San Antonio Drilling Accident Attorney

Odessa Oilfield Accident Lawyer Michael Grossman Discusses West Texas Oilfield Work Injury Accidents

Although the monetary rewards might be good for those who work in the San Antonio fuel industry the consequences oftentimes can be quite high. If there was a television show that featured the most dangerous of work sites, natural gas plants, oilfields and oil rigs probably would be at the top of the list. Workers in this industry make a living doing what most people don’t dare. It can be back-breaking labor under the most dangerous conditions.

If you have given your sweat and dropped your blood for a company that turned their backs on you after a work-related injury, it is your right to pursue legal action against the parties responsible for your wounds. San Antonio drilling accident attorney Michael Grossman will use the following article to help explain your legal options following your San Antoni drilling accident.

The Dangers of Working in the San Antonio Oil and Gas Industry

Because of the (literally) explosive nature of the work in this industry, there can be a multitude of hazards that can present real danger to oil rig, oilfield and natural gas plant workers. The more common dangers include: (1) Explosions and flash fires, (2) a noisy atmosphere that hinders quick communication, (3) defective safety devices or underused safety procedures, (4) little to no supervision, (5) under trained staff or understaffed work sites.

Just one of these problems can have serious repercussions that can be hazardous to the workers and residents living nearby. Some of the most common injuries that result include: (1) gas or fuel poisoning; (2) burns; (3) amputations, (4) crushed bones; (5) skin irritations, (6) head trauma, or (7) spinal chord injuries. And then there is death.

If these injuries happen as a result of the negligence of another employee, supervisor or company management the victim has legal options at his disposal. San Antonio drilling accident lawyer Michael Grossman will guide you through the maze.

Natural Gas

In an effort to be more environmentally friendly some companies are turning to natural gas because it is thought to be the cleanest of all the fossil fuels. Because it emits little to no sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere it alleviates the concerns surrounding acid rain, smog, greenhouse gases or water pollutions. In addition to its low emissions testing, natural gas is becoming the source of fuel for new “green” cars.

Although natural gas is one of the more popular forms of energy in American households, natural gas leaks have lead to people being poisoned and even killed because the gas is odorless. Common household appliances are the source of some natural gas leaks. They include (1) ovens, (2) outdoor grills, (3) water heaters, (4) dryers, (5) central air and heating systems, (6) space heaters, and (7) fireplace logs.

These household appliances are a part of most families. So it can be hard to determine where the leak might be. But an accumulation of natural gas in an enclosed area is where the danger starts. To prevent overexposure to the gas or to reduce the chances of an explosion, it’s advisable to always have some type of ventilation in your house. That means leaving an upstairs window or sliding glass door open so fresh air is flowing through.

Even though natural gas is odorless; a distinct smell has been added to help people detect the possibility of a leak. So if you think there is a possibility that you have a natural gas leak, open a window or doorway to get fresh air in the house, and do not turn on any lights or anything with an electrical current near the suspect gas leak. It’s best to leave the area altogether and notify the gas company and the fire department.

Natural gas explosions have been known to occur at commercial properties, as well as at people’s homes. With new housing divisions and new shopping malls popping up all over the place, sometimes builders and sub-contractors put profits before safety and move too fast causing mistakes that could cause people serious harm or even death. If it can be proven that the cause of the leak is a malfunction in the appliance, the manufacturer, distributor, seller or the maintenance company that last worked on it could be held responsible. If it’s not a faulty appliance, the company that supplied the gas could be held responsible.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a natural gas explosion, you should contact our San Antonio accident attorney Michael Grossman. He and his capable team at Grossman Law Offices will do what it takes to make sure your family is fairly compensated for their pain and suffering. Call 1-855-393-0000 for a free consultation today.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance and Why it Matters if Your Employer Has It

It is not mandatory for companies that operate in Texas to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Still, the Texas legislature provides protection to employers that subscribe to the workers’ comp plan. The biggest advantage is that employers are shielded from civil lawsuits except in the unfortunate case that an employee is killed and the death was proven to have been caused by the gross negligence of the employer.

