Our Oilfield Injury Lawyers Can Help. We’ve Done It Before.
Your oilfield injury lawyers at Morrow & Sheppard have evaluated, handled, settled, and tried all kinds of oilfield injury cases.
The oilfield workers and families we have been privileged to represent typically want the same three things:
- Get to the bottom of what happened.
- Make sure it doesn’t happen to someone else.
- Get enough compensation to provide for their families, and if necessary, to punish the companies or people who did wrong.
If this sounds like you, Morrow & Sheppard is probably the right personal injury law firm for you.
We have recovered multi-million dollar settlements and jury verdicts for deserving families all around the country. Our track record in court is public, and there for all to see. But there is something else you might be interested to know.
Most of our clients stay in touch with us long after their case is over. The clients become part of our law firm family. We are as proud of the oilfield friends we have made as we are of the dollars we have recovered.
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Common Questions
There are three main things that go into evaluating a personal injury case:
- Deadlines. You have to file your personal injury or wrongful death case in time. This time limit is called the statute of limitations. In most states, the deadline to file a claim is triggered by the date the accident occurred. Below we have listed some deadlines we often see in states where oilfield accidents commonly occur. But different things could make your specific deadline shorter or longer. That’s one of the reasons it is important to consult with an experienced oilfield injury lawyer as soon as possible following an incident, and it is one of the reasons our law firm consults with potential clients, confidentially, for free, 24/7.
- Negligence Or Wrongful Conduct. To recover for your oilfield injury, or a loved one’s death, a company or person that was involved in the incident typically has to have done something that was not “reasonable” under the circumstances. Whether someone acted “unreasonably” may not be obvious at first. In many, many cases, our personal injury lawyers (or experts we have hired) uncover a violation of industry standards or defective product that the clients did not know about when they first came to us. That is another reason it is important to consult with lawyers who have handled oilfield cases. You have to know what to look for.
- Damages. The third key element in a personal injury case is damages. If there is a wrongful death, amputation, head injury, burn, or broken bone, the damage is obvious. But something like a herniated disc in the back or neck may not be apparent at first, and may get worse over time. The severity of mental injuries such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) may not be apparent. Other afflictions such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (“CRPS”) can go undiagnosed and untreated if you do not visit the right doctors and experts. Our oilfield lawyers have seen these things before, and we are experienced in helping clients find the right doctors and experts to make sure such conditions are not missed.
The deadline to file your oilfield case is usually referred to as the “statute of limitations.” Below are deadlines we commonly see in oilfield cases. The statute of limitations to bring an oilfield injury claim can depend on the facts and circumstances of your particular case, which is one of the many reasons it is a good idea to contact our oilfield injury lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights.
| State | Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | 1 year | Louisiana Civil Code § 3492 |
| New Mexico | 3 years | New Mexico Statutes §37-1-8 |
| North Dakota | 6 years | North Dakota Code §§ 28-01-16, 28-01-18 |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | Oklahoma Statutes §12-95 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5542 |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 |
| West Virginia | 2 years | West Virginia Code § 55-2-12(b) |
| Wyoming | 4 years | Wyoming Statutes §1-3-105(a)(v), (B) |
Short answer: While no two cases are the same, because we have handled so many oilfield injury cases, we often can provide a rough estimate of your likely case value relatively early on in the process, after we file your case and secure relevant information. We have handled cases worth more than $20 million for a single client. We have also evaluated potential cases that were not worth anything. There is no guidebook or list that sets out how much your case is worth, but our experience often allows us to give you an educated estimate.
Every oilfield client wants to know how much their case is worth. Every good lawyer will hesitate to answer this question. And they should. The whole purpose of the lawsuit and claim process is to figure out how much each case is worth. No two cases are the same, and it is impossible to know how much your case is worth without going through at least some of the process.
With that being said, our oilfield injury lawyers have handled enough cases to spot the things that companies and insurance carriers look for when they evaluate personal injury and wrongful death cases. These factors include how bad the defendants’ conduct was, how severe (and obvious) your injuries are, the amount of your past and future medical bills and lost wages, what juries typically award in the court where your case is assigned, and the strength and track record of the lawyers involved.
