Offshore Accident Lawyer
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While it is exciting to work offshore, it can also prove dangerous. Regardless of how careful you are with safety, accidents can happen and can sometimes prove fatal. Hazardous conditions can cause serious injuries to offshore workers, including on crew boats, jackup rigs, tankers, and offshore platforms. The risk of injury is increased by workers who are often not properly trained and who work long hours without breaks.
A serious injury sustained in an offshore accident can cause financial and emotional damage. It can be difficult to know where to begin when seeking damages for personal injury or wrongful deaths. An offshore accident lawyer who is experienced in maritime and personal injury law can help you navigate the complicated details of your case to ensure that you receive a maximum recovery.
Common Causes of Offshore Unsafety
Many offshore and oilfield accidents can be avoided. These accidents can occur during line handling, basket transfers, vessel collisions, diving operations, and line handling. Accidents can occur in the same way as at work, including equipment failures or slip-and-falls. However, working offshore can be more dangerous than in other workplaces. An injury could also occur from a fire and explosion.
Even with large budgets, oil rigs often have very little oversight and training. This negligence by employers can lead to unsafe work environments that result in employees who are not properly trained to perform dangerous tasks, which can cause serious injury.
Head trauma, spinal injuries and severed limbs are common outcomes of offshore accidents. These injuries are often caused by:
- Oil rig injuries __S.17__ Many workers don't have the proper training to use the equipment. This increases the chance of human error causing offshore accidents.
- Deck accidents. A chaotic environment can exist on an oil rig deck, where workers are constantly alert and must be vigilant. Trip hazards, falls hazards, electrical hazards and crush hazards are all common hazards for workers. Workers can be easily struck by heavy equipment or slip on wet surfaces. They also may fall if the vessel's sudden lurch causes them to lose balance.
- Equipment failure. __S.23__ Workers may be electrocuted or burned, crushed, or even lost limbs. To prevent injury, it is important to use extreme caution when operating machinery on an oil rig.
- Explosions and fires. These are the most serious causes of offshore accidents. These can be caused by improperly stored fuel, poorly maintained pipes, or collisions between ships. Workers may need to leap from the rig onto the ocean if there is a fire. This can often happen at a height of 100 feet. Although workers are trained to jump correctly, stress can cause serious injury or drowning. Fire and injury accidents can cause life-threatening injuries, and even the destruction of entire vessels and the lives of those who are in them.
- Other vessels __S.32__ These include towing lines breaking, falling overboard and lifting heavy lines. A helicopter crash can cause injury if it is used to transport workers overseas.
Any type of offshore accident can cause emotional and physical trauma. It is possible that you are trying to recover from your injuries and figuring out how you will cope with losing a regular, substantial paycheck that provides support for your family. Our Austin, Texas offshore accident lawyers can help you find the root cause of your accident, and how to get you back on your feet financially.
In an Offshore Accident Case: Damages
A catastrophic offshore accident can cause severe damage to your family. There are many injuries that will require ongoing and extensive medical attention, as well as rehabilitation. This can lead to high medical bills. A family might have suffered a devastating accident that caused them endless pain and suffering. It can be difficult to find relief when you have lost your main source income.
An offshore accident lawyer will help you calculate the damages you are entitled to and can negotiate for you to ensure you receive the maximum recovery. You may be entitled to damages for lost wages, medical expenses and disfigurement depending on the facts of your case.
Your attorney will ensure that you have all necessary documentation and medical records to prove the tangible costs of your injury. Your attorney will show you how loss of earnings (both now and in the future), and hold any negligent parties accountable.
What factors can affect your case in an offshore accident?
It can be difficult to bring a claim against an offshore accident victim. It is important to know who you can sue, what workers' compensation effects your claim, how much coverage you have, and where you can file your case. You have many factors that could affect your case, particularly if you are trying to prove negligence on the employer's part.
- The level of risk. It is very risky to work offshore or in oilfields. You may need to take steps to extract oil and gas from the ground. This may not be allowed in other industries. Because of the lucrative nature of finding oil and gas pockets, your employer may pressure you to take greater risks or engage in unsafe activities to keep your job. These are commonplace practices. Your employer might try to reduce the perception of negligence by proving that you weren't required to engage in these high-risk behavior.
- Inadequate oversight. Rigs are often built by individuals who have had experience and not from formal training. Accidents are inevitable when you're drilling and running high-pressure lines of fracking on your own without any technical guidance.
- Insufficient training. __S.59__ You may find them performing duties that are not related to your regular job, like acting as a firefighter, which can also put other employees at risk.
- Sleep deprivation. An offshore worker typically works 12 hours per day for several weeks and is often awakened in the middle night to unload or receive a ship. Even if there is a night crew there might be additional crew needed. Employers want their employees to be as productive as possible, and this is often due to the potential loss of profits.
- What insurance coverage will pay. __S.66__ The rest is paid by an insurance company. The insurance company may adjust their claim, or try to make sure that the oil company settles the claim fairly so that they don't have any to pay.
Because it is cheaper than training employees properly, oil companies will often use shortcuts in the operation of their oil rigs. This may seem like the best practice in the industry but it can cause many injuries.
How an Offshore Accident Lawyer can Help
Employers often deny responsibility for injuries sustained by their workers on offshore oilfields or rigs. This is a common tactic to avoid having to pay damages. They often try to shift the blame onto their employees, claiming that they are responsible for the offshore accident. If an employee sees something unsafe, or needs more sleep, they may argue that the employee was entitled to intervene and stop the entire vessel from moving. Employers may try to make it harder for employees to find work in other industries if they bring a suit.
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