Houston Drilling Accident Attorney

Injured On The Job While Drilling for Oil or Gas Around Houston Texas? Call Michael Grossman

Long dormant for almost a generation, Texas petroleum is again "on the map" as our nation struggles to keep oil and gas affordable.

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

So in order to get the last drops of oil, and a huge, newly discovered reservoir of natural gas, Drilling companies, contractors, wildcatters and the corporations they sell their valuable commodities to work long hours and under stressful circumstances. It makes no matter whether the drilling site is in East or West Texas, the Barnett Shale of 300 miles out in the Gulf. Every one of those reservoirs is "active."

Because of this inherent stress, drug testing isn't an everyday rule. But speed to market is. So it comes as no surprise that the petro-drilling industry is a terribly high-risk venture. This makes workplace injuries common: gruesome wounds such as instant amputations, crushed bodies, and horrible injuries from rig and pipeline blowouts or explosions. Broken bones, injured backs and concussions can debilitate any drilling worker at hour of the day or night. Tool pushers are usually the most commonly injured on a derrick. But no one who spends any time in the oil patch is immune. Who is responsible when any of these job-related accidents, many times the result of someone's negligence, occurs?

There are several things you must know, and quickly. They are important points such as:

• If the Texas drilling operation you work for had workers' compensation insurance, which covers some reimbursement for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering.
• What to do if the drilling contractor or the company that manages the oilfield is also responsible for your injuries. Your ability to obtain compensation depends on the ability of an oilfield injury lawyer to get to the bottom of the accident, its causes, and find out who is liable.
• Exactly who, from a variety of conceivably responsible parties (past your employer), might have contributed to your accident-related injuries, pain and suffering; whether they are aware of their contribution or not.

If something like this has happened to you or a loved one in your family, and if these are questions you have thought of, a Houston drilling accident attorney with the Grossman Law Office can help you receive the financial compensation you deserve.

With oil likely never to see a sub-$100 per-bbl price again, it is more cost-effective to use technology not in existence 20 years ago to squeeze every drop out. And the more Texas can get for its newly discovered natural gas fields, the less oil a lot of people use, especially to heat their homes. But this drilling renaissance is powered in many places by machinery that dates back to the 80's. So many oilfield accidents can be caused by worn or defective rigging and machinery in-use far past its prime. Pipelines in many areas (some of them highly-populated) explode from negligence, or material fatigue. Heavy objects such as pipes or other drilling equipment can fall near, or on any part of, the rig. A lot of people slip and fall on oil and water and hurt their backs. Let's face it, the oil and gas patch (including the one out in the Gulf) is one of the most unsafe places to work in the world.

Resolving oilfield workers' injury cases is frequently very complex. And in attempting to recover fair damage reimbursement, injured workers are opposed by arguably the most powerful corporations (along with their drilling associates, insurance underwriters and high-priced lawyers) on the planet. If you've been hurt in a rig accident on land or at sea, you're a bug who threatens their privileged endgame of record profits in a seller's market. Without an experienced attorney to represent them, injured oilfield workers are little more than a blip on their radar.

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

Still, you have faith in the possibility of resolving your injury compensation issues fairly. But you also know that you need an experienced petroleum accident law firm to represent you. This firm has to prepare for trial, but accept a fair settlement once the defendants know it's the best outcome for them. And you also know it's highly unlikely you will accomplish by yourself, with a legal "babe in the woods" or your nephew running the case after just graduating from law school. You'd just be serving them (or yourself) up to these business conglomerates, their insurers and legal minions. Then you get to count your losses.

Profits, Profits Everywhere, but No Civil Claim Need be Paid (Thanks to Workers' Comp)

Texas-based oil drilling companies don't have to purchase workers' comp insurance. Only half of them do and if they were smart, all of them would. But that's beside the point. All workplace injury cases in Texas fall into one of two categories. Subscribers, obviously use workers' comp to cover their employees from on the job accidents. Non subscribers obviously don't. So it must first be learned whether or not your employer is a subscriber or a non-subscriber before proceeding any further. This is because; depending on the answer to the above, subscriber and non-subscriber injury claims and cases require entirely different methods and strategies to resolve.

Workers' comp is a legislature-mandated program that provides universal, no-fault coverage for worker injuries through a "pool" of funds that are provided by participating private insurance carriers. In the insurance industry, this is called "umbrella coverage." Workers' comp subscribers are not only able to have their injury claims settled quickly, cheaply, with minimal muss and fuss, they are also protected from just about every civil injury lawsuit.

