Oil Field Accident Attorneys Helping Workers Nationwide and Across Texas including Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio
Texas is, unfortunately, a state with a high rate of workplace accidents, in part because the Lone Star State is the leading oil-producing state in the U.S. and oil field accidents are all too common. If you have suffered a serious injury as a result of an oil field accident, or if you have tragically lost a loved one in such an accident, you and your family deserve substantial compensation, not only for your medical and rehabilitation costs incurred by your lost loved one, but for your past and future pecuniary loss (loss of care, maintenance, support, services, advice, counsel), loss of companionship and society, mental anguish, and loss of inheritance.
The most important step that you can take towards achieving this goal is to contact Leger Ketchum & Cohoon, PLLC. Our highly skilled oil field accident attorneys are aggressive litigators, but that aggression stems from their empathy for your traumatic experience. We dedicate ourselves to fighting hard to win your case and obtain every dollar you’re entitled to. We have successfully helped clients from Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and the surrounding areas who have been injured in oil field accidents win substantial compensation. We work on a contingency basis so you will not pay a fee unless we win your case.
How Our Oil Field Accident Law Firm Can Help
When you come to Leger Ketchum & Cohoon, PLLC, we are fully prepared to hit the ground running, understanding how important it is to collect evidence of your accident before there is any cover-up and before witnesses’ memories fade. We will listen carefully to your account of what took place so we can best assess your options.
If we agree that you have the makings of a successful case, we will accumulate physical and photographic evidence, interview witnesses, and examine equipment maintenance records, official accident reports, and your medical records. Armed with knowledge, we will be able to develop the best possible strategy for winning your case. If necessary, we will bring in experts from pertinent fields, such as engineering, environmental protection, or particular medical specialties, in order to strengthen your case.
Why You Need An Oil Field Accident Attorney Even If Your Employer Had Workers’ Comp
Most employers in Texas cover workplace accidents with workers’ compensation, commonly referred to as workers’ comp. Workers’ comp does not pay for all of your medical costs and only pays for a percentage of your lost wages. If you have lost a loved one due to a workplace accident, workers’ comp will pay a monthly death benefit not to exceed $938 per month – to certain beneficiaries and in most instances for a limited time period – and are required to pay all burial and funeral costs not to exceed $10,000.00.
Even if your employer has workers’ compensation insurance, you will quickly realize that these benefits are not sufficient to sustain you and your family, even if you qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) as well. If you think about it, you will realize why this is true: (1) workers’ comp is only giving you a percentage of your lost wages when you have actually lost all of it due to your injury (perhaps permanently) and (2) workers’ comp and SSDI do not provide any reimbursement for pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. If your employer has workers’ comp, you will not be legally permitted to sue your employer for past and future pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, or disfigurement.
If your employer does not have workers’ comp and you can prove your employer was at fault, you will be legally permitted to sue your employer for all past and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement. If you can prove your employer was at fault, your employer will not be legally permitted to assert an affirmative defense to your claim.
Many oil field injuries are caused by a third party due to negligence, defective oil field equipment, or failure to keep the oil field site safe, who you are legally permitted to sue for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, and disfigurement, regardless of whether your employer has or did not have workers’ comp. If your employer has workers’ comp, you will be able to collect workers’ comp and still be able to sue the third party for full compensation.
For these reasons, it is likely to be not only wise, but necessary, to seek counsel from the capable oil field accident attorneys at Leger Ketchum & Cohoon, PLLC. If your injuries are severe and you may not be able to work again, you will need the substantial award we will obtain for you in order to protect the future of you and your family.
What determines whether you have a viable lawsuit?
If your employer does not have workers’ comp or a third party is responsible for your oil field injury, in order to file a personal injury claim, we must pursue your claim under negligence, product liability, or premises liability law.
Considering how expensive lawsuits will be for a defendant who loses an oil field accident case, it is amazing how many oil field managers and supervisors are negligent (some repeatedly) in maintaining and repairing equipment and in keeping training and safety measures up to date.
The Most Common Oil Field Accidents
Working in an oil field is one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. In spite of the precautions taken by workers and their employers, the following accidents are much too common:
- Slips and Falls: While slip and fall accidents are common everywhere, the risk of becoming a victim of one is much greater in an area often covered with oil, an extremely slippery substance.
- Accidental Ignition: Machinery used on oil fields is complex and multifaceted. These machines have so many tiny parts that must remain intact and interconnect seamlessly to avoid fires and explosions — explosions and fires that often result in grotesque burns and other injuries.
- Oil & Gas Truck Accidents: One of the hazards of working in an oil field is that vehicles constantly come and go, seemingly randomly, while preoccupied workers move around the field. An oil field may sometimes seem like a work site full of accidents waiting to happen.
- Falling Equipment: Although most oil field workers are scrupulous about wearing their hard hats, oil rigs can sometimes drop debris heavy enough to penetrate those helmets. Parts, sometimes sizeable ones, can come loose and be thrown into the air with great force by oil rigs, and workers (even those with hard hats) may be put at risk.
- Failure to Follow Shutdown Protocols: Defective rigs can cause catastrophic injuries unless employers shut them down as soon as they become aware of a defect. Sadly, not every individual in charge of such matters is willing to take the time (or spend the money) to decrease the risk of life and limb to employees.
The Most Common Oil Field Injuries
Many oil field injuries are due to negligence on the part of those tasked with running an efficient, cost-effective operation. Of course, cutting corners on safety, as every thoughtful person knows, in the end costs more time and money than taking precautions. Nonetheless, every year Texas oil field workers suffer life-changing, sometimes fatal, injuries, including:
- Amputations and disfigurement (particularly of limbs and digits)
- Back, neck, and shoulder injuries
- Burns, including chemical burns
- Eye injuries/loss of vision
- Fractured limbs
- Hearing loss
- Puncture wounds and lacerations
- Spinal cord injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
Contact Our Oil Field Accident Lawyers Serving Across Texas and Nationwide
Oil field accidents, even if you survive them, can have terrible long-term consequences which are not only challenging but overwhelming to come to terms with. At Leger Ketchum & Cohoon, PLLC, we recognize that if you are fit and courageous enough to have been hired to work in an oil field, chances are you are quite capable of taking care of yourself and keeping yourself safe. This makes it all the more likely that if you have suffered a serious injury from an oil field accident, it may be the fault of someone else. If you believe you have been harmed by another person’s negligence or blatant disregard for your safety, or if you suspect this might be the case, you should get in touch with Leger Ketchum & Cohoon, PLLC. We will evaluate your case and only take it on if we are certain we can win substantial damages for you and your family. Contact us by phone at 832.764.7200, email at info@lkclawfirm.com, or by our online contact form.