When most people hear about an accident on an offshore oil rig, they imagine widespread environmental calamities like the Deepwater Horizon spill. But that overlooks the human element and all the injuries or fatalities that occur more frequently each year. The oil industry is a particularly dangerous place to work but working on an offshore oil rig is all the more dangerous.
Workers are regularly exposed to catastrophic injuries from explosions, slips or falls, equipment failures, corrosive chemicals, burns, and many other hazardous situations.
If you or a loved one works on an offshore oil rig and were injured on the job, then you are probably wondering who was at-fault for the accident, whether or not you will receive compensation for your injuries, and who you can turn to for help.
There are many factors at play in an active oil rig operation and determining who was at-fault, or whether negligence was a factor, is something that is often very difficult to prove. In some cases, the fault may lie with the company for failing to uphold safe working conditions, failure of the supervisors to perform routine maintenance, failure by a fellow employee to use standard safety practices, or any number of other factors. The important thing to do following an accident on an offshore oil rig is to first seek out medical attention, and second, to write down everything you can remember about the moments that lead up to an accident, what happened, who was around, and what unfolded afterwards. You may think that these moments are etched into your mind, but it can be surprising how quickly memories begin to get blurred, and these details can help point to underlying causes of an accident and help determine who was at-fault.
Your next step is to speak with a qualified and experienced attorney who has successfully worked cases involving offshore oil rigs. Not only can the lawyer help determine who may be liable for the accident, but they can work with expert accident reconstructionists to determine what exactly went wrong. Furthermore, oil rig workers may be covered by a variety of different laws, and the intersection with personal injury and maritime law can be quite complex. In some cases, a worker may be covered by the Jones Act (also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) which typically applies to the crew of ships but may not always apply to oil rig workers. In other cases, workers may instead be covered by the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA). In some cases, the employer may not be directly responsible for an accident, or may only be partially responsible, such as cases involving an equipment manufacturer or contractor, opening the way for third-party claims for compensation, as well.
If it isn’t clear yet, determining who is at-fault and where and how to receive compensation for an offshore oil rig accident is a very complicated process which depends on the specifics of your accident and which must be handled by a lawyer that works specifically within this industry.
The law firm of Fears Nachawati has helped many oil rig workers in Texas to recover financial damages after suffering an on-the-job injury while working at an offshore rig. We know the struggles that oil rig workers face, and we have seen the devastation that these accidents can cause them and their families. At Fears Nachawati, we are committed to defending workers and we aren’t afraid to stand up to the major oil companies in our pursuit for a fair and just compensation for our clients.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an oil rig accident, then call the law firm of Fears Nachawati today.
Contact us now for a free legal consultation by calling (866) 705-7584 or visiting one of our offices located throughout the great state of Texas, including in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin.