Serious, catastrophic oil rig accidents like the Deepwater Horizon disaster are incredibly rare. However, more mild accidents and injuries in the workplace happen every day. Many of these are not worth worrying about, but some injuries are serious enough that you might need to miss work and pay expensive medical bills to get the care you need. The Dallas oil rig injury attorneys at The Queenan Law Firm discuss how common these injuries are and what you may be able to do to file a lawsuit for death or injuries from an oil accident.
How Many People Get Injured in Offshore Oil Accidents
Oil drilling is, statistically speaking, not as deadly as many people believe it to be. This is due partly to the fact that there are fewer employees in this industry than in other industries, like agriculture, transportation, or construction, which are the 3 deadliest industries according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The BLS statistics show that in 2016 there were around 89 fatalities in the “[m]ining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction” industry. This is the year with the most recent, full statistics, but previous years, particularly in 2003-2013, show higher numbers of deaths each year. In this period, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports there were a total of 1,189 deaths, which is around 108 deaths each year over those 11 years. This period is particularly important in these statistics since it was a huge period of growth for the oil industry.
Though there are less workers in this industry, the oil and natural gas extraction industry sees a higher rate of injuries than many other industries. For every 100,000 workers in the industry, there are 10.1 fatal injuries, according to the BLS. While agriculture and transportation still have the highest rates of fatal injury at 23.2 and 14.3, respectively, natural gas is tied with construction as the third most deadly industry by rate.
While these injuries may be low in number, they are high in impact. With the BLS reporting around 152,300 individual workers in the industry in July 2018, 89 deaths would mean about .058% of industry workers could die from workplace injuries. As of 2017, excluding geologists and engineers, there were about 17,190 pump operators, roustabouts, and other pumpers. Applying the 89 fatalities to these higher-risk workers, more like .51% of these workers could die from fatal accidents.
While these numbers discuss only deadly accidents, accidents involving other injuries are even more common. Accidents happen that can leave workers scarred or paralyzed, but those are not reported in these BLS statistics. Even less serious injuries like spinal cord injury are likely more common than these life-altering ones, but even more mild injuries like broken bones and concussions could still mean missing work and facing high medical costs for treatment.
What to Do After a Workplace Accident on a Drilling Platform
If you were injured in a workplace accident on an offshore oil rig, talk to an attorney about your case. Our Arlington TX personal injury lawyer at The Queenan Law Firm has helped hundreds of victims with their injury cases and may be able to take your case to court to get you the compensation you need.
If you faced high medical expenses, lost wages from missed work, and serious pain and suffering from your injuries, you may be able to file a claim against your employer or the rig owner for compensation. If a loved one was killed in an accident, our attorneys may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Dallas on your behalf to get you compensation for their end of life medical care, funeral and burial costs, their lost wages, and other financial issues your family suffered after the death.
Part of building a strong claim is working quickly. If there is evidence of the accident that needs to be collected or preserved for trial, filing your case quickly can get you the power to protect that evidence. Your Dallas work injury attorney can help determine what evidence you might need and ask the judge to subpoena evidence and witnesses, including testimony from coworkers who witnessed the accident, security footage of the event, logs and accident reports created in the course of business, and other evidence of your injuries.
Important evidence that you can save and collect includes any receipts of bills you receive because of the injury. Saving your medical bills, bank statements, pay stubs, and other proofs of payment can help you prove what your case is worth. In addition, you should record information about your pain and how the injury affected your life to help you prove “non-economic” damages for pain and suffering or emotional distress.
Call Our Dallas Oil Worker Injury Attorneys Today
The Queenan Law Firm’s Midland oil injury lawyers work to help injury victims and their families get the compensation they need for serious oil rig accidents. To schedule a free consultation with our Texas personal injury attorneys, call our law offices today at (817) 476-1797. There are no obligations and no cost for a consultation, so call today to find out what your case could be worth.