When you consult with us, we will gather as much information as we can. Our experienced oilfield injury lawyers will be able to compare your case to others we have handled, as well as databases of cases that have been handled in the area where your case will be filed. When we have this information, we may be able to give you a rough estimate of the value of your case.
As your case proceeds, we will continue to refine and adjust our evaluation, because (again) the whole point of the lawsuit process is to get the information needed to value your case.
Short answer: Generally, you do not have to pay anything out of pocket to our oilfield injury attorneys.
In most cases, we represent personal injury and wrongful death clients on contingency fee. That means our law firm advances all the costs and attorneys’ fees of bringing your oilfield injury case, and we only recover our fees and expenses if you win. Clients on contingency fee do not pay our injury lawyers out-of-pocket.
You can learn more about contingency fees and our “no fee” promise here.
To better understand your rights, we respectfully suggest that you take advantage of the free and confidential consultations with one of our oilfield attorneys, who are available 24/7 to evaluate your potential case.
Short answer: To figure out who was at fault, our personal injury lawyers typically conduct a detailed and through investigation, which will usually include things like an analysis of industry standards, hiring experts in the field, serving document subpoenas and freedom of information requests (FOIAs), and conducting witness interviews.
Because we have handled so many oilfield injury cases, our law firm can often quickly figure out who was at fault for an incident. It may be a company man who gave improper instructions, a drilling crew who improperly assembled a rig that collapsed, or a service company that negligently operated a piece of machinery that crushed or burned someone.
Other times, the cause of an oilfield accident or explosion may be more subtle. It may have been unreasonable for a company to use a particular piece of equipment, because a newer, safer version existed. Workers on the ground—including the injured people—may not have even known about the safer alternative, because management didn’t tell anyone, usually because management was not yet ready to spend money on the alternative, even though it was safer.
We look for these sometimes hidden, contributing causes by consulting with industry experts from around the country. As an example, we have hired NASA scientists, safety experts who used to work in the oilfield, industrial hygienists who have designed safety programs for large companies, OSHA experts, and even ex-military personnel who have special knowledge about a particular product design or safe work practice.
We also consult with a library and database of industry standards and information we have at our law firm. This includes things like industry standards put out by the American Petroleum Institute (“API”), International Organization for Standardization (“IOS”), and American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”). In many catastrophic oilfield cases, we have discovered oilfield workers were violating standards they didn’t even know about, because management and corporate safety departments failed to pass along the information. That may be hard to believe in this day and age, but it happens more often than you think.
If this kind of investigation sounds expensive and difficult, that’s because it is. But it is not your burden to bear. In a standard oilfield injury or wrongful death case, we work on a contingency fee, which means we front the costs to hire such experts. You do not have to come out of pocket for these costs. We take the risk because we believe in your case, and we believe you should get justice.
Short answer: Most oilfield injury cases we have handled take 6 months to 3 years to resolve or get to trial, depending on the types of things outlined below.
Sometimes our personal injury lawyers are able to make a demand and negotiate a settlement before a lawsuit is even filed. But most times, oil companies, service providers, and product manufacturers will not admit fault without a fight.
What does this “fight” entail? After we file a lawsuit on your behalf, your case usually enters the discovery phase. This is when we work to figure out what happened. We demand documents from the companies we believe may be responsible. We take sworn testimony or “depositions” from witnesses who were present when the incident happened, or who may know about policies and procedures that relate to an incident. We hire experts who are familiar with the work going on and the equipment involved, and will testify on your behalf. We may also hire medical experts who will establish your injuries were caused by the incident, economists who to figure out your lost wages and earning capacity, and lifecare planners to figure out how much your future medical care will cost.
When the discovery process is complete, your lawsuit will typically go to a mediation. That is when a former judge or lawyer who is not involved in the case tries to help both sides come to an agreement on your compensation.
If mediation and negotiations are unsuccessful, your case will go to trial. We have had cases settle during trial. Other times, we have to get a jury verdict, and after that, sometimes there is an appeal.
We have had cases settle in less than 6 months. Other cases can take a few years. The court your case is assigned to, the strength of your case, and your (the client’s) wishes and expectations can be important factors in how long a case takes to resolve. We do our best to push cases forward to verdict or settlement as quickly as we can, and make sure you are supported along the way.
Based on our clients’ experiences and feedback, as well as the large recoveries and settlements we have obtained for our clients, we believe our approach works. We would be privileged to make our method work for you and your family.
The second most common type of oilfield injury is fatality. The oilfield’s most common cause of death is a fall from heights. This can happen when someone is working on an oil derrick, but it also happens when workers are on the ground below. Other common causes of fatality include exposure to toxic chemicals and gases, electrocution, and burns from fires or explosions.
In the old days, a person’s personal injury claim died along with them. Now, most states have passed “wrongful death” statutes. These laws entitle the surviving family members or executor of a dead workers’ estate to bring claims for compensation on behalf of the worker who has died. For example, the following states have wrongful death statutes that may provide compensation to the wives and family members of oilfield workers who die on the job:
- Louisiana. § 2512.2 of the Louisiana Civil Code.
- New Mexico. New Mexico Statutes Section 41-2-1.
- North Dakota. North Dakota statute Section 32-21-01.
- Oklahoma. Oklahoma Statutes § 12-1053.
- Pennsylvania. 42 Pa. C.S.A. Section 8301.
- Texas. Chapter 71 of the Texas Civil Practices & Remedies Code.
- West Virginia. WV Code §§ 55-7-5; 55-7-6.
- Wyoming. Wyo. Stat. § 1-38-101.
You can learn more about wrongful death actions on our website. For legal advice, and to better understand your rights, we encourage you to consult with one of our attorneys, confidentially and without any cost to you.
Short answer: Typically not, unless you decide to.
Over 90 percent of personal injury and wrongful death cases settle. The ultimate decision whether or not to settle is up to the client.
If a settlement offer is made, we will give you our advice. Sometimes we may recommend turning down an offer, either because we think you should hold out for a better offer, or because we think your case should go to trial. Sometimes we may believe an offer is acceptable and recommend that you take it. In either case, you ultimately decide whether or not to accept a settlement offer, within reason.
A case can settle at any point. Some cases settle early within the first 6months or even sooner, before a lawsuit is filed. Some cases take years to wind themselves through the trial and appeal process. More often than not, clients have a say in how long the process takes, because clients decide whether or not to accept the settlement offers that are made.
Cases that involve millions of dollars typically take longer to resolve than small cases. Clients who want top dollar in large cases typically have to hold out for longer. In catastrophic, multi-million-dollar cases, corporations and insurance companies often dangle less than fair value early on, and right up until the bitter end, hoping that injured people will become desperate. Our oilfield injury lawyers do our best to support our clients in such cases, make sure they understand what is going on, and prepare them to do what is necessary to get full and fair value for their cases, which in serious injury cases often means millions of dollars.
Many oilfield workers who are injured assume that workers’ compensation insurance will take care of them if an injury occurs. They are rightfully disappointed when they learn that, instead, workers’ compensation only pays a small portion of their lost wages.
Further, in some cases, workers’ compensation attempts to force injured workers to treat with doctors in the workers’ comp “system” who tend to under-diagnose injuries to save the corporations and insurance carriers money.
To recover lost wages, and be made whole, most oilfield workers have to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is often only possible if a “third party” is responsible for the incident, because in most cases, a worker cannot sue the employer that provides the workers’ compensation insurance.
The good news is that, in the oilfield, a “third party” is often at least partly responsible for the incident. An oilfield services company, oil company, or equipment provider may have been onsite and made a bad decision. A safety company may have prepared inadequate policies and procedures which contributed to an incident. A piece of equipment may have been defectively designed or manufactured. In such cases, oilfield workers and their families are often entitled to recover lost wages and earning capacity from these “third parties.” To calculate lost wages and earning capacity, our oilfield lawyers typically will retain an expert economist, who will take into consideration things like your past earnings, the rate of inflation, and U.S. Department of Labor statistics regarding work-life expectancy.
