Oklahoma City Oil Field Injury Lawyers

The dangers of oil field accidents are well known — whether it’s heavy equipment or machinery, toxic or hazardous materials, or poorly made safety equipment, a variety of dangers lurk on the oil field, often resulting in less-than-safe conditions for workers and others.

Injuries can happen out of nowhere, whether you’re a roustabout, roughneck, derrickhand, floorhand, or other field worker. If you’ve suffered injuries from an oil field accident, you must be aware of your legal rights and potential options.

Types of Oklahoma Oil Field Accidents

Various types of oil field accidents can cause severe, sometimes catastrophic personal injuries. The following are some examples:

• Oil rig explosions
• Fires
• Oil truck accidents
• Falls from heights
• Injuries caused by defective equipment or machinery
• Injuries caused by dangerous materials or hazardous chemicals
• Improper safety measures, training, or supervision

The injuries victims suffer due to an oil rig accident can be manifold. A fall can cause serious back or spinal injuries, for example, along with head injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Being crushed or slammed by defective equipment or machinery can cause severe internal injuries and broken bones or fractures. Fires and explosions can cause serious burns, requiring significant medical treatment and rehabilitative care. In the most catastrophic cases, an oil field accident can cause the wrongful death of a loved one.

Common Causes of Oil Field Accidents in Oklahoma

The cause of an oil field accident is an important part of your claim and must be thoroughly investigated. To recover compensation for your injuries, you will likely need to prove liability: that the party responsible for the accident breached a duty of care to you, directly causing your injuries. Common causes of Oklahoma oil field accidents include:

• Improper use or maintenance of machinery, equipment, or materials
• Insufficient safety equipment provided to workers and others
• Improper storage of dangerous chemicals and other materials
• Safety violations or ineffective inspections
• Issues with metal, such as corrosion or metal fatigue
• Inadequate training or supervision of staff

Recovering Compensation for Oil Field Injuries

When you or a loved one are injured in an Oklahoma oil field accident, you may face various expenses and financial losses. In an oil field accident claim, you may be able to recover compensation for some of those losses, such as the following:

• Medical bills and hospital stays
• The costs of prescription medications
• The costs of medical imaging, testing, and treatment
• Doctors’ and specialists’ visits
• The costs of physical therapy, home care, nursing care, and other types of therapy and rehabilitation
• Lost income or wages if you cannot work as a result of your accident
• Pain and suffering
• Scarring or disfigurement
• The loss of enjoyment of activities that you can no longer do
• The general decline in the quality of your life

To recover compensation for your damages, you will need to prove liability — that is, you will need to show, through pertinent evidence in your case, that another party was directly responsible for your injuries. If your accident occurred at work, your claim would likely involve filing for worker’s compensation. According to the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission, several different types of benefits are available to injured workers, including:

• Medical care for work-related injuries or illnesses
• Payments for wages lost as a result of work-related injuries or illnesses
• Replacement for lost wages; this is temporary total disability (TTD)
• Compensation for permanent disabilities, within limitations set by law
• Death benefits for the families of workers who died due to a work-related injury
• Vocational retraining and/or job placement for workers who are unable to return to their prior occupation

Additionally, under some circumstances, you may be able to bring a claim for negligence against the parties responsible, whether your oil field injury resulted from poor planning, poor communication, poor training, poorly functioning equipment or machinery, or poorly kept hazardous materials.

A negligence claim seeks to hold a party responsible for causing injuries to another, where the party breached their duty of reasonable care and safety. For example, suppose a lack of proper safety equipment caused your Oklahoma oil field injury. In that case, you may assert a negligence claim against the party whose duty was to provide the safety equipment.

A claim involving Oklahoma oil field accidents can quickly become complicated, and you should consult with a knowledgeable attorney to discuss your legal rights and options. An attorney will be able to thoroughly investigate the facts of your claim and assess your damages fully, focusing on preserving important evidence in your case.

They will also negotiate with the other parties and their insurance companies toward a fair and reasonable resolution. If that is not possible, they will prepare your case for trial. The complexities of oil field cases are numerous, and you shouldn’t try to fight on your own — an experienced Oklahoma oil field accident lawyer can be invaluable.

Why Trust Nix Patterson with Your Oklahoma Oil Field Injury Claim?

Oil field injury claims are complex, often involving various laws and difficult facts. You need the legal team that’s handled billions of dollars worth of complex legal problems and successfully taken on the oil and gas industry, all to help people who rightly seek retribution to the full extent of the law. Let us focus on your case so you can focus on getting better after your injury and getting your life back on track.

When you hire Nix Patterson, you work with attorneys with over 40 years of experience in oil field accidents and related cases. Our oil field injury attorneys will dedicate their time and attention to your case, using all available resources to build your claim. We will negotiate with the other parties and their insurers toward a fair settlement offer, and we are ready to represent you in court if a settlement does not result. Call 405-925-2187 or contact us online to get started before it’s too late to file your claim.