Dallas Drilling Accident Attorney

Injured in a Dallas Gas or Oil Drilling Accident? Our Drilling Rig Worker Injury Lawyers Can Help!

Texas petroleum workers are drilling again in their own back yard, after years of having to travel hundreds of miles to get to an operating rig. New wells are being drilled every day, especially just west out in the Barnett Shale. And old wells are being revived.

Do you have a legal question?
Enter your phone number below and let's talk.
--

The good news for us is the oil and gas underneath our state is again very valuable. The bad news, many are working at breakneck speed to get these pricey commodities to market. And with all this frenetic activity, there is a sharp uptick in work-related accidents and injuries at the oil and gas drilling platforms and pipelines throughout the state.

And when the drilling is done, maintenance work on those wells is rife with just as many hazards as the drilling itself as many workers are still exposed to hazardous conditions that also lead to injuries. What happens after you’re injured on the job after an oil or gas field accident in Texas? Someone had to be negligent, who was it? Who pays for your injuries, lost income, pain and suffering? What happens if your long-tern recovery takes months? What if you never fully recover? Who fights for the victims and the families of loved ones killed in such mishaps?

If this is your first time dealing with such terrible events, you need a superior Dallas drilling accident attorney. If this is not your first time, you know you need one.

You also need to know whether or not your Texas drilling operation had workers’ comp insurance, which gets you started when it comes to reimbursement for medical expenses, some lost wages, and maybe a bit of pain and suffering. But you also need to know what to do if the drilling contractor or the company that manages the oilfield was negligent in your injuries. If so, then your ability to win compensation depends on how, and if, your oilfield injury lawyer gets to the bottom of the accident, its causes and who was liable. Then, armed with his best case, this legal specialist either negotiates a fair deal, or wins the case.

Many oilfield accidents can be the result of worn machinery or defective rigging, especially in those areas that have been revived and that equipment might not have been renewed properly. Negligence also causes explosions, heavy objects to fall, cranes to lose their loads, and a veritable who’s who of other hazards. Yes, a lot of times working as an oil, gas or pipeline worker, it’s seems more like combat than a job.

The stress is not also on the equipment, it’s on the people as well. And drillers and roustabouts sometimes working double shifts for seven-10 days straight, they can get careless, or even negligent. Drugs power some of these obsessive workers to deliver the oil and gas. And, it comes as little surprise that drilling contractors and subcontractors are not the most diligent in testing their workers for them. Is it any wonder that numerous mishaps occur that inflict an obscenely large number of broken bones, debilitating head injuries and even deaths? Yes, human tragedy is also a product of the petroleum industry’s obsessive campaign to cut corners (and their costs) and push workers over the brink of their physical ability in coaxing this “petro-gold” out of the ground.

And when one gets hurt, resolving a petroleum worker’s damage demand cases is frequently very complex. In one corner is the worker. In the other, arguably the most powerful companies on the planet who see their workers as no more than a trivial means to their lucrative ends. Without an experienced attorney to represent them, injured oilfield workers are little more than a petty nuisance to the energy industry.

Dallas drilling accident attorney Michael Grossman and his legal team at Grossman Law Offices have invested over 20 years of their lives on behalf of injured oil, gas and pipeline workers who want nothing more than to fairly resolve their injury claims or civil cases. And we’ve been around long enough to know that without proficient personal injury legal counsel, favorable work-injury damage awards are virtually impossible.

Do you have a legal question?
Enter your phone number below and let's talk.
--

Determine your Employer’s Workers Compensation Status First

Oil drilling companies that are based in Texas are not required by the state to purchase workers’ comp insurance. So, injury cases are divided into two distinct types that require completely different methods and strategies to resolve. Employers who carry worker’s comp are “subscribers.” Those who don’t are “non-subscribers.” You must first determine whether or not your employer is a subscriber or a non-subscriber before proceeding any further.

Workers’ comp benefits are paid from a “pool” of funds that are provided by participating private insurance carriers. Through this “umbrella coverage,” pool subscribers are protected from civil lawsuits. And by denying workers the traditional civil venues of compensation, the rights of employees to be fairly reimbursed are severely compromised because workers comp benefits are generally far below fair-market compensation levels. As a result, these “benefit cap” amounts rarely, if ever, fully compensate employees involved in workers’ comp-covered claims.

Workers’ comp does provide some financial relief to oilfield employees who are injured on the job site. This “no fault” insurance covers workers, no matter how the oilfield accident occurred or whose fault it was. But this no fault coverage comes with a hefty price to workers because the amount of money you receive doesn’t always cover the total expenses of the harm done to you from the job-related injury. An oilfield worker who has suffered crush injuries, or broken bones, massive head injuries, amputations, horrible burns from blowouts and explosions or dismemberment, as well as the families of those who die in the oil patch, will never be fully compensated for their injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages and other immense damages by the paltry amounts received through workers’ comp alone. But on the other hand, the subscriber-employers to workers comp are doing just fine.