Importantly, you may not immediately recognize that a “third party” was responsible. That is why it is important to consult with our experienced injury lawyers, who have handled many oilfield injury and explosion cases, so that we can help you spot a potential responsible party. That may be the only way to help your family get back on their feet.
In a serious injury case, such as those involving brain injury, amputation, burns, paralysis, and spine (neck and back) injuries requiring surgery, an injured oilfield worker may need medical care for the rest of their lives.
How do you make sure the medical care for those injures is provided for? Our oilfield injury attorneys will frequently consult with experts whose job it is to figure out what treatment is necessary, and estimate how much it is going to cost.
Here are a few examples. If an oilfield explosion or chemical spill has caused you burn injuries, you may need to consult with a burn expert, often a plastic surgeon who works in a burn hospital. On the other hand, an oilfield worker struck by a piece of falling equipment who is paralyzed or partially paralyzed may need to consult with a neurologist or physical rehabilitation doctor familiar with the future medical needs of such patients. A person who has had a limb caught in between pieces of moving equipment or a falling rig structure may have limbs amputated, and they may need to consult with experts who specialize in cutting-edge prosthetics, including what may be coming on the market in the future, and how much the prosthetics are likely to cost. An oilfield head injury victim may need to have a neuropsychologist evaluate and determine what kinds of rehabilitation and future attendant nursing care will be needed. An oilfield worker with a neck or back injury requiring surgery may need a spine surgery expert who can analyze what follow-up procedures may be needed down the road.
After those consultations are done, and recommendations are made by the field experts, our oilfield injury lawyers often retain a lifecare planner to estimate the likely cost of the future treatment. Those costs are then submitted to the defense (and, if there is a trial, to the jury) to evaluate, and ultimately award compensation. In a serious injury case, it is often critical to have these issues evaluated, to make sure that you are able to get the care you need going forward. Our oilfield injury attorneys have years of experience finding and retaining medical experts. We have consulted with hundreds of doctors and lifecare planners, and we have identified those who (we believe) are most qualified to give the opinions needed to maximize our clients’ recovery, and ensure their needs are met. We generally work on contingency fee, which means in most cases, we front the costs of retaining these experts, and we only recoup those costs when we win your case. We work hard to make sure your medical needs are estimated by the right experts, and that your future is provided for.
We have handled and evaluated countless oilfield accidents. Cases that have resulted in large compensation awards include:
- Equipment failure and malfunction. Examples include pumps, hoses, piping, fittings, forklifts, control panels, chiksans, casing, tubing, well control equipment (including blowout preventers or “BOP”s), and solids control equipment such as de-gassers, centrifuges, and de-sanders
- Failure to follow policies and procedures
- Inadequate training
- Lifting and hoisting injuries
- Dropped and falling objects
- Electrocution and electric shocks
- Poor maintenance practices
- Metal fatigue and corrosion
- Overuse of equipment, including use beyond the manufacturer’s recommended useful life for a product
- Design, manufacturing, and warning defects
- Failure to lockout/tagout equipment
- Welding defects, including improper welds and old welds
- Failure to have a spotter or lookout during a hazardous operation, such as a crane or winch operation
- Negligent operation of a piece of moving equipment, such as a forklift accident, backhoe accident, or power tong issue
- Failure to conduct necessary safety meetings including job safety analysis (JSAs), job hazard analysis (JHA), safe to perform (STP), permit to work (PTW), and hot work permits
- Oilfield truck accidents including winch trucks and vacuum trucks, which are known causes of oilfield explosions
These are just some of the common causes of oilfield accidents.
Generally, the answer is no.
Our oilfield injury lawyers regularly handle cases for injured workers who receive workers’ compensation from their employers. These workers cannot bring claims against their employers, but they are able to bring “third party claims” against other companies who may be partly or wholly at fault for accidents that occur in the oilfield. Bringing these third party claims is critical to oilfield families, because most workers’ compensation insurance programs pay only a fraction of what is needed to make ends meet.
In the oilfield, several contractors typically work alongside the oil company (operator) that owns the well. An injured worker typically cannot bring a lawsuit against his or her direct employer, the company who purchased the workers’ compensation insurance. However, the worker is often entitled to recover from the other companies who were involved in the incident, or from a company that is involved in providing a piece of equipment that fails or is defective. Our firm has found that the at-fault party may not be obvious at first, which is why consulting with an oilfield injury lawyer who handles oilfield injury cases is important, and in many cases can be critical.
Here’s an example. You work for a wireline contractor at a drillsite. You are inured because of a bad decision or mistake made by an employee of a different company, such as the drilling contractor, mud company, cement company, water truck hauler, or even the oil company. In most states, you are entitled to make a claim and recover damages from the other company’s insurance. Also, you may not know that the equipment involved in your injury did not meet industry standards, was defectively designed, or was provided by a rental company that knew the equipment had problems. In such a case, the product manufacturer or rental company may be legally responsible for making you and your family whole.
In these cases, you may be entitled to bring a third party claim. If your injuries are serious or catastrophic, hiring an experienced oilfield injury attorney who is skilled at identifying these third party claims can mean the difference between living a comfortable life, and having no food on the table.
The hazards and dangers in the oilfield can lead to a variety of injuries when proper safety protocols are not followed. The most common oilfield injuries our oilfield injury lawyers see include:
- Neck and back injuries, including strains, herniations, and fractures along the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar parts of the spine.
- Paralysis and partial paralysis, including paraplegia and quadriplegia. Paralysis can result from things like falling objects, falls from height, and high velocity impact.
- Amputation of arms, fingers, toes, and legs. This often results from crush injuries as well as limbs being caught between pieces of moving oilfield equipment.
- Burns of different severity, including first, second, and third degree burns. In the oilfield, burns can be caused by fires and explosions, as well as chemical exposure (even cement used in drilling casing can cause severe burns.)
- Head injuries, including closed head injuries as well as open fractures. Most commonly, head injuries are caused by falling objects, although our oilfield attorneys have also handled cases in which head injuries were caused by moving equipment strikes, vehicle accidents, and slips, trips, and falls.
- Chemical exposure including lung and inhalation injuries.
- Broken bones and ligament damage including knees, arms, legs, wrists, and ankles.
Unfortunately, there have been safety shortcuts, equipment failures, personal injuries, and wrongful deaths in oilfields around the country. In 2022, most active shore-based oilfield activity is going on in the following locations:
- West Texas and eastern New Mexico. As many as 50 percent of active drilling rigs are in this region, particularly in the Permian Basin.
- South Texas. Approximately 10 percent of active drilling rigs are in the south Texas Eagle Ford oilfields.
- East Texas, northwest Louisiana, and southeast Arkansas. Another 10 percent of active rigs are in this region’s Haynesville formation.
- Oklahoma. 10 percent of drilling is in the Anadarko formation in Oklahoma.
- Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Utah. Around 5 percent of active rigs can be found here, in the Niobrara formation.
- North Dakota and Montana. Another 5 percent of rigs are here, in the Bakken shale.
- West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, New York. 10 percent of rigs can be found in the Appalachian formations.
There are large and small companies operating in the oilfield. Most are required to have liability insurance to cover personal injury lawsuits.
Large oilfield service companies (both onshore and offshore) operating around the world include:
- ABB Group
- Abbot Group
- Acteon
- ADES
- Aibel
- Aker Solutions
- Al Mansoori
- Argos Oil Tools
- AVEVA
- Baker Hughes
- Baker Petrolite LLC
- Bedrock Petroleum Consultants
- BGR Energy Systems
- Calfrac Well Services
- Canary, LLC (formerly Frontier Energy Group)
- CGG
- Challenger Limited
- China Oilfield Services
- Clough Group
- Core Laboratories
- Coretrax
- Cyntech
- DCP Midstream Partners
- Diamond Offshore Drilling
- DOF Subsea
- Emerson
- Engineers India
- ESG Solutions
- Eversource Energy
- Expro
- Fairfield Geotechnologies
- Fern Communications
- Flowserve
- Fluor Corporation
- Fugro
- GAC Group
- Gaia Earth Sciences
- Geokinetics
- Geophysical Service
- Gibson Energy
- GlobaLogix
- Grup Servicii Petroliere
- Gyrodata
- Halliburton
- Helix Energy Solutions Group
- Helmerich & Payne
- Hill International
- Honeywell
- Hunting plc
- Huawei
- Hytera
- ION Geophysical
- J&L Supply Co.
