People who’ve suffered injuries or lost loved ones in Texas oilfield accidents caused by another individual or entity’s negligence can seek wide-ranging damages in civil litigation. If you’re wrestling with severe injuries and mounting medical bills, or your family member died due to an accident on the oilfield, you could have grounds for a lawsuit—and you owe it to yourself to find out what compensation might be available.
Read on to learn more about oilfield accident litigation, including potential damages, what you must prove, and how Terry & Thweatt, P.C.’s highly skilled Houston trial lawyers can fight for a fair recovery that helps victims rebuild their lives and provides for related future needs.
Pursuing Damages in a Texas Oilfield Injury Lawsuit
From fires and explosions to well blowouts and rig collapses, oilfield accidents can result in catastrophic, life-altering injuries and/or fatalities. When negligence or misconduct causes these devastating incidents, injured workers and the surviving spouse, children, or parents of those killed could be eligible to pursue a legal remedy. Though Texas typically gives victims two years to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, consulting an experienced attorney as soon as possible after an oilfield accident is vital to protecting your right to recovery.
What You Must Prove
Recovering damages in a Texas oilfield injury or wrongful death case requires proving the following:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care, meaning they were obligated to take reasonable steps to ensure a safe work environment.
- The defendant violated this duty through negligence or misconduct.
- The defendant's actions (or lack thereof) were a substantial factor in causing the accident.
- You suffered physical injuries, financial losses, or other damages as a result.
What an Oilfield Accident Recovery Might Include
Oilfield catastrophes can cause lasting physical, emotional, and financial hardships for victims and their families. Understanding the scope of available compensation is critical to seeking and recovering the funds needed to adapt to new challenges resulting from these traumatic events. Here’s an overview of what a typical recovery might include.
Economic Damages
Also known as compensatory or special damages, economic damages aim to compensate victims for financial losses from oilfield accidents. This category of compensation usually makes up the majority of most plaintiffs’ personal injury recoveries. Examples of common economic damages follow.
Medical Expenses
Victims can seek compensation for all accident-related medical expenses, including specialist appointments, emergency ambulance services, hospitalizations, surgeries, rehabilitation, and medically necessary travel and home modifications. Settlements or financial awards for catastrophic oilfield injuries should also address the estimated costs of ongoing and future care.
Lost Wages
Oilfield injuries are often severe or life-altering, requiring extensive medical treatment and preventing many workers from returning to the job. Injured workers can collect damages for wages lost while recovering, as well as lost future income if their injuries permanently affect earning capacity.
Property Damage
When dangerous oilfield incidents damage personal property like vehicles and equipment, workers can pursue reimbursement for repair or replacement costs.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages address the intangible losses victims endure following an oilfield accident, providing compensation for the incident’s emotional and psychological toll. This category of damages compensates workers for losses like:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Mental and emotional distress
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship and support
Sometimes called general damages, non-economic damages can be difficult to quantify since these losses have no objective dollar value. The multiplier method is one approach lawyers, judges, and juries use to determine appropriate compensation for these damages. It involves multiplying the plaintiff's economic damages by a factor between 1.5 and 5, with the multiplier varying based on the injuries' severity and impacts.
Oilfield Accident Wrongful Death Damages
Wrongful death recoveries might include compensation for funeral and burial expenses, loss of financial support, and emotional suffering surviving family members have endured due to their loved one's death.