But there's a downside to this program. And the workers are the ones who feel the pain from it. By denying workers the traditional civil venues of compensation as-per workers' comp state law, the rights of employees to be truly and fairly reimbursed are harshly conceded. Workers comp is great for someone who only needs their medical bills paid and will be back on the job in a few days. But for more substantial injuries, like those one suffers on a drilling rig, those benefits lie far below fair-market compensation levels. As a result, these state-mandated "benefit caps" amounts that are awarded rarely, if ever, fully compensate petroleum employees involved in larger, and longer, workers' comp-covered claims.

Now as we said, the program deliver a certain level of financial relief and admittedly, a little bit of convenience to drilling and pipeline employees injured on the job. This "no fault" insurance covers workers, no matter how the oilfield accident occurred or whose fault it was. But as we said, the longer the worker is injured, the less and less workers' comp serves his compensation needs.

But there's another side of the workers' comp coin. Many Texas drilling companies (and their sub contractors) are workers' comp non-subscribers. And if you're injured while working for a non-subscriber, that's a "whole 'nother story." In order to receive compensation from a petro non-subscribing employer for your drilling rig injury, your only compensation avenue is to file a lawsuit. An experienced Houston drilling accident attorney with Grossman Law Office can get to the bottom of your company's workers' comp status, so you know what legal options are available.

Here' one reason why you should call us quickly. Your serious injury means the odds have finally caught up with your non-subscribing employer. And sure as "T is the first letter in Texas," once he learns you don't have a good lawyer, and wants to further his false claim to you that he has workers' comp, he'll move quickly to avoid a lawsuit. He'll show-up at your hospital bed, patting you softly on the arm, telling you to heal-quickly and get back "because we all miss ya." And then he will, "oh by the way," ask you to sign an official-looking form he represents as a "standard workers' comp release" in order to further his fraud and dodge that lawsuit. He might even show up with your "first check." But be careful. If you sign without calling an experienced drilling accident attorney first, your chance to get him to pay fairly for your injuries (and disability?) is toast!

Alternative Revenue Sources to Workers' Compensation, And Your Options Against Non Subscribers

Once you get past workers' comp, there two primary avenues to recover injury damages, one of them is an exception to the workers comp civil suit restriction, which we've already mentioned. It involves employer gross negligence which leads to a fatal worker accident, either immediately or over time. So if you have a loved one who died as a result of an oil drilling accident, even if you don't suspect gross negligence by anyone, you need to talk to an experienced lawyer. For if it turns out the accident was caused by employer gross negligence, then you, as an immediate family survivor, stand a very good chance of winning a civil wrongful death lawsuit, even if it's against a workers' comp subscriber.

But the more practical approach to non-subscriber liability for injuries you suffered on the rig – be it on land or offshore – is through a third-party claim or lawsuit. This is the thing your terrified, best-buddy boss was trying to avoid when he visited you in the hospital a few paragraphs back.

If his rig or drilling equipment was not maintained properly, or he didn't provide safe working conditions, or if one of his helicopters ditched 50 miles offshore and you floated in the water, injured for hours, then he could be held accountable. If a faulty piece of machinery caused the injury, then the manufacturer may be held accountable through a defective product lawsuit. If a drilling contractor working for the rig owner, or another employee negligently caused your injury, they could be held accountable, as well as your employer, maybe. The same thing can be said for the corporation that hired anyone to oversee the drilling rig or offshore platform.

In all such events, you can sue the non-subscribing responsible party or parties, even if you can't sue your direct employer who subscribes to workers' comp. But here's some good news. Third party lawsuits do not prohibit you from filing a workers' comp claim against your employer in addition. Often, a "no fault" workers' comp claim coupled with a third party lawsuit against another clearly liable party often combine to deliver the necessary fair compensation.

But in order to reach this "endgame," you need the deft hand of an experienced Houston drilling accident attorney to thoroughly investigate the accident scene and determine roles everyone played in your drilling rig or pipeline accident, and then construct the best strategy to get you the appropriate compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering for your drilling rig-related injury case.

It's not hard to understand why many pipeline and drilling companies along with their independent "wildcatter" brethren don't subscribe to workers' comp, even if it's better than the alternative of not having it when it when it's needed. They're mostly too cheap to buy it because they try to cut corners whenever possible. Workers' comp insurance, though it costs less than traditional oil and gas production insurance, is still not economical for some. But that's because of the fundamental dangers of the petroleum drilling industry itself. And since a lot of the independents live from hand-to mouth, insurance is a luxury they can rarely afford. Oh sure, they have money. But you can bet that, with a lot of them, none of it is tied up in insurance policies.

