Cole, Cole, Easley and Sciba Trial Attorneys can help you if you’ve been injured in an oilfield accident in Texas. Working in an oilfield is a daily reality for a lot of people in Texas, so you’re probably already pretty aware of how dangerous it can be. However, that doesn’t mean that every accident is just that. When there’s negligence involved, it can mean a lot of different problems for you and your family. Our team will be there to support you through it. Set up a free consultation today.
Does It Make Sense to Get a Lawyer?
Because it happens while you’re at work, an injury in an oilfield is especially concerning. Not only do you have to deal with your injuries and all the problems that they bring, but there’s the added stress of worrying about how your bosses will approach things now.
Basically, you’re dealing with a double-edged sword. That’s why it usually makes sense to at least talk to our lawyers if you’re in this situation. When you do, we can:
- Look into exactly what happened and who might be responsible
- Gather the evidence your claim needs and put it all together
- Handle the back-and-forth with your employer, contractors, and insurance companies
So yes, this is a situation nobody wants to be in. But with oilfield work, it can happen easily. When it does, our team can give you the space you need to catch your breath and focus on getting back to your routine.
What a Non-Subscriber Oilfield Accident Means For You
As a worker, your rights and options aren’t necessarily any different when you’re injured at work in an oilfield. But there’s an important caveat here: your employer might choose to be a “non-subscriber.” Basically, that means they:
- Choose not to participate in Texas’ workers’ compensation system.
That doesn’t mean your employer doesn’t provide workers’ comp at all, although that’s usually how things work. If you happen to work for a company that provides their own workers’ comp coverage, then you can use that to get policy benefits as you heal.
But usually, it just means that if you want to get financial help for what’s happened to you, you have to go through the standard injury claims process. And that works the same way it does if the accident happens outside of work, where you can either:
- File an insurance claim outside of court
- File a personal injury lawsuit in civil court
That’s the first part of the equation. The other is your own particular “damages”, which come out of your:
- Medical expenses
- Future medical treatment
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
Given how serious oilfield accidents can be, this financial help is usually pretty important to getting your life back on track. At the same time, though, there’s a lot of moving parts with a typical accident. That can make it difficult to answer important questions about what happened and who has to pay for it. But it’s possible with certain information.
Information That Can Help After an Oilfield Accident
No matter how experienced you are, an injury can happen in an oilfield in a split-second. At that point, it’s not about anything other than:
- Reporting the accident to someone in charge and getting medical care.
Everything else flows from that, including what information you should try to get. Typically, it’s best to just try to get a few basics like:
- Pictures or videos of where the accident happened, the equipment involved, unsafe conditions, or your injuries.
- Names and contact information for coworkers, supervisors, contractors, or anyone else who saw what happened.
That’s about as much as you need at the scene, and you shouldn’t push through injuries to try to get them. Then, in the coming days, it’s also a good idea to keep track of any:
- Emails and text messages with your employer, insurance company, or other people involved.
- Incident reports or other paperwork from your employer or the company running the jobsite.
- Information about the equipment involved, including machinery, tools, vehicles, or other equipment that may have played a role in what happened.
- Information about the jobsite, including who you worked for, who was running the site, and what other companies were working there.
- Pictures that show how your injuries are healing or getting worse.
- Notes about your recovery, including pain, doctor’s appointments, missed work, and things you can’t do because of the injury.
You don’t have to have all of this figured out before you talk to us. Most people don’t. Even if all you have right now are a few pictures, some medical records, and a basic idea of what happened, that’s a place to start.
How Liability Works in an Oilfield Accident
One of the biggest questions after an oilfield accident is figuring out who’s actually responsible. That’s a difficult question in this type of environment because there’s so many different companies and people working in the same oilfield.
And this is also where your employer being a non-subscriber matters. If there’s no workers’ comp, it’s a personal injury claim. And with a personal injury claim, liability comes down to negligence. In this type of situation, that means:
- Someone had a responsibility to act with reasonable care.
- They failed to meet that responsibility.
- Their actions led to the accident or your injuries.
- You suffered actual losses because of what happened.
That’s the legal standard, but again, it’s a lot murkier in real life. That means liability typically falls on some combination of:
- Employers that failed to provide a reasonably safe place to work or failed to address a known hazard.
- Corporations and ownership responsible for the jobsite, equipment, or overall operation.
- Contractors or subcontractors that did—or failed to do—something that led up to the accident.
- Companies that made or sold defective machines, tools, or other products that played a role in your injuries.
- Maintenance companies if equipment wasn’t properly inspected, repaired, or maintained.
- Private property owners if a dangerous condition on the property led to the accident.
- Trucking or transportation companies that were involved in an accident with their truck, tanker, or other vehicles.
- Supervisors or individual workers whose actions or failure to act caused your injuries.
It’s easy to see why these types of accidents are so complicated when it comes to figuring out liability. With so many moving parts and responsibilities, it’s easy to feel like you’re lost in the shuffle. You’re not, but at the same time, it is worth looking at what happened.
What Types of Oilfield Accidents Happen in Texas?
Just because oilfield work is dangerous doesn’t mean every accident is unavoidable. Sometimes, an accident happens because someone failed to take reasonable steps to keep workers safe. Maybe equipment wasn’t maintained. Maybe someone wasn’t properly trained. Maybe a known hazard was ignored.
In other words, negligence can add to the risks you and your coworkers already face—or sometimes be the reason the accident happens in the first place. That leads to accidents from:
- Equipment that wasn’t properly maintained or inspected and ended up breaking, malfunctioning, or causing an injury.
- Unsafe conditions on the jobsite that exposed workers to fall hazards, moving equipment, or other dangers that should have been addressed.
- Poor training or supervision that left workers without the information or direction they needed to do the job safely.
- Equipment or materials that weren’t properly secured and ended up falling, shifting, or striking someone.
- Unsafe vehicle or equipment practices involving trucks, forklifts, cranes, or other machinery moving around the jobsite.
- Failure to properly control high-pressure equipment or protect workers from a sudden release of pressure.
- Failure to properly warn or protect workers from chemicals, gases, or other toxic substances.
- Electrical hazards that weren’t identified or properly controlled before work began.
- Unsafe staffing or work practices that made an accident more likely.
- Long shifts or excessive fatigue that led to unsafe decisions or working conditions.
Remember, these are risks that come with virtually every oilfield in Texas. That doesn’t make what you’re going through any easier, nor does it take away your rights. You shouldn’t have to pay for somebody else’s carelessness or negligence, and with our team on your side, you don’t have to.
Cole, Cole, Easley and Sciba Can Help After an Oilfield Accident in Texas
Getting hurt in the Texas oilfield can affect just about every part of your life. One day you’re focused on doing your job and providing for your family, and the next you’re dealing with doctor appointments, missed paychecks, and questions about whether you’ll even be able to return to the same work. You don’t have to figure all of that out by yourself.
Our Texas oilfield accident lawyers at Cole, Cole, Easley and Sciba Trial Attorneys can explain your options, look into what happened, figure out who may be responsible, and help you pursue the compensation you may be entitled to. Set up a free consultation today.
