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The injury rate for oil workers is one of the highest in the country compared to other jobs. If you or a loved one works at an oil field, you could face on-the-job injuries from your employer’s negligence, dangerous conditions, faulty safety gear, and poor training. These injuries may entitle you to compensation through a negligence lawsuit.
Oil field workers can typically only sue their employers after opting out of the Workers’ Compensation system, and we can confirm whether or not you are covered at the beginning of your case. Suing your employer for negligence-based injuries could open the door to additional damages, like compensation for your pain and suffering. We can help victims as they prepare, file, and litigate claims for oil field accident injuries, which are often severe and particularly costly.
For a free case assessment from The Queenan Law Firm, call our oil field injury lawyers at (817) 476-1797.
Common Causes of Accidents at Oil Fields in Houston
There are dozens of safety regulations employers in the Texas oil industry must follow. These rules govern workplace conditions, training requirements, safety gear requirements, and other important safety concerns. If your employer permits unsafe practices at the oil field or fails to train and equip workers properly, they could be held liable for injuries you sustain.
Improper Training
One of the most common causes of oil worker injuries is negligent training or hiring. If your employer hires a dangerous worker or fails to properly train your co-workers (in a language they can understand), they may be liable for any harm the co-worker causes at work. Negligent or dangerous drivers, crane operators, derrickhands, or roughnecks can cause serious injuries to those around them if they improperly manage equipment or do not have the proper training.
Other problems on an oil rig may come from drug use, alcohol use, and working exceptionally long hours. These problems can make co-workers unnecessarily dangerous and cause serious accidents. Suppose your employer fails to screen for these issues or allows overworked and fatigued workers to continue their shifts. In that case, they could be liable for putting that worker and others around them at serious risk for injuries.
Falls
Many injuries on oil fields occur because of slip and fall injuries or falls from high heights. The risk of falling is always greater if the conditions in your workplace are hazardous. Your employer is responsible for ensuring that the oil field and any residential quarters or other areas are safe and free of hidden dangers that could injure you. Falls are also likely if you need to climb ladders or reach other high places while working. Your supervisor should ensure that someone is spotting you on a ladder and that you have proper safety gear, like a hard hat and any safety lines or harnesses that can protect you from falling. Failure to do so could lead to catastrophic falling accidents and injuries, which often include traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage.
Equipment Problems
Other accidents happen because of equipment problems. Surprisingly, transportation dangers from dangerous or unmaintained trucks and vehicles are a common cause of injury. Houston is between the Eagle Ford Shale and Haynesville/Bossier Shale oil formations, which collectively saw nearly 32,000 traffic accidents in the regions in 2023 because of the increased oil production activity and prevalence of large trucks in residential areas. Additionally, if heavy machinery or the drills and parts of the rig itself are not properly cared for, you could face serious injuries when trying to use the equipment during your daily work.
Equipment accidents could be an employer’s fault if they happen because of negligent maintenance. Other times, these accidents happen because of negligent production or design, making the equipment manufacturer liable for victims’ damages.
Safety Violations
Employers who do not heed safety regulations imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) could expose their employees to unnecessary dangers, significantly increasing the chances they suffer occupational injuries. Violating safety protocols and standards would make employers not protected by Workers’ Compensation liable for employee injuries. To prove employer liability in these cases, our lawyers must determine which safety regulations were violated and demonstrate how those violations directly caused plaintiffs’ injuries. This often requires eyewitness statements from fellow oil field workers, and our attorneys can obtain these statements soon after accidents. Frequent OSHA violations that lead to compensable injuries include failure to provide workers with the appropriate safety gear, failure to ensure structures are stable, and failure to ensure equipment is operational.
Post-Accident Procedures for Oil Field Injuries in Houston
How you handle an accident’s aftermath could affect your future lawsuit. While you are physically recovering in the hospital or at home, our lawyers can preserve important evidence and start laying the foundation for your case.
Serious accidents on oil fields often call for emergency response services. You can involve law enforcement and paramedics by calling 911. This can result in additional documentation of the incident, your injuries, and your employer’s involvement, so do not hesitate to involve the police. Broken bones, burns, and head injuries all require immediate medical attention, and paramedics can provide this at the scene and while transporting you to the hospital from the oil field.
Informing your employer about the accident immediately is also crucial. Because you may eventually file a lawsuit against them for compensation, refrain from discussing the incident in detail with your employer without our oil field injury lawyers present. Otherwise, you could misspeak and risk saying something your employer attempts twists into leverage for their comparative fault defense.
Prioritize your physical health and safety after an oil rig accident and go straight to the hospital. This will generate medical evidence showing your specific injuries, proving when you sustained them, and explaining the treatment you have received since the accident. Victims’ medical records may contain many, many documents, and our attorneys can ensure these records stay organized throughout their claims.
Suing for Injuries after an Oil Rig Injury or Oil Drilling Accident in Houston
After an oil field injury, prioritize speaking with our attorneys about your right to sue. Texas law allows workers to reject Workers’ Compensation and preserve their right to file lawsuits against negligent employers. However, if you accepted the Workers’ Compensation benefits offered at your job, you may have given up your right to sue. That said, if a third party’s negligence caused your recent accident and injuries on an oil field in Houston, you may be able to file a lawsuit against them.
Workers’ Compensation might limit the damages you can receive if you were seriously injured at work. This program typically pays a fraction of your lost wages. Though Workers’ Compensation also covers all related medical expenses after an injury, a lawsuit may allow you to claim full damages for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and, in the event of a loved one’s death, lost wages, funeral and burial expenses, and other damages.
To receive these damages, you must file a lawsuit in court and prove the case against your employer. Your attorney can help you prove that your employer violated some duty they owed you, which led to your injuries. The duty your employer violated can be related to their common law duties as a property owner, their duties as an employer (e.g., safety gear and training), or other duties. Our oil field injury lawyers must also prove that their errors directly caused your injuries and the full extent of your damages, which we can accomplish by providing evidence like medical bills, pay stubs, and bank statements.
Comparative Fault and Houston Oil Field Injury Lawsuits
When plaintiffs file injury lawsuits, juries consider the liability of all involved parties, including plaintiffs. Negligent equipment manufacturers or employers might argue comparative fault to evade full liability for victims’ injuries, and our attorneys can anticipate these arguments to ensure victims’ fair recoveries.
Oil fields can be somewhat hectic sites. When accidents happen, whether there is a major fire or a worker slips and falls due to hazardous conditions, there might be conflicting accounts from victims and their employers regarding what happened. Employers could argue that a worker was negligent themselves, minimizing their liability or erasing it altogether.
Texas is a modified comparative fault state, meaning victims may still get compensation even if they contribute to their injuries. However, their damages will be reduced proportionally to their percentage of negligence, according to Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.012(a). Furthermore, defendants who successfully argue a victim is more at fault for an oil field accident may convince judges to dismiss claims, blocking victims from getting compensation.
Our attorneys can respond to comparative fault arguments with evidence that eliminates questions about your liability, such as eyewitness testimony and statements from the appropriate experts.
Call Our Houston Attorneys About Your Oil Field Accident Injuries
Call The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 to discuss your case for free with our oil field injury lawyers today.