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Personal injury lawyers work to help injury victims and their families get compensation for serious accidents and injuries. The Queenan Law Firm’s injury lawyers fight for injured oil rig workers, working to get them compensation for medical benefits, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If your loved one was killed in an accident while working on an oil rig in Midland, Texas or the surrounding areas, our lawyers may also be able to help.
Our Midland oil rig accident attorneys offer free consultations to help our clients understand their right to file a claim, what damages they might be entitled to, and how their case might proceed. For help with your case, contact The Queenan Law Firm today to schedule your free, no obligations consultation. Our number is (817) 476-1797.
Offshore Oil Rig Accident Lawyers in Midland, TX
When you are injured in an offshore oil drilling accident, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit against your employer, the rig owner, and other responsible parties. Workers’ comp. rules typically require injured workers to file claims through those processes instead of in court. However, offshore workers are governed by federal maritime law, with laws like the Jones Act providing options for injured workers to sue.
When you are injured, you must prove the injuries and damages you face to get your case compensated. To build your case, your attorney will focus on proving these four major elements of the case:
- Duty – The at-fault party owed you a duty to keep you safe and prevent harm.
- Breach – The at-fault party failed to fulfill that duty, leading to your injuries.
- Causation – The at-fault party’s errors caused your injury and that it would not have occurred without their negligence.
- Damages – You must prove the injuries you faced and the costs associated with them to get compensation.
These four elements build a standard “negligence” lawsuit, which can be adapted to fit the specifics of your case.
For instance, many workplace injury cases deal with an employee’s failure to provide proper safety equipment. If your employer does not provide you with (or require you to wear) a hard hat, steel-toed boots, gloves, goggles or safety glasses, and other recommended safety gear, you might be able to sue them for injuries you face. The duty to provide you with these materials can be proved by looking at OSHA regulations and other safety standards. The breach can be proved by showing by your employer’s failure to provide you with the gear. The causation can be shown by detailing how the lack of safety gear lead to the injury.
The issue of damages is often a substantial issue your attorney can help you with.
Damages in an Oil Rig Injury Lawsuit
When you file for damages after an oil rig injury, you can claim any damages that resulted from the accident. That means claiming the full cost of any medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. If you lost a loved one in an oil rig accident, the damages you claim may be related to their lost income, end of life medical care, lost companionship, funeral and burial costs, and more.
To prove these damages, you can use any relevant information and records you have. Medical expenses can easily be shown by producing medical bills and bank statements showing the payments you made. The damages for lost wages can be shown by using pay stubs to show your typical wages and calculating the wages lost over your recovery period. Other economic damages can also be shown through financial statements and records.
Some of these damages go beyond what you already faced and deal with how you will continue to face damages in the future. If your injury keeps you from going back to work and you must take a lower-paying job or retire, you will have an ongoing reduced earning capacity. If your injury requires ongoing medical care or round-the-clock nursing, you could also claim future medical damages. Proving these injuries may be more difficult, but doctors and financial analysts can testify on your behalf as to how much this will cost in the future, and you can claim these damages as part of your case.
Some damages have no price tag on them, but you can still claim them in court. For instance, the damages you claim for pain and suffering or emotional distress cannot be proven with bills or bank statements. However, your testimony about how the injury affected your life, your physical abilities, and your enjoyment of certain activities can help prove high damages for pain and suffering or emotional distress.
Call to Schedule a Free Legal Consultation with our Midland Oil Rig Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one was injured in an accident on a drilling rig, contact the Midland offshore oil injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm today. Our attorneys offer free consultations to help you understand your case, and we keep these consultations completely confidential. For a free consultation on your case, contact our law offices today at (817) 476-1797.