Consequently, an injured worker that is hired by a subscribing company, which means the employer operates under the workers’ compensation insurance shield, is blocked from filing a lawsuit against the company that hired them if they get injured. Instead, they have to file a workers comp claim with the company that hired him to get compensated for their injury. And you can bet that the amount of compensation they get through workman’s compensation will be nowhere near what they should get, because workman’s comp works on behalf of the employer – not the employee. But if the company does not have worker’s comp insurance, by default it must carry some sort of general liability insurance policy and are considered to be a non-subscriber. In that case the company does not have the same protection and therefore, can be sued through a Texas personal injury lawsuit. For this very reason a lax employer’s workers’ comp status should be evaluated from the beginning because it will determine the best route to take for the injured worker or their family member(s).

But do not expect that an employer is going to offer any information to be used against them. So expect to be stonewalled. An employer is likely to be sued due to their negligence probably will not be honest about their workers’ comp status.

A wounded worker, who tries to get answers from managers about the company’s worker’s comp status, soon will learn that management’s allegiance is to the company. And some supervisors are kept in the dark about such issues. If he does know, a manager might be expected to lie about the company’s status to keep the injured worker guessing and to hold up the process. So a non-subscribing oil and gas employer might pretend to carry worker’s compensation insurance. Since a subscriber is shielded against lawsuits and thus consequently can not be held liable, this employer has the motivation to keep an injured worker from knowing the truth about their workers compensation insurance coverage status.

Seeking Compensation if Your Employer is Covered by Workers Comp

If it is discovered that your San Antonio oil and gas employer is covered by workers compensation insurance, then you can file a worker’s comp claim in order to seek proper compensation for your medical expenses and lost wages. The Workers’ Compensation Act limits compensation to:

Seventy (70%) of lost wages due to time off from work caused by the injury. This percentage is capped at $600 per week. If you have suffered an oil or gas injury that won’t allow the employee to return to work, you may have to settle for receiving such capped benefits till the end of your life.

Reimbursement for medical expenses, including treatment, prescriptions, medical supplies, and travel expenses.

Workers’ comp claim does not take into account pain or suffering, or other similar types of general damages, as a personal injury lawsuit does.

Additionally, some people may mistakenly believe that seeking compensation through the workers’ comp process is easy and quick. More often than not, this is not the case. Pursuing a workers’ comp claim can often be a laborious, time-consuming, and bureaucratic effort filled with paper-work. Insurance companies are also often prone to finding ways to reduce your claim, which could result in a longer battle to receive compensation. Some workers’ comp claims can be contested, which may require an injured oilfield worker to plead their case in a special workers’ comp court. In these instances, proving your actual financial losses in terms of medical expenses and lost wages is a vital aspect toward ensuring that you’re properly compensated. With an experienced Odessa oilfield accident lawyer to help you prove up your damages, such compensation can likely be achieved.

Legal Options in a Subscriber Oilfield Injury Accident Case

However, an injured oil and gas worker may not have to settle for the oftentimes less-than-adequate amount provided to them through a workers’ compensation claim. While a subscribing employer cannot be sued for an injury or death, other entities involved in the accident can be litigated against. For example, if a defective safety device was a contributing factor to an oilfield accident, the part manufacturer can be held partially liable for the accident through a product liability lawsuit. If a negligent co-worker was acting recklessly and their behavior caused or contributed to an oil and gas explosion, a lawsuit may be brought against that worker. Such legal action can be sought against other liable parties, even if the injured victim is also seeking compensation through a workers’ comp policy. By seeking legal action against other liable parties, an aggrieved party may be able to receive compensation that can help make up for the deficit that can often exist between their actual incurred financial losses and the amount of compensation they’re able to receive through a worker’s comp claim. The San Antonio drilling accident attorneys at Grossman Law Offices have twenty years of investigative experience into injury accident and fatal work accidents. When we’re enlisted to help an aggrieved party discover the liable parties for a work accident, we make concerted efforts to conduct a thorough investigation that will work toward identifying all liable parties, even those that may have not been a direct cause of the injury accident or fatal oilfield accident.

Seeking Compensation if Your Employer is Not Covered by Workers Comp

If it turns out that the employer is not a subscriber, meaning they do not have workers’ comp coverage, the injured worker can file a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit. Such a suit can allow almost unlimited compensation so long as the damages can be proven to have been a result of the liable party’s negligent behavior. An injured worker or the bereaved family of a killed oil and gas worker does not have to maneuver through the process alone. They should seek legal action against the negligent employer, however challenging it might be. These kinds of workplace accidents will be challenged by the employer who likely will have a plethora of defense attorneys ready to state their case against an injured oil and gas worker or the remaining family. The best way to prepare a case is to collect supporting evidence, gather witness testimony and to know the status of the employer’s insurance policy. Having the help of San Antonio drilling accident lawyer Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices can prove beneficial toward your need to have a robust case built on your behalf.