- Jacobs Engineering Group
- KCA Deutag
- Key Energy Services
- Larsen & Toubro
- Lowes Corporation
- McDermott International
- MODEC
- Nabors Industries
- Nalco Champion
- National Oilwell Varco (NOV)
- Neuman & Esser
- NESR
- Nexans
- Newpark Resources
- Noble Corporation
- Oceaneering International
- Odfjell Drilling
- OneSubsea
- Penspen
- Petrofac
- Petroleum Geo-Services
- PJP4
- Polarcus
- Precision Drilling
- Proserv
- Rockwell Automation
- Rosneft
- Saipem
- Sapura Energy
- SBM Offshore
- Schlumberger
- Schneider Electric
- Schoeller-Bleckmann
- Scomi
- Seaboard International
- Seadrill
- Secure Energy Services
- Shawcor
- Shelf Drilling
- Siemens
- Sparrows Group
- SPX Flow
- Stewart & Stevenson
- Subsea 7
- Superior Energy Services
- Swire
- TAM International
- TechnipFMC
- Tecnicas Reunidas
- Tendeka
- TiteWater Energy, LLC
- Tracerco
- Transocean
- Trican Well Service
- Trinidad Drilling
- Valaris plc
- Weatherford International
- Wasco Energy
- Wavefront
- Weir Group
- Welltec
- Wood Group
- Worley
Some of the larger oil companies operating in the United States include:
- Antero Resources
- APA Corporation
- Berry Petroleum Company
- Blacksands Pacific
- California Resources Corporation
- Chesapeake Energy
- Chevron Corporation
- Chord Energy
- CNX Resources
- ConocoPhillips
- Continental Resources
- Coterra
- Denbury Inc.
- Devon Energy
- Diamondback Energy
- EOG Resources
- EQT
- ExxonMobil
- Greka Energy
- Hess Corporation
- HKN, Inc.
- Koch Industries
- Laredo Petroleum
- Marathon Oil
- Murphy Oil
- Occidental Petroleum
- Ovintiv
- Pioneer Natural Resources
- Range Resources
- SandRidge Energy
- Shell Oil Company
- SM Energy
- Southwestern Energy
- Vaalco Energy
- XTO Energy
No Fee Unless We Win
At Morrow & Sheppard LLP, we understand the hardships of trying to heal and make sense of an accident. That is why we work on a contingency fee basis, which means no fee unless we win the case. Our fee is a percentage of the verdict or settlement we obtain for you.
How an Oilfield Injury Lawyer Can Help in Case of an Accident
Before the injured oilfield worker gets medical attention, they must report what happened to their supervisor. If there are any witnesses to the incident, they should also be interviewed by an oilfield accident investigation team. A complete investigation will help determine liability for injuries sustained in an oilfield accident. An oilfield injury attorney can investigate the circumstances of an accident and hold those responsible accountable for their actions. This includes:
- Talking to witnesses and reviewing any records that may be relevant to the incident
- Performing a physical inspection of the area where the accident took place
- Reviewing any incident reports and photographs of the scene. They may also review its maintenance records if the incident involved a vehicle or piece of oilfield equipment.
- Reviewing any medical reports and statements the injured party provides
- Reviewing any safety policies and procedures related to the incident. They may also review training records for those involved in the incident, including supervisors and workers on duty that day.
Let’s Help You Get the Justice You Deserve
At Morrow & Sheppard LLP, we understand how devastating it can be to suffer a serious oilfield injury. We are committed to helping you get the compensation you deserve so that you can focus on getting better and moving forward with your life. If you or someone you know has been injured or died in an accident while working in the oilfield, contact us today at (866) 798-2798 for a free consultation.
Fill out the form below to schedule a consultation to review your situation with an experienced attorney today or fill out the contact form and our legal team will get in touch with you shortly.
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