Cole, Cole, Easley, and Sciba Trial Attorneys can help if you live in Victoria but were injured while working on an offshore drilling operation. Offshore drilling is some of the most demanding work in the oil and gas industry. You’re dealing with massive equipment, high-pressure systems, dangerous machinery, long shifts, and conditions that can change quickly. That opens the door to a lot of accident situations. We can help you through it. Set up a free consultation today
When a Lawyer Makes Sense After an Offshore Drilling Accident
Working on an offshore drilling rig already comes with a lot of challenges before you even reach the jobsite. You’re away from home, working long hours, and dealing with dangerous conditions every day. Then when you’re injured, those challenges become even harder.
Suddenly, you’re not just dealing with pain and recovery. You’re also wondering how you’re going to pay your bills, when you can return to work, and whether your employer is going to do the right thing. That’s usually when having a lawyer on your side starts to make sense. Our team can help you by:
- Laying out your legal options and what rights you might have
- Looking into what caused your drilling accident
- Figuring out who all might be responsible for your injuries
- Getting important evidence and other information before it disappears
- Handling the back-and-forth with your employer, insurance companies, and anyone else involved
- Guiding you through the claims process to get the financial support you need while you recover
Unfortunately, your injury is just the start of the confusion. As you get deeper into the process, questions continue to come up. But with our team on your side, you don’t have to go through it alone.
What Kind of Offshore Drilling Work Is Common Around Victoria?
Victoria is home to many workers who support offshore oil and gas operations throughout the Gulf. While you may live in Victoria or the surrounding area, your job may take you miles offshore doing different types of work where you come into contact with:
- High-pressure drilling systems
- Rotating equipment and moving machinery
- Heavy pipe, tools, and materials
- Cranes and lifting operations
- Flammable materials and hazardous chemicals
- Long shifts and extended offshore rotations
- Limited access to immediate medical care
Just because offshore drilling is dangerous doesn’t mean every accident is unavoidable. Many serious injuries happen through:
- Drilling equipment failures because there have been improper inspections, ignored concerns, or poor maintenance.
- Blowouts and pressure problems because warning signs were missed, pressure issues weren’t properly managed, or safety procedures weren’t followed.
- Pipe and equipment failures because worn or damaged equipment was used without proper testing, inspection, or replacement.
- Lifting accidents because proper rigging procedures weren’t followed, loads weren’t secured correctly, or workers were rushed through the process.
- Rig floor accidents because dangerous machinery wasn’t properly guarded, work areas weren’t maintained, or safety hazards were ignored.
- Falls from height because workers weren’t provided proper fall protection, safety equipment wasn’t maintained, or required procedures weren’t followed.
- Fires and explosions because gas leaks, equipment problems, or other fire hazards weren’t found and addressed.
- Chemical and gas exposure because monitoring systems failed, safety equipment wasn’t available, or workers weren’t properly protected from hazardous materials.
- Poor maintenance because repairs were delayed, equipment problems were overlooked, or keeping operations running was prioritized over safety.
- Lack of training or supervision because workers weren’t given the proper instruction, support, or oversight needed to safely perform their jobs.
- Crew fatigue because workers were pushed through long shifts, extended rotations, or schedules that increased the risk of mistakes.
Offshore drilling will always involve risks, but what most of these kinds of things have in common is that the people in charge put production over protecting you and the rest of your coworkers. It’s frustrating, but there are ways you can get help. And that starts with getting good information.
What Information Can Help Me After an Offshore Drilling Accident?
Right after an offshore drilling accident, the last thing you’re probably thinking about is gathering evidence. You’re focused on the things that matter most: getting medical help, understanding your injuries, and making sure you’re safe. That’s exactly where your focus should be.
Before anything, though, the first step is reporting the accident to someone in charge so you can get first aid and other medical care you need. After that, if you’re able, try to get a few basic details about what happened, like:
- Pictures or videos of the accident scene, the equipment involved, the area where you were injured, any safety hazards, and your visible injuries.
- Specific details about the accident, like the date, time, location, and exactly what you were doing when you got hurt.
