Oil Field Injury Lawyers in Arlington, Texas

Oilfield refinery explosion victims may need help with legal recourse in Arlington Texas. 

Texas employs thousands of workers as the oil industry continues to grow due to the improvement of extraction techniques and the high demand for oil.  Oil field companies hire a wide range of employees with varying skill sets that may impact the incidence of oilfield explosions in Arlington. Even with the decreased demand for oil in 2020, the U.S. still consumed over 18 million barrels of petroleum and petroleum products daily.  Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health claims that a person working in the oil, or gas industry is six times more likely to die on the job than any other American worker.  Oilfield injury lawyers at the Cooper Law Firm will be able to assist oil refinery accident victims in Arlington Texas utilizing personal injury laws and the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statutes to support case building efforts

Oil field explosions.

Glitches with machinery, or equipment may be the proximate cause of refinery explosions and fires due to weaknesses in pipes, or pumps, or some part that is malfunctioning.  Oilfield accident victims must show the court that the cause of the explosion was something that their employer was responsible for, such as a failure to upkeep and maintain specialized site equipment.  Federal and state agencies typically investigate the cause of explosions and fires at oil refineries, and explosion victims may be able to use the evidence they have collected to prove the cause of the explosion.  In certain cases an accident victim may need to sue a parts manufacturer if the fault is determined to fall upon equipment malfunction.

Employers may be sued for damages after an oil refinery explosion if negligence can be proven regarding employee training, lack of, or improper safety gear, mistakes in facility upkeep and other negligent operational problems that lead to the accident.  Oilfield injury attorneys will build a case after a review of all federal and state reports, medical reports, and expert damage valuations related to the accident.

Dangerous oil field job positions.

Working at an oilfield is a dangerous job, and deviations from standard requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can lead to disastrous outcomes for workers. Negligence is often the cause for work site accidents at oilfields including gas pipeline explosions, industrial vehicle accidents, silica exposure, other chemical exposures, and collapsing rigs.  Dangers leading to explosion may be increased when employers do not take the time to properly train the important onsite positions including:

Oil Driller The “Driller” usually has years of experience and is responsible for the entire drilling operation.  They monitor day-to-day operations, build crews, and take charge of personnel matters.

The Automatic Driller is the person responsible for actually operating the drilling platform and monitoring gas levels at each stage of the operation and reporting to the driller whenever a suspected safety issue arises.  The Driller is then charged with assessing the situation and taking preventive measures to ensure a catastrophic event does not occur.

The Roughneck  is a generic term used to describe the laborers working on, or around the rig that include:

  • the roustabout responsible for cleaning the rig,
  • the tool pusher who puts in 8-12 hour days and makes sure the rig is supplied with necessities to conduct daily operation and supervises personnel, and
  • the derrick hand responsible for greasing the machinery throughout the drilling process.

Working with oil and natural gas is inherently dangerous due to the combustible and volatile nature of these compounds. It is important for each oilfield worker to do their job to avoid accidents from explosions that cause severe injury at the job site.  Consultation with oilfield injury lawyerr is prudent after an accident occurs.

Work site accidents.

Oilfield workers are exposed to many dangers utilizing heavy machinery, working with large unstable compression valves, toxic chemicals, and electrical components specific to big rigging.  Supervisors and maintenance managers owe employees the duty of patrolling work areas regularly to make sure there are no deviations from safety standards, and to check for naturally-occurring dangers related to weather changes, or aging equipment.

Experienced oilfield attorneys can assist oilfield explosion accident victims when deviation from work safety standards causes harms related to gas explosion blasts that harm employees and can injure persons who are at a significant distance from the initial blast site.  Apart from the dangers of explosions that include severe burns, lung damage from smoke inhalation, brain injury and broken bones, or internal body damage if falls from rigging equipment occur, electrocution may also injure workers after being thrown against defective equipment in the blast.

Damages.

Damage compensation will consider substantial medical bills for surgery, skin grafts, rehabilitation, physical therapy and subsequent medical treatment along with necessary financial support for lost wages and permanent injury that may prevent a worker from going back to the job.

Negligence.

Negligent parties to an oilfield explosion accident can include a single worker, but more often there are shortcomings in inspections and maintenance that lead to accidents at Arlington oil refineries.  Liability can fall on to companies, supervisors, equipment suppliers, parts manufacturers, a parent company for failure to train workers, and/or individuals working on site.

Wrongful death accidents.

Oilfield accidents are generally catastrophic events that can cause severe and lasting detriment through injury to workers including illness, broken bones, burns, brain damage and wrongful death. Wrongful death proceedings are more involved and require the assistance of a legal professional.  Arlington wrongful death lawyers can guide the loved ones of oilfield explosion victims toward compensation to cover medical expenses incurred up to the time of death, funeral and burial expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and punitive damages.

Individuals who have been injured in an Arlington oilfield explosion should contact a competent legal professional in Texas, who has successfully handled and settled many oilfield injury cases with good results. Cooper Law Firm lawyers can objectively speak on an Arlington accident victim’s behalf in a courtroom, and work toward damage recovery through workers’ compensation claims and insurance settlements, or court awards.

Cooper Law Firm
N. Eric Cooper
Address: Arlington, TX

Telephone ; (903) 297-0037
Toll-Free: 1-855-297-HURT (4878)
Facsimile: (903) 236-0035

Sources:

https://www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/index.html

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.101.htm

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.127.htm

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/CP/htm/CP.33.htm

https://www.tdi.texas.gov/reports/report4.html