So, once injured, the victim, or plaintiff, must file a claim against the non-subscribing employer, or third party defendant, notifying him or her of the injury and the fair restitution the victim expects. If you work for a defendant who has insurance, they usually hand the matter over to them. Most of the time, the insurer will quickly dispute your plaintiff allegations. But if you have a good attorney, and your case has immediate and apparent strength, it's possible that negotiations will deliver a fair settlement to pay your bills paid and all of your reasonable damages. But, just as often as not, drilling rig injury cases are contested. Then you and Houston drilling accident attorney must file a lawsuit to win fair compensation. And as the injured party you, the plaintiff, holds the burden of proving that the defendant's negligence caused your injuries and upended your, and your families lives.

Oil Patch Defendants Always Say it's Not Their Fault: but Yours

If your drilling employer is a workers' comp insurance non-subscriber, or the third party against whom you've filed an injury claim has private coverage, then he or she isn't likely to automatically pay you for the harm you've suffered due to that negligence. That's because the insurance company doesn't want your employer to do that. And paying a claim will certainly produce even higher coverage rates for the defendant(s). Our experience in these matters has revealed that most non-subscribers, their insurance companies and attorneys will often one or two traditional defenses to avoid paying injured employees the restitution they deserve.

The primary liability defense afforded non-subscribers after an oilfield employee suffers an injury is to charge the plaintiff with sole proximate cause. This means the victim was totally to blame for his or her own injuries. In order to invoke the sole proximate cause defense, non-subscribing employers, their insurance companies and attorneys say and do anything to soil your good reputation as a worker by claiming you were careless or irresponsible and caused your own injuries. And since insurance companies are very experienced, and their attorneys very shrewd, when it comes to fighting your claim or civil case, your own cunning oilfield accident attorney to turn the tables of liability back on the negligent employer or third party is a powerful weapon on your behalf.

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

When you are injured on a drilling rig, many clever employers place themselves in a position to claim you are technically not their employee, but rather, a contractor. This tactic is supposed to help them avoid responsibility for your drilling rig injury since no Texas employer is liable for their subcontractors or their employees' injuries. So by claiming this technicality to deny the existence of an employer-employee relationship between you and the company, they then pose the question of why they should be for compensating an injured non-employee?

But most of the time, it's a ruse. They hire their employees as employees, not as contractors or as temp workers through a third-party. They know that an actual employer-employee relationship exists and the injured worker has the right to obtain compensation against this non-subscriber. They're just hoping no one will find out a release has been signed by this worker who is unaware of the employer's subterfuge, then accepts compensation for his injuries that would never fully compensate him. But a skillful, well-seasoned drilling rig accident lawyer can quickly reveal this employer for what he really is, and prove the employer-employee relationship by meeting at least one, and often more, of the following standards of employment:

• 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.

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

In cases where a worker is borrowed from another company, or a third-party agency, and then is injured on the job, the rules for determining the working relationship are similar to those above, but there can be some important differences. Some of these conditions may include:

• If the borrowing employer has the power to hire or fire a borrowed worker at any time, the worker is clearly an employee. Otherwise, the worker is a contractor
• Most of the time, if the borrowing employer is allowed to 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 the worker must provide them, that person is a contractor. If the employer provides them, the worker is 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 the worker is borrowed indefinitely, then the worker is an employee. If the worker is borrowed for a specific project with a specific date of completion, the worker is a contractor.
• If a worker is being borrowed or "leased" because of a skill that is unique or hard-to-find, then the worker is a contractor. But on the other hand, if an employer borrows a worker to fill a position that just about anyone can fill, then the worker is an employee.
• If the borrowing employer agrees to pay the worker's social security and income tax, then the worker is an employee. If the borrowing employer does not accept this responsibility, then the worker is a contractor.

A thorough investigation of your employer by a skilled drilling accident attorney proves the existence of any one of these standards. By accomplishing this, your employer finally knows he must is liable for all the damages owed to you. And his subterfuge, once it is brought out in the open usually doesn't sit well with civil trial juries. So many times, this "he was my contractor" house-of-cards defense collapses. Then the employer will probably see reason and settle with you. Whether he does or not depends on the rest of the evidence you present. As you Houston drilling accident attorney, we will depose co-workers, review contracts and examine pay stubs to clearly prove establish that you were an employee when you suffered your drilling rig injury.

Fight the Arrogance of Your Opponents in an Oilfield Accident Liability Case

In all non-subscriber and third party oilfield injury claims, defendants usually have large insurance companies with lots of good attorneys to oppose you. The remainder of those employers will be "self-insured" or uninsured. And all fight just as hard to avoid paying for your injuries. And if one of the corporate petroleum giants is involved, pity the poor foolish oilfield worker who makes an injury claim against them alone.

Non-subscribers' insurance companies have attorneys either on staff or permanent retainer. They are very good defenders of their clients against oil rig accident claimants like you who try to sue them. Insurance companies are always confrontational under such circumstances. But you can beat them if you have a just cause for claim, solid evidence, and an experienced attorney in your corner who knows every trick they pull, and how to counter it.