Workers’ comp-subscribing employers get far more then just pool coverage and lower benefit payments. They are virtually bulletproof when it comes to lawsuits. Unless your employer has committed gross (or willful) negligence resulting in wrongful death, the subscriber-employer cannot be sued in civil court if that loved one has been killed due to a work-related death, unless gross negligence can be proven, which can be very difficult without a Tyler oilfield wrongful death attorney

A lot of Texas drilling contractors (and sub contractors) role the dice and risk being a workers’ comp non-subscriber. Then, when the odds catch-up with them, they try to avoid a lawsuit when one of their workers is injured by saying to that employee that they have workers’ comp when they really don’t. They try to quickly pay the benefits you would receive from workers’ comp if you’ll sign what they represent as an official-looking “standard workers’ comp release” in order to further their fraud and avoid a non-subscriber lawsuit.

In order to receive restitution from a non-subscriber to workers’ comp oilfield injury, the victim’s only avenue is to file a lawsuit. An experienced oilfield accident lawyer can get to the bottom of your company’s workers’ comp status, so you know what legal options are available.

Alternative Injury Revenue Sources to Workers’ Compensation

There are two possible avenues to receiving oil and gas drilling and pipeline injury compensation outside the restrictions of workers’ comp umbrella coverage. We spoke of subscribing employer’s gross negligence that causes an accident which kills a worker, immediately or eventually. So if your loved one’s death occurred while working in the oil or gas fields and investigation proves employer gross negligence, the immediate family survivor (or survivors), may file a civil wrongful death lawsuit in addition to the workers’ comp claim.

When the accident involves a non-subscribing employer, or another third party, the only real avenue of recovering injury damages is through civil lawsuits against all parties who are found to be negligent in causing your accident. And it makes no difference if the negligence was intentional or an oversight, they are liable if you can prove that they are.

So, if a faulty or improperly maintained piece of machinery injured you, the owner is liable to pay. Or if it turns out the manufacturer might also be held responsible because the product was defective, the manufacturer might be the target of a defective product lawsuit. If your drilling contractor’s truck hit and injured you, even if an employee was driving, the employer is liable through respondeat superior, which is a legal term that means the employer is liable for the actions of the employees on the job. If a drilling sub contractor or another employee negligently caused a concussion injury, or if any number of accidents happened as the result of negligent behavior of any “third party” your employer allows on the drilling site, civil damages may be claimed. The same liability might be held against the corporation that hired anyone, including your employer, to oversee the drilling rig or offshore platform.

You can sue any responsible negligent party or parties for your work injury, even if you can’t sue your employer if he subscribes to workers’ comp. And these third party lawsuits do not stop you from filing that workers’ comp claim if it applies to your employer. And we’ve found that a workers’ comp claim, supplemented by a third party lawsuit often work together to produce fair compensation for your drilling platform or pipeline work injury, including disability, no matter how long..

Experience and the ability to properly investigate not only the accident scene but the roles these third parties played in your petroleum work-related accident is absolutely necessary in order to determine all parties responsible and make them pay for the injuries they caused. A gifted Dallas drilling accident attorney with Grossman Law Offices will thoroughly examine all facts of the cast through research and on-site investigation, then develop the proper strategy through which he can win your deserved amount of compensation for your oil, gas or pipeline injury claim.

If Your Case Goes to Trial, Be Prepared for Your Opponents to Arrive with Brass Knuckles

Whatever strategy your legal counsel develops, eventually it’s time to begin action. The first shot is yours when your attorney files a claim for damages on your behalf against your non-subscribing employer (and all third parties that his investigation has determined are liable for your injuries). This claim includes the charges for damages and the negligence that caused the damages, and the amount of compensation you seek. When all the defendants receive their notices, one of the things will happen quickly. Defendants who are insured will most likely turn this over to their insurance company. Those who are self-insured or not insured (or want to handle this matter without involving their insurance carrier) will either try to deal with you directly, or through their attorney.

The insurance carrier is apt to immediately contest your allegations our-of-hand. It’s the nature of the beast. They also do it because they want to see if you’re really serious or if this is an attempt at harassment. You can make a strong opening statement if an experienced Dallas drilling accident attorney heads up your case. The insurance company will get the message loud and clear.

Your case has reached the “negotiation phase.” And it’s possible these negotiations can lead to a settlement for the amount you’re asking for, especially if the insurance company knows you have a very strong case. But commonly, drilling rig and pipeline injury cases are contested and you must then be prepared to move forward with your civil lawsuit if you expect to receive compensation. The burden of proof is on you. Every charge you make, you must prove. And every charge they make to counter you suit, you must clearly disprove. Here is where the strength of your case lies on the quality of your lawyer’s investigative powers, and his ability to drive home the pillars of evidence that prove defendant negligence.

