Business is booming in the oil & gas industry, but some workers pay the price with their lives. The dangerous mix of machinery and explosive fuel has led to thousands of injuries and deaths.
Need a Texas Oil & Gas Worker Injury Lawyer? Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged. If you or a loved one was injured on the job, you should contact our lawyers immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a lawsuit.
C&J Energy Services Pays $2 Million After Welder’s Death
In August 2019, a federal judge ordered Houston-based C&J Energy Services to pay $2.1 million in fines and victim restitution after a man died in North Dakota when he attempted to weld inside an uncleaned tanker trailer that carried highly-flammable chemicals. Click here to read more.
Other Oil Field Accidents & Settlements
- January 2020 — 3rd Man Dies in Tragic Oil Well Blowout Near Caldwell, Texas
- November 2019 — Texas Oil Worker Critically Injured in Midland Oilfield Fire
- March 2019 — Texas Oil Company Pays $1.6 Million Settlement to Worker’s Family
- March 2019 — 2 Men Injured in Oil Rig Explosion in Wyoming
- March 2019 — Death of an oil worker who hit and killed by a pipe.
- May 2018 — Oil refinery explosion in Wisconsin
- April 2018 — 5 Dead in Quinton, Oklahoma gas rig explosion
What is the problem?
The oil boom has been great for Texas, with lots of high-paying jobs available. Unfortunately, as oil companies rush to maximize profits, the number of serious injuries has skyrocketed. Working in the oil & gas industry is an inherently dangerous job — but that doesn’t give oil companies the right to cut corners on safety to boost profits.
Types of Injury Lawsuits
Our lawyers take all types of serious injury claims, including slip and fall injuries, brain and spinal cord trauma, paralysis, burns, hot sludge injuries, electrocutions, broken bones, scarring or disfigurement, amputation, vehicle accidents, and more. We also handle legal claims arising from the wrongful death of oil and gas field accidents.
Types of Oil Field Accidents
- Pipeline explosions
- Oil spills
- Gas leaks
- Fire
- Explosions
- Hit by falling objects
- Falls
- Crushed by machinery
- Toxic chemical exposure
- Blowouts
- Pipeline accidents
- Motor vehicle accidents
- And more
How Can an Injury Attorney Help?
We specialize in protecting the rights of Texas oil & gas workers who were injured on the job. If you decide to file a lawsuit, we can help gather evidence, prepare and file all the necessary legal paperwork, and represent your legal and financial interests in a court of law.
Statistics on Oil & Gas Worker Deaths
The oil & gas extraction industry has an annual occupational fatality-rate of 27.5 deaths per 100,000 workers, which is more than 7-times higher than the rate of all workers in the United States. From 2003 to 2009, there were 716 oil and gas workers killed on the job, mostly due to highway vehicle accidents (29%), being hit by tools or equipment (20%), explosions (8%), crushed by machinery (7%), and falls (6%).
Source: OIL AND GAS EXTRACTION – Occupational Safety and Health Risks
Oil Rig Blowouts
Oil rig blowouts are serious accidents that occur when an oil-drilling operation hits a high-pressure zone of crude oil or natural gas. This suddenly releases the pressure and causes the oil to rise to the surface with uncontrollable force, often destroying the oil-drilling equipment and sparking a fire or explosion that injures or kills workers. Blowouts occur as a result of failing to monitor an oil well pressure or respond, failure to maintain or fix equipment, failure to use a blowout preventer, and negligence in employee hiring, training, or supervision.
Oil & Gas Fires and Explosions
Oil & gas workers are exposed to massive amounts of highly-flammable substances, including methane, benzene, and other gases. Just a single spark or electrical short-circuit can ignite an uncontrollable fire that destroys the entire operation. The supervisors are responsible for doing their best to prevent fires and explosions. Even so, fires frequently occur as a result of carelessness, poor maintenance, defective equipment, failing to ensure that a pipeline is properly sealed, faulty shut-off valves, and negligent supervision.
Hydro-Fracking Accidents
Hydraulic fracturing (“hydro-fracking”) is a drilling technique that involves injecting a mixture of toxic chemicals and water deep underground. The process breaks up the rocks to allow the drilling company to extract crude oil and natural gas from deep underground. The wastewater is then removed and re-injected into disposal wells. It can be extremely dangerous and serious accidents occur as a result of blowouts, dangerous or defective equipment, inadequate safety precautions, and exposure to the toxic chemicals in fracking fluids.
Offshore Oil Rig Accidents
Working on an offshore drilling rig in the ocean is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. In addition to the normal hazards of drilling, offshore rigs can also collapse, sink, or capsize as a result of blowouts or fires. They are also vulnerable to serious damage in hurricanes and storms. Fires on an offshore rig are also extremely dangerous because they spread quickly and workers may not be able to escape. Workers who fall off a catwalk may be swept out to sea.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of work-related fatalities in the oil and gas industry. There were 202 oil and gas workers who died in a work-related motor vehicle crash from 2003 to 2009. The fatality-rate was 8.5-times higher for workers in this industry compared to all other workers, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many of the deaths occurred in light-duty trucks where they were not wearing a seatbelt.
Need an Oil & Gas Worker Injury Lawyer in Texas?
Collen A. Clark is a true advocate for his clients and is passionate about helping Texans that have been injured or wronged.
Collen’s amazing success in the courtroom and well known dedication to his clients has earned him the recognition of his peers as one of The Top Trial Lawyers in Texas.”
The Clark Firm has assembled a team of trial lawyers with more than 100 years experience, participation in over 600 jury trials and $260 million in verdicts and/or settlements. Please use the form below to contact our Texas oil & gas worker injury lawyers for a free lawsuit review.
To contact us for a free review of your potential case, please fill out the form below or call us toll free 24 hrs/day by dialing: