suffered a variety of injuries, including back problems, hearing loss and post traumatic stress disorder.

BP attorney Kenneth Tekell told jurors that Kilbert never missed work because of his alleged back injury and Bocardo had injured his back and neck before the accident.

He also questioned the back and head injuries claimed by the Wilsons, suggesting they filed suit to finance their own furniture business.

"I don't believe they are entitled to the millions of dollars I believe they would be asking for," he said.

The blast has cost the company at least $2 billion in compensation payouts, repairs and lost profit.