Several workers were injured and one has died, in an explosion at an oil rig in Burleson county, Texas near Deanville-southwest of Bryan. The oil well blowout happened on County Road 127. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the once involved.
Picture by abc-25 Kxxv Central Texas
When tragic accidents such as an oil well blowout happen and serious injuries or worse are involved, you need attorneys to protect your rights.
Whether drilling for oil or natural gas on Texas soil or out in the Gulf, few jobs more dangerous than working on a rig. The price of gasoline and all of its refined byproducts continue to skyrocket. And natural gas is a rising commodity in a world where all sources of energy are at a premium. This industry is working day-and-night to meet the even greater demand from our growing industrialized world to quench its thirst. Long dormant Texas oilfields and the massive new natural gas fields in the northern part of the state are a beehive of profitable activity.
This newfound frenzy of drilling (and transportation) activity is producing a dramatic uptick of serious drilling and pipeline accident injuries, too many of them are usually the result of someone’s negligence. Most can be traced to cutting production corners, use of equipment that should have been retired years ago, and drilling workers being pushed beyond their physical limits by being forced to work many hours of overtime and being double shifts for days on end. Now the money is good when they do that. But there’s a downside in this work environment. It is characterized by speed and corporate greed then-amplified by bad judgment. So many tragic and avoidable injuries are typical of an industry that is rushing to meet market demands at breakneck speed, with little regard for the people who generate those huge profits.
If you’ve suffered an injury in a drilling rig accident, or if a loved one has been killed in the oil or gas patch, what happens next? Who pays the medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering, or disability, regardless of whether it’s short-term or permanent? If a death is involved, who pays for the funeral and the surviving family’s loss? And since it would be suicide to fight those liable for your injuries by yourself, who has the experience and ability to fight for your rights? An experienced Texas drilling and pipeline accident attorney is your only option if you are to receive fair and just compensation for your damages arising from the accident you suffered on a drilling rig or pipeline.
A contractor died and three other workers were injured in an explosion Wednesday afternoon south of Caldwell in Burleson County. (KBTX photo)
Since workers’ compensation dominates Texas injury law, you must first know whether or not your employer has this insurance, which covers some reimbursement for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering. But you also need to know if third parties contributed to your injuries because they too can be a source of compensatory revenue. In-short, the ability to obtain fair compensation is predicated on the ability of your oil and gas injury lawyer to get to the bottom of the accident, its causes, and bring every party who is liable for your injury to justice.
Under the best circumstances, getting to the bottom of petroleum worker injury cases is rarely easy. Each case usually has a lot of “moving parts” and strategies unique to the injury, the defendants, how they are insured and the strategy each defendant uses against you. And don’t forget, the oil and gas industry has the world by the throat. So those companies have a lot of power, money and legal influence. They’ll stop at nothing to deny your claim and fight your civil lawsuit in order to protect their record profits. Without an experienced attorney to represent you, the injured oil and gas drilling and pipeline worker, are little more than an insignificant nuisance to these deep-pocket opponents.
Our lead attorney, and his professional team at our Texas Law Offices, have a track record of resolving injury claims and civil cases on behalf of injured oil and gas workers that dates back over 20 years. You can be confident that you will be retaining an experienced firm that can secure a maximum work-injury settlement for your drilling or pipeline accident case. Without experienced legal counsel, it’s virtually impossible to accomplish this goal.
Consider the following:
Comfort Level - Are you comfortable telling the lawyer personal information? Does the lawyer seem interested in solving your problem?
Credentials - How long has the lawyer been in practice? Has the lawyer worked on other cases similar to yours?
Cost - How are the lawyer's fees structured - hourly or flat fee? Can the lawyer estimate the cost of your case?
City - Is the lawyer's office conveniently located?
Texas law allows injured drivers and passengers, and the families of the loved ones who have died or were injured in car accidents, to file a lawsuit against those responsible for the accident.
Legal responsibility, called “liability,” for a car accident often depends upon proof that another driver was at fault. The other driver, however, does not have to intentionally cause the crash. Proving the other driver operated the vehicle in an unsafe and unreasonable manner under the circumstances, known as negligence, is sufficient evidence to demonstrate liability.
In certain cases, non-driver factors lead to a car accident. These factors can include roadway hazards, poorly-marked construction sites, construction site debris, sand, or gravel on roadways, and other dangerous road conditions. Keep in mind, the deadline under Texas to bring a lawsuit, known as the statute of limitations, can be as short as six months for claims against governmental agencies.
When should you contact a car accident lawyer?
If you or a loved one has been involved in an automobile accident, you should discuss your case with an experienced auto accident attorney immediately. If too much time goes by before an injury lawyer takes on your case, certain evidence in your case may become impossible to acquire, witnesses may become out of reach, and insurance companies may disadvantage you. Our law firm handles exclusively personal injury claims and wrongful death claims.
Once we accept your automobile accident injury claim, we immediately begin working to obtain for you the maximum compensation allowed by law. We will:
Conduct a thorough investigation
Acquire all available evidence needed to prove and maximize your claim
Work with auto accident reconstruction experts to prove that the other party is at fault
Utilize medical experts to support your claim for the full extent of your injuries
Common Car Accident Injuries
Car accidents can be extremely traumatic. While some of the more fortunate accident victims are able to walk away from crashes without injuries, the sad truth is that many people don’t. In fact, too many car crashes that occur on Texas roadways are catastrophic—some of which result in death.
Because car crashes are usually violent, injuries are common. In fact, across the United States, there are about 1.6 million injury-causing car crashes every year. Whatever your injury and whatever the resulting cost, a San Antonio car accident lawyer from our firm can help you seek compensation to pay for your recovery.
Brain Injuries
Some of the most serious injuries resulting from car accidents are traumatic brain injuries. Symptoms of a brain injury can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on several factors involved in the accident.
Unfortunately, brain injuries don’t always show symptoms immediately. If left untreated, even a minor brain injury can cause permanent damage; this can happen when the brain swells and creates too much pressure inside the head.
Spine and Back Injuries
Spine injuries can leave victims paralyzed. Typically, these types of injuries are caused in conjunction with injuries to the vertebrae, discs, or the spinal cord itself. In fact, broken bone fragments and disc material can damage the spinal cord, which carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body.
These injuries often lead to a severely decreased quality of life. This—in addition to your medical expenses—should be factored into your final settlement. With the help of a San Antonio car accident lawyer from our firm, it will be.
Neck Injuries and Whiplash
Neck injuries are some of the most common injuries that happen in car accidents. In many cases, whiplash, injury to the soft tissues of the neck, is unavoidable and results from the head’s forward momentum during a crash.
Other neck injuries include cervical dislocation, disc injury, and neck strain.
Internal Injuries
Seat belts, airbags, and other parts of the interior of a vehicle can all cause internal injuries during a wreck. The most at-risk organs include the bowels, kidneys, liver, lungs, and spleen.
Internal bleeding and injuries to your internal organs are all but certain to carry a heavy financial burden and long-term medical implications. Your San Antonio car accident lawyer will ensure that your medical needs, both current and future, are fully factored into your financial award.
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