Further Obstacles in Non-Subscriber Cases

Employers who do not carry workers’ comp insurance still have some form of insurance coverage, likely a general liability policy. These companies with their cut-throat adjusters are more concerned with their profits than with the needs of an injured victim or a deceased worker’s relatives. So they will try different tactics in order to see a claim denied or decreased. So expect the insurance adjusters to be very aggressive and disagreeable.

Non-subscribing employers have only one recourse in a work injury case. Sole proximate cause means that a defense attorney must be able to argue that an oil and gas worker was totally responsible for his own harm or death. This is burden of proof is so high, because it can be seen as a punishment for companies that didn’t purchase workers’ comp insurance. Having an experienced San Antonio drilling accident attorney on your side who can use relevant evidence to construct a robust case can be vital toward the outcome of a personal injury lawsuit or wrongful death lawsuit in Texas.

The Difference Between an Employee and a Contractor and Why It Matters

Oil and gas work sites and other industrial zones might employ contractors to perform specific jobs. If a contractor suffers an injury due to an oil or gas worksite accident, he or she has little to no legal recourse against the employing entity? But if the contractor can be shown to have been a W-2 employee, then the injured employee can file a lawsuit or pursue a workers’ compensation claim against a negligent employer.

If the injured worker is indeed an employee the following indications will be consistent:

• The employer withheld social security and other taxes.
• The employer paid the worker by the hour or on a salary.
• The employer required the worker to sign documents limiting work-related rights, such as an employee handbook or an agreement to drug testing.
• The employer set the worker’s schedule.
• The employer supervised the employee’s work.
• The employer provided tools and other work materials for the job.
• The employer hired the worker for an indefinite period of time.

If any of these situations apply, the worker is a regular employee who is covered under the employers insurance. If anybody tries to tell the injured worker otherwise, this is another reason why an injured oil and gas worker should consider contacting a San Antonio drilling accident attorney so that their true employment status can be determined instead of simply taking the word of a liable employer that may be attempting to deceive an injured worker so that their company won’t face legal action.

What Role Does OSHA Play in an Odessa Oilfield Accident?

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a government agency whose objective is to standardize workplace safety. They will investigate work-related accidents that lead to injury or death, but the agency is not concerned with the individual rights of an injured worker or a bereaved family. OSHA can levy fines against a company, but only a court can levy compensation to the injured worker. OSHA investigations can take up to six months to complete. While an OSHA report can be used as one piece of evidence among many necessary pieces, it rarely is useful in civil liability cases. Contact Odessa Oilfield Accident

Attorney Michael Grossman

If you have suffered an injury while working in an oil or gas work site, first seek proper medical attention if you have not already done so. An injured victim of an accident must seek proper medical attention within a reasonable amount of time so that their injuries do not get worse. If an injury is not properly treated and gets worse, a victim may lose the chance to seek compensation from a negligent party. If you are having a hard time getting medical help because you have little to know money, Grossman Law Offices might be able to help you until your lawsuit is finalized.

Because your family might be financially strapped, do not be suckered in by a settlement offer from an employer or an insurance adjuster. More often than not, such a settlement offer is less than you deserve and less than a court would award you. So if you are willing to wait it out your compensation could be thousands of dollars more. If you are offered a settlement, a knowledgeable San Antonio drilling accident lawyer can look over such an offer in order to assess its fairness in comparison to the true value of a case.

If you have been injured in an oil or gas work-site accident or have lost a loved one due to a fatal oil or gas accident, contact the San Antonio drilling accident attorney Micheal Grossman at 1-855-393-0000. Such a call should be placed as soon as possible after an accident has occurred so that an investigation can be started quickly. Since evidence and witnesses can be more difficult to track down as time passes, an investigation that begins quickly can often uncover vital evidence or testimony that can be used to bolster a victim’s case. With twenty (20) years of experience in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits in San Antonio drilling accident lawyer Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices will work hard to ensure that all liable parties are discovered and held accountable so that fair compensation can be sought and justice pursued.