HOUSTON, March 25 (Reuters) - A man who said he was

injured in an explosion at Valero Energy's ( VLO ) Port Arthur,

Texas refinery on Monday night filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in a

state district court alleging the company failed to properly

maintain the refinery.

The lawsuit filed in the Jefferson County District Court in

Beaumont, Texas, seeks more than $1 million in damages.

A Valero spokesperson had no immediate comment on Wednesday

night.

In a filing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

on Tuesday, Valero said: "An unforeseeable release of process

fluid in Complex 2 resulted in an ignition event and multiple

process unit upsets."

Jonathan Jaimes was at the Port Arthur refinery when a

diesel hydrotreater exploded, shaking homes as far as 11 miles

(18 km) away from the plant on the east Texas border with

Louisiana.

"(Jaimes) played no role in the tasks or events leading to

the explosion. The blast and heat from the fire of the explosion

caused (Jaimes) to be thrown to the ground and injured, as a

result of the explosion," according to the lawsuit.

Jaimes sustained injuries to his back, neck and spine and

other parts of his body, the lawsuit said. He also suffers from

post-traumatic stress disorder.

"This was not an unavoidable accident - it was the result of

gross negligence and a flagrant disregard for worker safety,"

Kyle Findley, an attorney at Arnold & Itkin, which is

representing Jaimes, said in an emailed statement.

"Valero had awareness of the risks at this facility and

chose to ignore them," Findley said. "When a company shows that

kind of disregard for the safety of its workers and the

surrounding community, it must be held accountable."

Jaimes declined to comment, when approached through a

spokesperson at law firm Arnold & Itkin.