I’m Ted Liggett.
You know what I do.
Local: (806) 744-4878 | Toll Free: (855) 955-4878
When you are injured due to another’s carelessness or negligence, it can be frightening. You need someone in your corner. You need an experienced personal injury lawyer of the highest integrity to provide you with unrelenting litigation skills, and results that can change your life.
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Our Team
The Texas Personal Injury attorneys at Liggett Law Group combined have over 50 years of legal experience fighting for justice. They dedicate their time and take each case personally, advocating for the victims and their families. Find out how we can help you.
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Ted Liggett Attorney
- Local: (806) 744-4878
- Toll-Free: (855) 955-4878
- Email: ted@liggettlawgroup.com
Dustin Burrows Attorney
- Local: (806) 744-4878
- Toll-Free: (855) 955-4878
- Email: dustin@liggettlawgroup.com
Injured on the job in a Texas Oilfield?
Oilfield accidents can cause catastrophic injuries, and many injured workers will never be able to work again. These injuries can be life-changing emotionally and financially or even fatal. As skilled oilfield accident lawyers, we know how to investigate your claims, examine the evidence, and determine the best case to be made for damages. We will pursue every opportunity available to get you the compensation you need and deserve. If you or someone you love is an oil rig or oilfield worker that suffered serious injuries while on the job, our oilfield accident lawyers can help.
Understanding Oilfield Accident Injuries and Duty of Care
Chemical and refinery explosions have many causes and are an all too common occurrence across the Texas. The negligence of plant owners, violations of OSHA safety regulations, and the failure to provide appropriate safety trainings or equipment, puts workers at risk.
One of the most dangerous aspects of the oil industry comes with the flammability and explosiveness of the product produced, and it is no better exemplified than with the prevalence of refinery explosions in Texas over the years. These types of accidents are almost always catastrophic in nature, and they tend to ruin lives and families with their devastation such as with the BP refinery explosion in 2005, which killed 15 people and injured at least 170, still reverberates with Texas families a decade later.
We’re here for you.
Day in and day out, our lawyers seek to bring justice to those harmed by the wrongdoing of others. Make sure that you hire a lawyer that will take your case personally and will fight to make sure that you are treated fairly in the legal system. Liggett Law Group approaches each client’s case with compassion and the determination needed to get the job done. If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of others, we are here to passionately fight for you.
Common Causes of Texas Oilfield Accidents
There are virtually limitless causes of oilfield accidents however, frequently, Texas oilfield accidents are caused by negligence. When this is the case, the liable parties should be held responsible for the damages they’ve caused. This can be done through a personal injury lawsuit. Whether it’s due to machinery malfunction, spills, or other environmental factors, human error is usually found at the root of any workplace accident. Proper investigation and questioning can help find the truth about what caused a worker’s injury.
Types of Oilfield Accidents
When you combine fast-paced, challenging, and dangerous oilfield work with the heavy equipment, tools, and machinery used in the oilfield, it can bring about accidents that lead to serious oilfield injuries and sometimes even death.
Exposure to toxic chemicals and materials – Refineries, drilling sites, and oilfields all emit toxic fumes that can harm workers internally and/or externally if they are not given the proper training or the proper personal protective equipment (PPE).
When oil rigs go down, they can hurt more than one person and can result in a workplace fatality. Improper maintenance of rigs or failing to adhere to the rules regarding how to check rigs for stability are dangerous but unfortunately, common corners oilfield companies like to cut in order to put profits before people.
Well blowouts – The most devastating types of oilfield accidents are blowouts and explosions. A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems fail.
A blowout is the uncontrolled release of crude oil and/or natural gas from an oil well or gas well after pressure control systems fail.
Fires and explosions are caused by flammable gases and fire starters. Oilfield explosions and fires that are sudden and unpredictable. It is hard – if not impossible – for workers to get out of the way fast enough to avoid being catastrophically injured in an oilfield fire. If hot oil accidentally gets on a worker’s skin, especially without proper protection burn injuries can be severe and even fatal.
Transportation – Natural resources extracted from the ground have to be transported from the drilling site. This is where oil rig trucks come in. These big rigs can experience explosions as well since they play a huge role in transporting workers, drilling equipment, waste, and oil and gas from the oilfield. Workplace trucking accidents can also occur when equipment is not properly secured on a truck. The roadways around an oilfield can be rocky and unkempt as well, causing truck accidents similar to those that would happen on any bad road.
Spills – If any oil is released or spilled, this enhances the chances of workers slipping or having equipment fall on them. In addition, if just a little spark occurs, it can cause the spill to turn into a huge fire, the likes of which could happen very quickly.
In addition, other common causes of oil and gas accidents include:
- Being trapped in confined spaces
- Electrocution
- Equipment malfunctions or Equipment failures
- Failure to perform regular maintenance checks
- Fracking accidents
- Hazardous chemical exposure
- Inadequate operations and safety training
- Moving heavy piping
- Oilfield truck accidents
- Release of dangerous fumes
- Rig collapse
- Trips, slips, and falls
- Truck and vehicle collisions
- Use of defective machinery
What To Know About Oilfield Accidents
If you have been injured in an oilfield accident in Texas, you need an experienced attorney who can help investigate these types of accidents. Liggett Law Group, P.C. has years of experience representing workers injured in oilfield accidents. We offer free consultations.