Your case could be very strong, even rock-solid. But still a defendant’s insurance policyholder resists paying your damage claim, even if the insured defendant wants them to, just to end the thing. But insurance companies want to keep defendants in-tow. The most common way for them to do that is with threats of higher premiums if their policyholder caves-in. Insurance companies hate paying claims. They do all they can to influence their defendants to resist you.

And when they finally get in court, insurance companies’ (and most defendants’) tend to use one very popular liability defense. They charge you, the plaintiff as being the sole proximate cause of your accident and injuries. This means you are totally to blame for your drilling or pipeline workplace injuries. Then they back up their charges by saying and doing anything to in order to claim you were careless or irresponsible and caused your own injuries. They assail your reputation and try to enter evidence that has no bearing on the case, like accuse you of beating your wife, or having an affair or kicking your dog or showing up at the job site drunk, And since insurance companies are very experienced, and their attorneys very shrewd, when it comes to fighting your claim or civil case, you must expect any trick they can come up with to change the argument, and make the jury question whether they are indeed liable. Maybe when we said the burden of proof is on you, we should have added there is also a burden to dis-prove.

Defendants Question the Employer-Employee Relationship in Order to Avoid Paying You

After your non-subscribing employer and his attorneys have attempted to make prove your sole proximate cause, depending on their success, they will likely shift their strategy to avoid paying you damages from your drilling accident by claiming that in the eyes of the law, you are really aren’t an employee but rather, a contractor. Employers know they are not responsible for injuries to their subcontractors, or subcontractor employees. So many of them will, surreptitiously hire employees, then when one of them is hurt and files a claim, argue that the injured person is instead, a contractor. But as you now know, saying something is one thing. Proving it is another.

While many defendants might conveniently claim this non-employee legal point, they know the truth that an employer-employee relationship exists and all they’re trying to do is made a different attempt to wiggle out of paying your injury damages. Here are some of the ways to disprove this employer ruse and confirm an employer-employee relationship exists.

• Social security or taxes have been withheld from your paycheck by the employer.
• The essential equipment for the job was supplied to you by the employer.
• Your work has been regularly managed, overseen or inspected by your employer.
• A specific work schedule has been set for the job by the employer. You are not free to come-and-go as you please.
• Your employer requires you to complete a task or sign a document that limits your rights while working for the employer. The most common examples are taking a drug test or signing a document that states you comply with an employee handbook.
• You have been employed for an undetermined period of time and not just for a single job.
• You are paid by a salary or an hourly wage and not on a job-by-job basis.

Some employers might claim you have been “borrowed” from another drilling company, or that they hired you through a third-party employment agency. But in these cases, the rules for determining the working relationship are closely related to those above. But depending on defendant allegations, there can be some discrete, but crucial differences in determining the employer-employee relationship. We hasten to add that if you are employed by an employment agency or a different employer/contractor and were “on loan” when you are hurt on a drilling contractor’s well or pipeline, this agency might be the primary employer and all of your initial injury claims will be against them. Some of the conditions that are used to determine the difference between contractors and employees under these circumstances may include:

• If the borrowing employer can hire or fire you at any time, you are clearly an employee. Otherwise, you are a contractor
• Most of the time, if the borrowing employer can pick a particular worker, then the worker is an employee. If the agency that provides the worker is allowed to send any worker they choose, the worker is a contractor.
• This answer is the same when it comes to tools and equipment. If you provide them, then you are a contractor. If the employer provides them, then you’re an employee.
• If the agency can substitute the borrowed worker for another at-will, the worker is a contractor. If the lending agency cannot, then the worker is an employee.
• If you are borrowed indefinitely, then the worker is an employee. But if you’re borrowed for a specific project with a specific date of completion, then you’re a contractor.
• If you are borrowed or “leased” because of a skill that is unique or hard-to-find, then you’re a contractor. But on the other hand, if an employer borrows you to fill a position that just about anyone can fill, then you’re an employee.
• If the borrowing employer agrees to pay your social security and income tax, then you’re an employee. If the borrowing employer does not accept this responsibility, then you’re a contractor.

In addition to investigating the circumstances surrounding liability and negligence in your case, the Dallas drilling accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices will also conduct a stringent investigation of your employer to prove any one of these employee standards. If necessary, we depose co-workers, review contracts and examine pay stubs to prove an employer-employee relationship existed when you suffered your drilling or pipeline-related work injury.

