As Featured In
Offshore oil rig accidents are so catastrophic that they often make international news. However, victims of these accidents typically have substantial damages, including the loss of a loved one, that they should be compensated for.
Our attorneys can take your case and fight to get you compensation for the medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering you face. Being injured on an offshore oil rig can result in serious harm. Treatment for your injuries might be delayed before you can be evacuated to a hospital on the mainland. Injuries received in oil accidents can also be quite severe, such as amputations, brain injuries, and burn injuries. If you or a loved one was injured while working on an offshore oil rig, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit to seek substantial compensation.
Call The Queenan Law Firm today at (817) 476-1797 for a free case review with our offshore oil rig accident and injury lawyers.
Suing for Injuries on an Offshore Oil Rig in Houston
If you were injured on an offshore oil rig, an oil ship, a barge, or any other oil vessel, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit for your injuries. Some land-based oil workers are required to file their case through Texas’ Workers’ Compensation system, and they may be unable to file a lawsuit and claim certain damages.
However, your case might be handled under maritime law, which protects your right to sue your employer or the owner of the oil rig or oil ship to seek compensation, specifically under the Jones Act encoded in 46 U.S.C § 30104, . The Jones Act gives a “seaman” the right to a trial by jury against their employer, and most oil rig workers are included in this definition. Basically, you have the right to opt out of state Workers’ Compensation coverage to sue the negligent party under federal law.
When you file a lawsuit for injuries, your case is usually based on a theory of “negligence.” In these cases, you aim to prove that your employer failed to follow some duty to keep you safe and prevent injury. This duty could be handed down through state or federal safety regulations, such as requirements that employers supply hard hats and proper safety training. Other duties could come from “common law” duties, such as the duty to warn of hidden dangers or repair dangerous defects on a vessel.
You must also prove that your employer’s breach of duty actually caused your injuries. If the injuries were unavoidable or a third party caused them, you may not be able to win a case against your employer. In cases where a third party is liable for injuries, such as in a defective product injury case, you may be able to sue that individual or company instead.
To receive damages for your injuries, you must be able to prove what damages you faced because of the accident. This means proving the cost of medical procedures, emergency medical transportation, rehabilitation, and other care you were billed for. If your injury was severe enough to cause you to miss work, you can prove the lost wages you faced by producing pay stubs, bank statements, and other financial records. You can also prove damages for pain and suffering, which is something you cannot usually receive through insurance or workers’ compensation.
Parties that Can Be Held Liable for an Offshore Oil Rig Accident and Injuries in Houston
Numerous companies can be responsible for the safe operations and machinery on an offshore oil rig. One company might own the rig, while a completely different company is responsible for operating it. Your employer might also be a separate company that can be held liable for failing to protect you from danger. Oil rigs also use some of the most dangerous and complex machinery in the world, which can contribute to an accident if a piece of equipment is negligently designed or manufactured. When our team reviews your case, we will identify any other parties who might have caused your injuries.
Oil Rig Owners and Operators
In the offshore oil industry, both companies that own the physical infrastructure and those that operate it share critical responsibilities for the safety and well-being of the crew members working it. While owners might have invested significant resources into the equipment and structure, operators are directly responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and ensuring safety standards are upheld. Lapses in infrastructure maintenance, routine inspections, or compliance with other safety regulations by either the owner or operator often result in serious offshore accidents.
When an accident happens, owners and operators are quick to put the blame on the other to escape liability and paying potentially exorbitant damages. One of the most infamous oil rig disasters in history, the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, exemplifies this issue perfectly.
Transocean, a Swiss-based drilling company, owned the platform, while British Petroleum (BP) oversaw the operations. Transocean blamed BP for the accident, while BP pointed the finger at Halliburton, one of the world’s largest energy companies headquartered in Houston. Ultimately, these companies and many others were sued by victims and the U.S. government, resulting in record-setting settlements.
If you were injured on an oil rig or lost a loved one offshore, our attorneys will most likely name several companies as defendants in your lawsuit.
Offshore Employers
Offshore employers in Houston have a responsibility to safeguard the well-being of their workers. This involves providing employees with the proper equipment and adequate safety training, among many other responsibilities. Additionally, employers must ensure that workers operate in a secure environment while carrying out their tasks, which includes getting their workers to and from the oil rig safely.
Employer negligence can take many forms. However, some employers intentionally cause accidents by cutting corners to save money. In some cases, they might not have hired enough workers for a particular job or overworked employees, making it easier for mistakes to happen. Some employers even encourage a lax attitude towards safety standards. Offshore employers are directly responsible for their workers, so they will most likely be included in a lawsuit with the owner and operator of the platform.
Manufacturers and Designers
Oil rig operators can have the best maintenance and inspection practices, but that still might not be enough to prevent an accident caused by a defective piece of equipment. Oil drilling machinery is already dangerous, but if a part is defective, it can lead to deadly accidents, such as when anchor support cables snap, causing the platform to shift.
Oil rig equipment might be negligently produced at the design stage, manufacturing process, or it lacks certain safety features, like safety guards and kill switches. For example, a manufacturer might use a metal for a drill or other rig equipment that is below the strength rating and quality level needed for the job, injuring workers when it malfunctions during use. In other cases, the designer negligently designed the part, making the equipment inherently dangerous. Our team can help determine where in the process the mistake occurred.
Other Parties
It takes many different workers to make an oil rig operate smoothly, and they can also be held liable if they contribute to your injuries. Perhaps you were injured on the boat transporting you to or from the rig because the captain or crew member was negligent. We will identify each liable party during your case investigation.
Common Injuries on Offshore Oil Rigs in Houston
The injuries that oil workers sustain are not always severe. Most accidents result in minor injuries or injuries that require only a few days off work. However, there are catastrophic accidents on offshore oil rigs each year that leave victims with permanent or life-altering injuries and scars. Our attorneys will explain some of the most common injuries, as well as some of the less common injuries that are usually associated with offshore oil rigs:
Brain Trauma and Head Injuries
Oil rigs are often wet and slippery, especially if excess oil leaks onto the deck. Falling while on duty or in the crew quarters can lead to serious head injuries and brain trauma. These injuries are also common in accidents where workers fall off ladders or other high places because of insufficient safety gear or dangerous safety practices or where falling objects strike workers.
Amputation and Crushing Injuries
Offshore oil workers often work with large pieces of equipment that need to be assembled and may require some force to operate. This produces a risk of having limbs, fingers, or other body parts caught between objects, which could crush or amputate them. Moving parts of other machinery and equipment also produce a risk of serious crushing injuries or amputation.
Burn Injuries from Fires and Explosions
Oil explosions and serious fires are rare, but burn injuries are more common than these catastrophes. Smaller fires can break out in kitchens and crew quarters, or workers can be burned by overheating machinery. However, catastrophic explosions and fires cause some of the most severe injuries on oil rigs.
Other injuries might include broken bones, cuts and scrapes, lacerations, back injuries, neck injuries, and other common types of physical injury.
Contact Our Houston Offshore Oil Drilling Lawyers for a Free Consultation on Your Injury Case
Call The Queenan Law Firm at (817) 476-1797 to speak with our offshore oil rig accident and injury lawyers and get your free case evaluation.