Lessons Discovered From An Oil Field Accident Personal Injury Attorney9976650
A couple of years ago I had a family members member operating on an oil rig in the Midland / Odessa region of Texas. It was difficult work that integrated lengthy days with couple of visits back to go to his family members. One fateful afternoon we received a telephone call telling us about an injury that occurred on the drilling rig that included our family members member. This set into motion a chain of events that seemed to occur all by themselves with out our control. Looking back now, I learned quite a bit from the encounter and the significance of hiring a individual injury lawyer to help guide us through this trying time. I hope you can benefit from my encounter.
The call came in on a Friday afternoon. Kevin had been operating out on an oil field about a two hour drive from our hometown of Abilene, TX. The area he was operating in was a vast expanse of absolutely nothing but dirt, dust, sand, and oil derricks. It is really a god forsaken area that you'd rather not even have to pass through let alone function day in and day out in that 100 degree + heat.
The procedure of drilling for oil consists of the use of a drilling rig that spins a pipe fitted with a drill bit, deep into the earth. The entire process is fraught with danger. Every thing you work with tends to be solid steel and is measured not in the hundreds but thousands of pounds. The normal average daily person does not have to be too concerned about such weights. They only ever have problems with such heavy weights when it comes to car accidents. But in the drilling world, you have 1,600 lbs pipes lifted over your head and swaying in the wind all day lengthy.
Some how Kevin, known to us as 'Big Daddy', was operating on the oil drilling rig platform and in the procedure of lifting a section of that heavy steel pipe up into the air to spin into place on leading of the pipe section below it. It's a process that is repeated all day long. As this pipe was being moved, it slipped in the chains holding it up and crushed him. He was hurt poor sufficient he needed to be air lifted to a regional hospital where they are more equipped to deal with such injuries. We were told we needed to get there and we did.
A couple of hours of frantic driving later and we were at his bedside surveying the damage and trying to process what had just happened. A couple of members of his drilling crew were there trying to clarify what had occurred to make better sense of it all. A representative of the oil drilling company was there as well, making certain us that every thing would be OK and they would handle every thing. Issues didn't quite go as smooth as they stated it would.
What I learned, from my attorney, though this occasion I found there are five steps that completely need to be taken immediately following an oil field accident.
- The job site supervisor needs to be notified immediately following the accident. 911 requirements to be known as and family requirements to be contacted. - Medical interest needs to be offered as quickly as possible - Every thing that has happened requirements to be documented. Photos require to be taken from multiple angles to show what has occurred. - Witness contact information requirements to be written down. Who saw what occurred. How can you get into contact with them? Names, telephone numbers, addresses, and so on. - You need to contact your lawyer.
I am now very thankful we had been put in touch with a individual injury attorney in my hometown of Abilene, Texas who was in a position to walk us via this procedure. She ended up getting the primary oil drilling company along with the sub-contractor to set up a fund to spend for Kevin's healthcare costs and future lost earnings.
