San Antonio Oil Field Injury Attorney
Oil field workers, offshore oil rig workers, and others working in the gas and oil industry face a multitude of dangers daily in the workplace. With shifts up to 12 hours or more, these workers are at severe risk for accidents and injuries due to fatigue and drowsiness. Unpredictable weather events and conditions and dangerous work duties also increase the potential for oil and gas-related accidents. Sadly, many of these accidents end with devastating consequences for these workers and their families.
Whether you work in a facility in or near San Antonio or elsewhere, you deserve to work in a safe environment. When oil and gas companies fail to provide for their workers’ safety or other parties are negligent, accidents can and do happen.
Unfortunately, they are substantial when they occur in this type of industry. The good news is that a San Antonio oil field injury attorney is available and ready to help you fight for the compensation you deserve. If you or a family member suffered an oil and gas accident injury, don’t delay reaching out for help.
About the Wyatt Law Firm
Since its inception over three decades ago, the Wyatt Law Firm has recovered over one billion dollars in injury compensation in case results for our injured clients. We help oil field injury clients across the entire state of Texas and the nation, in addition to San Antonio.
With a passion for justice and decades of trial experience, our lawyers aren’t afraid to stand up to oil and gas companies and their insurance carriers to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
At the Wyatt Law Firm, you can count on us to:
- Know the different players in the oil and gas industry that might have caused your injuries
- Know how to identify defective equipment that might have harmed you
- Know how to investigate and identify the many different possible causes of accidents and injuries
- Have an extensive network of experts ready to investigate oil field accidents
- Help to prove the cause of your injuries
Here are just a few of the ways our seasoned oil field injury attorneys can help during the insurance claim process:
- Research and determine if there are different sources of liability, such as third-party negligence claims
- Calculate the value of your damages
- Communicate and negotiate with third-party insurers to get the highest possible settlement offer
Some of our recent oil field injury successes include:
- $3.9 million for a client injured due to a fire and explosion from highly flammable vapors
- $1.383 million for a client who suffered thoracic and lumbar spine fusion due to an industrial accident
- $1.178 million for a client who sustained a severe head injury in an oil field accident
However, always keep in mind that every case is unique. As such, past results are not a promise or indication of what you can recover for your damages. The best way to get an idea of how much your injuries are worth is to consult our legal team directly.
Common Oil & Gas Accidents
Oil and gas is a significant industry in San Antonio. For example, the San Antonio area alone contains 9,809 drilled wells and 38 producing operators.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports approximately 27 fatalities for every 100,000 oil and gas workers, and many other workers are severely injured. Why are workers in this industry suffering injuries, some fatally, so frequently?
Many factors make the oil and gas industry an inherently risky one for those who work there. These jobs entail long shifts, the use of heavy equipment and dangerous machines, and various weather conditions that all contribute to accidents. Negligence is often another factor. When workers and employers don’t follow proper safety protocols, disastrous accidents can happen. Lack of appropriate training and supervision, adequate safety equipment, and poorly maintained or outdated equipment also puts workers at a higher risk of accidents and injuries.
Common oil and gas accidents include:
- Exposure to harmful/toxic substances
- Slip and falls
- Transportation accidents
- Faulty tools
- Fires and explosions
- Defective machinery and equipment
No matter how your accident occurred or even if you aren’t sure what caused it, an experienced San Antonio oil field injury lawyer can help. We have the tools and resources necessary to determine what caused your accident and who should be held accountable for your injuries.
Injuries from Oil and Gas Industry Accidents
Any of these accidents can lead to catastrophic injuries that have far-reaching and life-long implications.
Potential injuries from oil and gas accidents include:
- Burns
- Broken bones
- Accidental amputation
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Spinal cord injuries (SCI)
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Crush injuries
- Severe lacerations and abrasions
- Internal organ damage
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Drowning
- Long-term illness
- Hearing and vision loss
- Death
Legal Options for Injured Texas Workers
Our San Antonio oil field injury attorneys understand the challenges that injured oil field workers face after suffering a severe workplace injury. We work hard to pursue all compensation available to our clients. Depending on several factors, you have different legal options for handling your claim.
Workers’ Compensation
If the company you work for subscribes to the Texas workers’ compensation system, you might be eligible to file a claim for medical and lost wage benefits. Workers’ compensation benefits should pay for all of your accident-related medical expenses and replace a portion of the income you cannot earn due to your disability.
Keep in mind that many oil and gas companies don’t subscribe to the Texas workers’ compensation program. You can bring a personal injury or wrongful death claim directly against your employer if your employer doesn’t have coverage.
Third Party Liability Lawsuit
If someone other than an employer or co-worker caused the oil or gas accident that injured you or resulted in the death of a loved one, you can file a claim against the third party. If successful, this type of claim can result in compensation beyond what workers’ compensation provides, such as compensation for pain and suffering.
