Common Oil Rig Injuries

Offshore Injury Lawyer with Experience Representing Workers at Oil Refineries in Houston, Texas

Photo of an oil refinery explosion

Few jobs are as physically demanding as working at a chemical plant, on an offshore oil rig or in an oil refinery. Platform and refinery workers truly earn every cent of their paychecks, which they often desperately need just to make ends meet. So, what do refinery and platform workers do when they are hurt doing the very thing that they count on to provide for themselves and their families?

During the almost three decades he has devoted to protecting the rights of injury victims and their families, Houston offshore injury lawyer Phillip Brantley has seen just how devastating an on-the-job injury can be for refinery and platform workers and the families of the victims of fatal oil rig accidents, including:

  • Costly medical bills and rehabilitation expenses
  • Adjusting to life with a debilitating injury, such as a spinal cord injury or traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • Living without a loved one killed in a fatal accident
  • Injury victims unable to live on their own due to their injuries, including needing at home care from a caregiver or having to move into a long-term care facility
  • No longer being able to work full time or at all due to the injury

Types of Chemical Plant and Oil Rig Accidents and Injuries

In many cases, workers are injured or even killed through no fault of their own, but instead due to bad safety standards, defective equipment or other acts of workplace negligence on the part of their employers, co-workers or third parties. In many cases, the psychological injuries that workers endure as a result of oil rig accidents can be just as devastating as the physical injuries they suffer. However, oil rig workers cannot receive compensation for psychological injuries alone. They must have suffered physical injuries as well to receive compensation for their workplace accident.

Types of injuries that workers suffer due to oil refinery and platform accidents include but are not limited to the following:

  • Back injuries
  • Neck injuries
  • Broken bones and internal injuries
  • Knee injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Respiratory injuries due to chemical inhalation
  • Concussions and TBI
  • Burn injuries (including chemical burns)
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Factors that can lead to refinery and platform worker injuries:

  • Defective equipment
  • Poor safety standards
  • Falls
  • Failure to maintain a safe work environment
  • Failing to lockout/tag out leading to electrocution
  • Fires and explosions
  • Chemical exposure
  • Failure to provide safety equipment or training

Regardless of the type of injury a worker has suffered or the circumstances that led to a worker’s on-the-job injury, injured workers or the families of fatal workplace accident victims need to speak to an experienced injury lawyer as soon as possible following the incident.

Won’t Workers’ Comp Cover All My Needs?

If an oil rig worker is injured while at sea, his or her injuries may be covered under the Jones Act, which provides compensation to workers injured at sea, including covering lost income, hospital bills and physical therapy costs. For workers hurt on land, however, different rules apply.

In the case of workers injured on land in Texas, workers compensation may provide for injured refinery and platform workers and their families following an on-the-job accident, or it may not. In Texas, unlike most other states in the US, employers are not required to carry workers compensation insurance. However, in many cases, workers do not even know that they are not covered under a workers comp insurance plan until they are injured on the job and need workers compensation. Since Texas law does not make workers compensation insurance a requirement for employers, the laws in our state allow more room for negligence lawsuits in regards to on-the-job accidents than other states.

Phillip Brantley & Associates, P.C. has successfully represented hundreds of injured refinery and platform workers. Our law firm offers free consultations with experienced Houston offshore injury lawyer Phillip Brantley. He will answer questions you have regarding your situation, explain your legal rights and provide you with the best options available to you and your family. This is information that you need to know to make the best decisions possible regarding your and your family’s future. Do not make the mistake of failing to talk with an experienced attorney as soon as possible following your injury or the loss of a loved one in an oil rig accident. Waiting to call could result in evidence valuable to your case being lost or time limits for filing an injury lawsuit or third party claim running out.

Talk to a Houston Offshore Injury Lawyer for Free. Se Habla Español!

To learn more about oil rig accidents and how we can help you, give us a call or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation with Houston offshore injury lawyer Phillip Brantley today.