But as bad as the insurance companies can be in an oil patch injury claim or lawsuit, self-insured contractors and subcontractors who are liable your injuries, or those who have no insurance at all, use every trick they can think of once an injured worker takes legal action against them to recover damages. Some of those tricks are obscene and some even cross the legal line.

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 drilling contractors and subcontractors can deliberately dispose of evidence as well bribe or intimidate witnesses, even you. They sometimes resort to physical threats. 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.

Injury Claims on Offshore Drilling Rigs are Different from Texas Worker Injury Laws

The laws that govern work injury cases to those who work on offshore drilling platforms, regardless of whether the rig is a "jack-up" inside U.S. territorial waters or a deepwater platform, are completely different than those governing petroleum drilling on Texas soil.

Most (but not all) platform drilling injury cases will fall under the Jones Act (also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920). But other legislation such as the Death on the High Seas Act an the even older Limitations Liability Act of 185, which was enacted years before the laws that govern today's insurance companies, might also come into play.

And though the same types of damages available through Texas Civil Law are offered to offshore platform workers through the above-mentioned pieces of maritime legislation, the mechanics of winning compensation for injuries, lost wages, pain, suffering and death benefits are dramatically different because there are many contradictory loopholes through which defendants might be able to use against your claim. The insurance companies who underwrite offshore drilling companies and their attorneys are much more specialized than you would find in a Texas accident injury case. We have much more information on maritime drilling injury accidents and the process of filing and winning a civil suit if you will follow this link. But it's paramount that if you have been injured in an offshore drilling accident that you contact one of Grossman Law Firm's Houston drilling accident attorneys to better understand your injury compensation rights if you have been injured on an offshore drilling platform.

No Matter Who You Sue, You're In for a Fight

In all oilfield injury suits, defendants usually either have powerful insurance companies with very good legal representation to stand in your way, or will be "self-insured" or uninsured. No matter which of these three categories your opponent falls into, they all fight just as hard to avoid paying for your injuries. And if one of the corporate petroleum giants is involved, they may have a powerful patron to back them up, if it suits their purposes.

Attorneys are either on staff or permanent retainer to represent non-subscribers' insurance companies. They have to be good defenders of their clients or these deep-pocketed insurance companies would never hire them. These attorneys, and their Insurance company clients, often act confrontational, patronizing and very dismissive towards you. But you can beat them if you have a just cause for claim, solid evidence to back it up, and a Houston drilling accident lawyer to counter their arrogance and trickery.

But as bad as they are, other opponents can be even worse. They would be the self-insured contractors and subcontractors who are liable your injuries, or those who have no insurance at all. These people, usually the wildcatters and independents, can come up with even worse tricks once an injured worker takes legal action against them to recover damages. Some of their tricks would curl your hair.

You will deal directly with an officer of this self-insured drilling or pipeline company whose salary is comes from company profits. So if this person pays your injury claim that money comes directly out of company funds. So by compensating you, your employer, or that third party, literally takes money out his own pocket. We've seen many sneaky, self-insured company officers use any and all means, legal or otherwise, to oppose your claim while he protects his company's, and personal, assets.

These people are not above deliberately destroying evidence, bribing or intimidating witnesses, or resorting to physical threats against you, your attorney, or anyone else standing in his way. When we represent a client against a self-insured company, the first thing we often do is to file motions to prevent anyone within the self-insured company from behaving inappropriately against our clients. Sometimes these motions include clear demands that not even communicate with our clients, or their families in any way without one of our attorneys present.

What You Need to Do (and Not Do) Right Now to Win Oilfield Injury Compensation

The most important thing for you to remember right now is this. 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. Your employer or his insurance company is praying that you'll accept a substandard settlement and save them money, and a trial. So keep your mouth shut and your eyes wide open. In fact, it's never a good idea to discuss any details of your injuries or intentions, or anything else about the injury, with your employer, a third party, anyone with the insurance company, or even your co-workers before you speak to an experienced drilling accident lawyer. He'll tell you to keep on keeping your mouth shut. And it's good advice.

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

Then, you must realize the critical importance of acting swiftly. In oilfield accident cases, the evidence begins fading almost immediately. Physical evidence can quickly change, or be lost forever. Witness stories change, or they forget what they saw. If you wait too long to hire an attorney and put him to work, you seriously compromise your ability to win the injury damages you and your family deserve.

An experienced Houston drilling accident attorney with Grossman Law Office will help injured drilling rig and other oilfield workers deal with their cases anywhere on Texas shores or off. Know what your rights, how to proceed with your case and how much compensation you can secure from your oil or gas drilling injuries. Call Grossman Law Office now at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free), or send us an email by clicking this link, or fill out the form at the top of this page for a free consultation and find out how we can help you.

---

---