Know Your Defendants, and What They are Capable of in Opposing Your Accident Liability Case

When you file a civil claim for damages from any on the job injury, your charges will always be hotly contested. And the nature of that opposition is an important part of your attorney’s strategy. Experienced drilling accident lawyers know what to expect, and from whom. For openers, most defendants usually have large insurance companies with lots of good attorneys to oppose you. The remainder is “self-insured” or uninsured. And if one of the corporate petroleum giants is involved, you’re really in for a fight because all have deep pockets and are willing to spend a dime in order to save a penny, if it prevents them from spending more pennies fighting claimants like you that they think they can beat.

These insurance companies have attorneys either on staff or permanent retainer. They are very good defenders of their petro-clients against people like you who try to sue them. By-habit, they say your charges are frivolous so there’s another point you have a burden to disprove. Insurance companies are always confrontational when someone wants their money. But you can beat them if you have a just cause for claim, solid evidence, and an experienced attorney who anticipates every trick they pull, and is already prepared to effectively counter it.

But as bad as the insurance companies can be in an oil patch injury lawsuit, self-insured contractors and subcontractors are even trickier and often much more dangerous to your case. This is because, unlike the insurance industry which has legally-mandated standards of behavior in these circumstances, self or non-insured petroleum employers have no behavior standards they must meet. So some of the tricks they use in court, or out of it, to wiggle out of paying your damage claim can be blatantly underhanded. Some of them can even be illegal.

You will deal directly with an officer if the self-insured drilling or pipeline company is a small one. This person’s salary is derived from company profits. Whatever you’re paid for an injury comes directly out of company funds. So by compensating you, your employer, or that third party, literally takes money out his own pocket. A sneaky, self-insured company officer uses any and all means to oppose your claim in order to protect his company’s, and personal, assets.

Self-insured employers or third parties have been known to purposefully destroy evidence, bribe or intimidate witnesses (sometimes physically). They may even threaten you or your family. This is why every time we represent a client against a self-insured company, the first thing we do is to file motions in court to prevent anyone within the company from behaving inappropriately against our clients. Sometimes these motions include clear demands that they make no attempt to communicate with our clients, or their families, in any way without one of our attorneys present.

OSHA Is of Little Use in an Injury Liability Claim or Legal Case

But for carelessness, recklessness or negligence by petroleum employers and workers on the rig or pipeline, many drilling and pipeline accidents and injuries are preventable, When a company disregards OSHA safety standards or fails to properly maintain equipment, serious accidents happen and workers can be injured or killed. And it’s a shame that OSHA and other safety regulations, which were designed to protect workers while on the job, are today all but ignored or disregarded.

While OSHA sets these guidelines and can fine the offenders, the amounts no longer motivate employers to comply with these government standards. Many fine amounts were established many years ago when a few thousand dollars was a stiff fine. They might have encouraged compliance back. But inflation and other economic factors have reduced OSHA fines to little more than “petty cash” amount. And over the years, laws have been added that now seriously restrict OSHA’s power through reduction of the agency’s staff and cutting its budget even further.

Even if OSHA does investigate your employer after your accident, don’t expect any conclusions to make it up the OSHA “food chain” in time to impact your civil trial. Only a skilled, experienced drilling and pipeline accident lawyer can help you win the fair compensation you are entitled to from the deep-pocketed petro-companies, or the drilling contractors who aren’t afraid of OSHA one bit.

Do you have a legal question?
Enter your phone number below and let's talk.
--

The First Rules You Must Follow That Will Produce a Successful Injury Case for You

Rule number one: Before you speak with an insurance company, or accept even a single dollar of payment or compensation from your employer, or sign anything, or attempt to file a lawsuit on your own, you must contact a competent lawyer.

Rule number two: Your employer or its insurance provider wants you to accept a substandard settlement and go away. Don’t be taken advantage of. And don’t discuss any details of your intentions, or anything else surrounding the injury, with your employer, a third party, anyone with any insurance company, a lawyer you don’t know, or even your co-workers, until you hire an attorney to protect you. And when you do hire one, follow that legal mind’s instructions faithfully, and completely.

Rule number three: You must realize the critical importance of acting swiftly. In drilling and pipeline accident cases, the evidence quickly begins to fade. Physical details change quickly. Witnesses change their stories, forget what they saw, or have even been “encouraged” to forget. By waiting too long to hire an attorney and put him on the investigative trail, you seriously endanger your ability to win compensation for your work injury damages that you and your family deserve.

An experienced Dallas drilling accident attorney with Grossman Law Offices will help injured oil, Barnett Shale gas and pipeline workers deal with their cases anywhere in Texas. Put our years of experience to work for you. If you want to know what your rights are, how to proceed with your claim and how much compensation you can secure from your petroleum job-related injuries, we can answer all of your questions. Call Grossman Law Offices now at 1-855-326-0000 (toll free), or fill out the form at the top of this page for a free consultation and find out how we can help you.

---

---