If you need to file a third party liability lawsuit, you need a lawyer who can establish their negligence before you can recover compensation. Establishing negligence of a contractor, equipment manufacturing company, or anyone else isn’t easy, which is why injured victims turn to our San Antonio oil field injury attorneys for help. Determining the cause of an accident or injury on the oil field alone demands our significant resources and investigative abilities.
Proving negligence and liability in your case requires you or your attorney to establish:
- The other party owed you a duty of care under the circumstances, such as the duty to produce safe and working equipment or drive as a reasonable person should.
- The other party breached the duty of care, such as by manufacturing defective equipment that malfunctioned or running a stop light.
- Their breach of duty directly caused your injuries.
- You suffered losses, known as damages, due to your injuries.
Options for Offshore Oil and Gas Workers
Offshore workers also have options specific to their work under maritime law.
Their choices might include the following:
- The Jones Act. In some circumstances, this law provides compensation for injuries and illnesses caused by a vessel’s unseaworthiness or the negligence of a co-worker or employer. Compensation might include past and future medical bills, lost income, reduced future earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
- Maintenance and cure. This is a federal maritime law that provides benefits to certain seamen, no matter who was at fault for their accident. Benefits available under the law include the worker’s daily living expenses or maintenance and medical expenses or cure until the worker reaches maximum medical improvement.
- Longshoreman and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA). Many offshore oil rig workers can also claim benefits under this law. Like the Texas workers’ compensation system, this act covers medical bills and some of a worker’s lost wages.
- Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA). Provides benefits to family members who have lost a loved one in an offshore oil rig accident. Families can receive compensation for their financial losses if their loved one’s death occurred due to another party’s negligence and beyond three nautical miles from the shore of Texas or any other state.
When you meet with a San Antonio oil field injury lawyer at our office, they will help you determine what options are available to you and provide you with the information you need to make the best legal decisions.
San Antonio Oil Field Injury FAQs
What if You Can’t Afford to Hire an Attorney?
You can afford to hire our San Antonio oil field injury attorneys. If you face medical bills and other financial stress, you might wonder how.
You might assume that we charge expensive hourly fees, a common practice among some law firms. However, the Wyatt Law Firm doesn’t do this. Instead, we represent oil and gas injury clients on a contingency fee-only basis.
With such an arrangement:
- You can have a free, no-obligation consultation and case evaluation to determine if you have a viable injury claim.
- If we agree to represent your case, you pay nothing upfront for our legal services.
- While your legal case is pending, we will front the costs of your claim, including investigative expenses, court fees, and others.
- If we are unsuccessful in recovering compensation for you, you owe us nothing at all.
- If we obtain a settlement or award in your case, our fees will come directly from your payment. You won’t have to come up with any out-of-pocket money to pay your legal fees.
In addition, our staff makes sure our clients fully understand how much of their settlement or award we will receive for fees and expenses, so there are no surprises once the case resolves.
Our San Antonio oil field injury lawyers know that sustaining such an injury is difficult enough on its own. The last thing you need is undue financial stress. You can count on us to make the legal process as easy as possible so that you can recover from your injuries.
Why Do Oil Field Accidents Happen?
Texas is well-known for its vast oil and gas resources. Many Texans find career and financial success working in this ever-booming industry. With new finds in the Permian Basin and elsewhere, this industry has recently rapidly expanded its operations. However, with new oil field activity comes increased dangers and risks for oil field workers.
Oil field accidents often happen as a result of:
- Workers with inadequate training
- Truck drivers who make negligent errors in oil fields
- Other negligent drivers in and around the oil and gas fields
- Oil field, pipeline, and refinery fires
- Carbon monoxide poisoning from unaddressed leaks
- Oil field fracking injuries
- Trench collapses
- Explosions and chemical fires
- Exposure to sulfur hydroxide fumes
- Inadequate safeguards at drilling sites and refinery facilities
- Improperly maintained drills and exploration equipment or defective machinery
- Fatigue due to lack of proper rest periods or long shift hours
- Lack of safety regulations or emergency protocol
Injured in an Oil Field Accident? Let a Skilled San Antonio Oil Field Injury Attorney Advocate for You
At the Wyatt Law Firm, we are well-versed in this niche area of law and the complex rules and regulations that apply to oil and gas companies. We know how to fight for the maximum compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Our San Antonio personal injury attorneys understand these complex claims and know what it takes to provide the best outcome possible. Reach out to us today to discuss your oil field accident case during a free consultation.
With our no-win, no-fee guarantee, you have nothing to lose. Call us today at (210) 340-5550 or contact us online for your free case evaluation.
Client Testimonial
Paula and her team at Wyatt Law Firm represented me professionally and fought hard for every dollar to the very end! She takes her cases personal and actually gets to know you, building a great relationship! She put me in touch with world class doctors right here in Texas! I could not be more pleased!!! I would definitely recommend Wyatt Law Firm to anyone in need of an attorney! At the end of the day, they offer caring, stress free, professional, hard working, services to hard working and honest American people! Don’t waste your time elsewhere!!!