Types of Compensation Injured Oilfield Workers Can Recover
Our legal team will make sure each of our clients recovers the most financial compensation possible for their losses following an oilfield accident. As part of this process, we will ask for damages including both special (economic) and general (non-economic) damages. We will fight for your legal right to recover the following types of workplace injury damages:
- Current medical bills related to the injury
- Future medical expenses
- Physical therapy and/or rehabilitation
- Cost of medical devices and/or prescription medication
- Temporary or permanent disability
- Household expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life
The total amount of compensation available to oilfield accident victims varies depending on the facts of each case. Some such factors can include the severity of the injuries, how long it takes for the injured worker to recover, the total amount of lost income, and whether there are resulting effects that cannot be medically improved upon.
The total amount of compensation available to oilfield accident victims varies depending on the facts of each case.
Our attorneys will work with medical and economic experts to properly calculate all expected losses so that we can vigorously negotiate on your behalf.
Understanding Workers’ Compensation and Non-Subscribers in Texas
Technically speaking, oilfield workers who suffered a work-related injury are entitled to the medical benefits of their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance coverage or another form of employer-paid funding that will cover medical expenses, lost wages, and other costs during their recovery. However, even with workers’ compensation, many comp payments are insufficient to financially cover all accident-related medical treatment suffered by the injured oil worker.
When an employer subscribes to workplace insurance coverage, a worker is not typically able to file a direct lawsuit against them per the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. However, if the victim is able to show that a third party was at fault for the accident, this may allow them to seek full compensation for the accident. Viable third parties that can be held liable can include property owners, engineers, architects, contractors and subcontractors, electricians, and equipment manufacturers, among other parties. All of these are potential third-party defendants that can be sued directly and outside of the workers’ compensation system for their own negligence and fault.
Texas does not require employers to subscribe to our state’s workers’ compensation system. This does not let employers off the hook, though, as employers are still responsible for providing a safe workplace for their employees. If a worker is injured on the job and their employer does not subscribe to workers’ compensation, oilfield workers still have a right to file a lawsuit against their employer to recover compensation, regardless of whether the employer carries a private or other liability policy. Only true Texas workers’ comp acts as a bar to a civil lawsuit for oilfield accidents.
Building an Oilfield Accident Personal Injury Claim
The fact is that oil and gas companies have a duty to keep workers safe.
Both oilfield owners and operators, and the companies that make oilfield equipment have a duty of care to make sure their drilling and extraction equipment is manufactured to high standards and maintained at those high standards.
Liability or fault must be shown in order for an injured oilfield worker to recover monetary damages from the negligent person or parties. If a reasonably prudent person would not have done something a defendant did or if a defendant did not do something a reasonably prudent person would have done, that establishes negligence. Specifically, with an oilfield accident case, there could be several different liable parties because there are a lot of different individuals and businesses involved in oilfield drilling and oil exploration operations, including:
- Oilfield owner/operator
- Oil companies
- Drilling operators
- Equipment rental companies
- Exploration companies
- Machine operators
- Oil pumpers
- Refinery workers
- Saltwater disposal facilities
- Truck drivers
- Oilfield equipment companies and/or manufacturers
- Contractors or subcontractors working in the area
- Regulatory agencies responsible for inspecting equipment and property
- Maintenance companies
Your personal injury lawyers will investigate the oilfield accident, gather all the necessary evidence, identify all potential defendants, contact these parties and their insurance companies, file your case in court, take depositions (recorded interviews) of each defendant and any potential witnesses, send discovery requests to each defendant, retain expert witnesses, negotiate, take your case to trial if necessary, secure the highest monetary recovery possible, and, most importantly, keep you informed of the progress of your claim.
Your personal injury attorneys may need to hire expert witnesses such as an independent medical professional who can write a report concerning your injuries, treatment, and any future medical care. An oilfield accident “reconstructionist” may be needed to give an expert report on how the accident happened, where occupational safety procedures followed, were safety regulations observed, and what steps should have been taken to prevent the accident. An economist can help to prove lost wages in the past, any ongoing reduction or loss in income, and any future or other economic damages.
Contact the Injury Attorneys at Liggett Law Group Today for a Free Consultation
If you or someone you love was injured or wrongfully killed in an oilfield accident, Lubbock oilfield accident lawyer Ted Liggett can help you and your family. Our law firm can help you during this complicated process to get you and your family the compensation oilfield injury victims need and deserve.
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Victims of plant explosions should immediately seek medical attention. Injuries associated with plant explosions can be severe, so victims cannot afford to lose time before seeing a medical professional. Victims will also need to immediately contact a plant explosion lawyer. Employer and other parties often pressure victims to waive their rights after an accident, but victims don’t have to. By contacting an attorney, you can be sure someone is protecting your best interests.
The plant explosion lawyers at Liggett Law Group, have the experience to help you and your family recover lost wages, medical bills, and more. When you’re ready, contact us to schedule a free initial consultation, so that we can examine the details of your case and advise you as to your next steps.
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What Clients Say About Us
Learn More Read more about Extremely satisfied with the professionalism at this firm.”Anna Lopez“Extremely satisfied with the professionalism at this firm.”
Mr. Ted Liggett was able to get me the maximum amount while giving me weekly email updates along with phone calls. The staff is super nice and down to earth, real easy to work with, highly recommend this firm to anyone from a small or big claim.
Learn More Read more about “They are amazing!”Faith Covington“They are amazing!”
They helped me so much with my car accident. If I ever need a lawyer again I will most definitely be calling the ligget law group. Everyone was super kind, friendly, and understanding and I definitely recommend them.
Learn More Read more about Everyone was so helpful and generous!”Melissa Servatius“Everyone was so helpful and generous!”
Someone always kept in contact and was always willing to help and answer all my questions. I truly recommend!