Working in an oil rig is one of the most dangerous things people can do for a living. Workers there are exposed to all kinds of injuries, such as burns, cuts, and lacerations.
When oil rig accidents happen, workers either die or get severe injuries. While many of those accidents happen due to unforeseeable situations, many of them come from the negligence of the personnel of the oil rig.
Injured oil rig workers can hire a personal injury lawyer to take their case and file a lawsuit against the negligent party who caused the accident. Attorneys will help those workers get financial compensation to cover the medical treatment they need to recover from their injuries.
This blog post shows how often oil rig accidents happen and what victims can do after they happen.
The team at Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys goes to war for their clients and does everything possible to give them the compensation they deserve. Victims of oil rig accidents can call the firm to schedule a free consultation now. They can also answer questions like, "Do people ever fall off oil rigs?"
Is an Oil Rig Accident the Same as an Oil Rig Disaster?
Before knowing how often the accidents happen, people need to know the difference between them and oil rig disasters.
The Deepwater Horizon incident is a perfect example of the latter. This disaster consisted of the explosion of the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon. That explosion led to the largest spill of oil in the history of the country.
11 workers died after the explosion of the offshore drilling rigs.
When the Ocean Ranger mobile offshore drilling rig sank in Canada, the 84 crew members working there died too.
Less "severe" oil rig accidents, on the other hand, result in the wrongful death or injury of one or just a few people working in the oil rig. Those accidents can cause back, eye, and head injuries, among other health issues.
How Often Do Oil Rig Accidents Happen?
Oil rig deaths and injuries are, unfortunately, more common than they should be. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement stated that 19 people died in offshore oil rigs, and 106 got injured from 2015 to 202o.
Moreover, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health published a report that showed 69 oil rig deaths in one year and 29 that happened the year before.
The rise in the death rate of workers in offshore oil rigs in just one year is alarming, and it shows how negligent some drilling companies are when it comes to managing their equipment and personnel.
Those deaths come from transportation accidents, unsafe contact with equipment, fires, and oil rig explosions.
What Makes Oil Rigs Dangerous for Drilling Company Workers?
It's easy to notice how dangerous it is to work in an offshore oil rig, but what makes the oil industry that dangerous?
One of the reasons for it involves companies that don't train their personnel properly. Oil rig workers need to be fully aware of the dangers of working in an oil rig and what they need to do to stay away from danger.
However, some oil rig companies avoid training their personnel because they don't want to waste any production time, which leads to several accidents.
Transportation accidents are the main cause of personal injuries in an offshore oil rig. Workers in the oil industry need to move a lot, and that includes going in and out of the oil rig by car or helicopter.
Moving that much around an offshore oil rig exposes workers to many dangers, such as car accidents.
Most oil rig accidents happen due to the negligence of the oil company, and the perfect example is the low maintenance of the oil rig equipment.
Oil companies avoid paying for the maintenance, repair, or replacement of old equipment that could injure the company workers at any time. People need to work near that equipment, which is a constant threat to their physical health.
What Can Cause an Oil Rig Disaster?
While oil rig accidents often just kill one or just a few workers, more severe disasters can end the lives of dozens of people working on the same oil rig.
Although those disasters are not as common as accidents in the oil and gas industry, they can and do happen every once in a while. Workers never know if they'll be the next ones to suffer the consequences of the negligence of gas companies.
These are a few examples of what can cause a disaster in an offshore oil rig:
Collisions
The collision of the equipment used in an oil rig can cause it to sink completely in a matter of minutes. Even if that doesn't happen, just the collision of the equipment with the workers of the oil rig can kill them or severely injure them.
Moreover, the same happens when it crashes with other objects overseas, such as ships.
Oil Rig Explosions
Oil rig explosions are one of the most dangerous things that can happen in an oil rig, and as happens with collisions, they can cause the death of all the personnel working there.
Explosions can happen due to machinery malfunctions, pipeline blowouts, defective equipment, or lack of maintenance to the oil rig equipment.
Fires
Similar to explosions, pipeline blowouts and defective equipment can cause fires in an oil rig. Although they are not as dangerous as explosions, fires can cause workers serious injuries if not treated on time.
Other problems such as electrical faults, overheating of the machinery, smoking in the oil rig, corrosion, and lightning strikes can also cause a fire.
Other Causes
While collisions, fires, and explosions are the main causes of oil offshore rig disasters, they are not the only ones.
Some gas worker fatalities don't even come from the negligence of a party but from several unforeseeable situations. These are a few of the other causes of oil rig disasters:
Human error
Weather-related accidents
Structural failure
Miscommunication
Lack of safety protocols
Lack of proper training
Can Victims of an Oil Rig Accident Get Financial Compensation?
Oil workers can seek financial compensation for what happened to them if they take legal action against the negligent parties responsible for it.
Even if it's a wrongful death case involving one or more oil rig fatalities, the families of the deceased can sue the companies for what happened.
Victims can get compensation for economic and non-economic damages. That includes physical injuries, wrongful death, lost wages, loss of property, pain, distress, psychological trauma, and others.
The first thing oil workers need to do after being the victim of negligence in an offshore oil rig is to contact a lawyer and ask for a consultation on their case.
When the victims talk to their lawyers, they need to specify the details of what happened. Then, the personal injury attorney will tell them how possible it is for them to win the case and what they should do.
The next step is to start looking for evidence of the negligence around the offshore oil rig. Things such as testimonials, photos, and videos, are excellent pieces of evidence for a trial against a drilling company.
If the negligent party wasn't the company itself but rather another worker, victims can sue them too.
Lawyers will then have to start the legal process to file a personal injury claim, submit it to the court, and wait for it to notify the negligent party of the claim.
Since these accidents are common in the oil and gas industry, drilling companies are often prone to negotiate with the victim to get to an agreement on the money they can receive. Lawyers need to take part in those negotiations to keep the victim from accepting an unfair deal for them.
If both parties can't get to a fair agreement for the victim, they can take the case to trial.
How Can Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys Help Victims of an Oil Rig Accident?
The experts at Schuerger Shunnarah Trial Attorneys are one of the best options victims of an oil rig or any other personal injury accident can go for.
Firstly, scheduling a free consultation with this firm is straightforward, as the firm's lawyers understand the importance of addressing things in time in these cases.
Since the firm works with experienced, qualified, and licensed attorneys in the personal injury area, its oil rig accident attorneys in Dallas TX know where to look for evidence and what may work best for each case. They also know what deals victims should take or avoid.
Insurance companies do what they can to take advantage of people who don't know much and avoid their rights. However, this law firm knows all its tricks since it works with former insurance company lawyers.
The best way to win a case against insurance companies is to use their secrets against them, which is already an advantage this law firm has over others.
Bottom Line - Schedule a Free Case Review Now!
Regardless of how dangerous it is to work in an offshore oil rig, workers can't quit the job that gives them money to live. The problem with that is that it's difficult to predict when the negligence of a company will kill or injure someone. Schuerger and Shunnarah Trial Attorneys can also answer questions like, "Can you use your cell phone on an oil rig?"
Oil and gas companies think they can do what they want with workers, but they can't. Employees can and should take legal action against them to get the compensation they deserve for their injuries.
Victims of oil and gas accidents are not alone since Schuerger and Shunnarah Trial Attorneys will go to war for them. The only thing they need to do is schedule a free consultation with the team, so they should do it as soon as they get a personal injury while working.