- Names and contact information of coworkers who saw what happened or helped you afterward. The same goes for anyone higher up, like supervisors, toolpushers, company representatives, or safety personnel that helped you.
Sometimes you’ll be able to get these things on your own, but again, your main focus should be your health and safety. And once you’re back onshore or recovering in the hospital, things will begin to settle down. In the days and weeks, after, though, more helpful things will start to become available, like:
- Medical records and treatment information linking your injuries to the accident itself, as well as your ongoing treatment and any prognosis.
- Pay records and missed rotations, lost income, reduced hours, and overtime you can no longer work.
- Texts, emails, and other messages with supervisors, managers, safety personnel, or company representatives.
- Pictures of your injuries as they heal and progress.
If your injuries are serious enough that you can’t collect all of this yourself, don’t worry. Start with what you can—medical records, basic details about what happened, and information from anyone who witnessed the accident. Our team can step in later to get internal company records and surveillance footage in some cases. This information won’t make or break your claim, but it will give you a solid foundation moving forward. And it’s important for another reason: figuring out who might be responsible.
How Legal Responsibility Works in an Offshore Drilling Accident
After an offshore drilling accident, one of the biggest questions is figuring out who is responsible. You might know what happened, and while that can point you in the right direction, an offshore drilling site has a lot of moving parts.
At the end of the day, though, it still comes down to one important question: did someone fail to take reasonable steps to keep workers safe? Depending on what caused your accident, responsibility may fall on:
- The drilling company or rig operator if they didn’t maintain a safe work environment, enforce safety procedures, or address known hazards.
- Supervisors, toolpushers, or managers if they pressured workers to rush, ignored safety concerns, or allowed unsafe practices to go on.
- Other contractors working on the rig if their actions, mistakes, or unsafe work practices caused your injury.
- Equipment makers or suppliers if defective drilling equipment, faulty tools, or unsafe materials caused the accident.
- Maintenance companies if they failed to properly inspect, repair, or maintain critical equipment before it was put back into operation.
In many offshore drilling accidents, responsibility doesn’t stop with just one company. For example, a piece of drilling equipment may fail because it wasn’t properly maintained, but if a supervisor knew there was a problem and still required workers to use it, that brings in the company that the supervisor works for. That obviously makes these cases more complicated, but it can also create more options for getting the financial support you need after a serious injury.
How Do I Get Financial Help After an Offshore Drilling Accident?
When you’re hurt on the job at an offshore drilling site, it might not feel like you have options, but you do. This is largely thanks to federal regulations like the Jones Act. This is a federal law that, among other things, says that workers are protected from someone else’s negligence on the job.
That means, just like an accident outside of work, you can:
- File an insurance claim outside of court
- File a personal injury lawsuit.
The idea is the same—you’re trying to get financial help for what you’ve lost. These are your “damages” and they can include:
- Medical expenses related to your injury
- Lost wages and reduced earning ability
- Future medical treatment
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Permanent disability
- Other costs connected to your recovery
- Wrongful death expenses in fatal accidents
Because they happen on the job, there’s also further benefits that you can get through what’s called “Maintenance and Cure.” This works a little differently, but generally serves the same purpose that workers’ comp insurance might. To get these benefits, you have to:
- Report your injury to the company within seven days.
After that, you can start getting benefits relating to your:
- Doctor visits and medical treatment
- Medication and rehabilitation
- A portion of your living expenses while you’re unable to work
Remember, there’s certain deadlines in place. Generally, you have up to three years to file a claim. But as with other accidents, it’s usually better to act sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the more time there is for injuries to heal, witnesses to move on, and information and evidence to disappear.
Cole, Cole, Easley, and Sciba Helps Workers Injured in Offshore Drilling Accidents in Victoria, TX
An offshore drilling accident can turn your life upside down. You may be facing serious injuries, missed work, mounting medical bills, and questions about how you’re going to move forward.
At Cole, Cole, Easley, and Sciba Trial Attorneys, we help injured offshore drilling workers understand their rights, investigate what went wrong, and hold the responsible parties accountable. We’re here to help you figure out what comes next. Set up a free consultation today.
