Oil Field Accident Lawyers – Workers Comp – Non Subscribers

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Oil Field Accident Lawyers – Workers Comp – Non Subscribers

This Blog was brought to you by the Carabin Shaw Law Firm, Principal Office in San Antonio

Please note, the Carabin Shaw Law Office has moved to 875 E Ashby # 1100 San Antonio, Texas 78212

Alternative Revenue Sources to Workers’ Compensation, And Your Options Against Non Subscribers

Once you get past workers’ comp, there are two primary avenues to recover injury damages, one of them is an exception to the workers’ comp civil suit restriction, which we’ve already mentioned. It involves employer gross negligence which leads to a fatal worker accident, either immediately or over time. So if you have a loved one who died as a result of an oil drilling accident, even if you don’t suspect gross negligence by anyone, you need to talk to an experienced lawyer. For if it turns out the accident was caused by employer gross negligence, then you, as an immediate family survivor, stand a very good chance of winning a civil wrongful death lawsuit, even if it’s against awebsite” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”> workers’ comp subscriber.

But the more practical approach to non-subscriber liability for injuries you suffered on the rig – be it on land or offshore – is through a third-party claim or lawsuit. This is the thing your terrified, best-buddy boss was trying to avoid when he visited you in the hospital a few paragraphs back.

If his rig or drilling equipment was not maintained properly, or he didn’t provide safe working conditions, or if one of his helicopters ditched 50 miles offshore and you floated in the water, injured for hours, then he could be held accountable. If a faulty piece of machinery caused the injury, then the manufacturer may be held accountable through a defective product lawsuit. If a drilling contractor working for the rig owner, or another employee negligently caused your injury, they could be held accountable, as well as your employer, maybe. The same thing can be said for the corporation that hired anyone to oversee the drilling rig or offshore platform.

In all such events, you can sue the non-subscribing responsible party or parties, even if you can’t sue your direct employer who subscribes to workers’ comp. But here’s some good news. Third-party lawsuits do not prohibit you from filing a workers’ comp claim against your employer in addition. Often, a “no-fault” workers’ comp claim coupled with a third-party lawsuit against another clearly liable party often combines to deliver the necessary fair compensation.

But in order to reach this “endgame,” you need the deft hand of an experienced drilling accident attorney to thoroughly investigate the accident scene and determine roles everyone played in your drilling rig or pipeline accident, and then construct the best strategy to get you the appropriate compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering for your drilling rig-related injury case.

It’s not hard to understand why many pipeline and drilling companies along with their independent “wildcatter” brethren don’t subscribe to workers’ comp, even if it’s better than the alternative of not having it when it’s needed. They’re mostly too cheap to buy it because they try to cut corners whenever possible. Workers’ comp insurance, though it costs less than traditional oil and gas production insurance, is still not economical for some. But that’s because of the fundamental dangers of the petroleum drilling industry itself. And since a lot of the independents live from hand-to-mouth, insurance is a luxury they can rarely afford. Oh sure, they have money. But you can bet that, with a lot of them, none of it is tied up in insurance policies.

So, once injured, the victim, or plaintiff, must file a claim against the non-subscribing employer, or third-party defendant, notifying him or her of the injury and the fair restitution the victim expects. If you work for a defendant who has insurance, they usually hand the matter over to them. Most of the time, the insurer will quickly dispute your plaintiff’s allegations. But if you have a good attorney, and your case has immediate and apparent strength, it’s possible that negotiations will deliver a fair settlement to pay your bills paid and all of your reasonable damages. But, just as often as not, drilling rig injury cases are contested. Then you and the drilling accident attorney must file a lawsuit to win fair compensation. And as the injured party you, the plaintiff, hold the burden of proving that the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries and upended your, and your family’s lives.

Oil Patch Defendants Always Say it’s Not Their Fault: but Yours

If your drilling employer is a workers’ comp insurance non-subscriber or the third party against whom you’ve filed an injury claim has private coverage, then he or she isn’t likely to automatically pay you for the harm you’ve suffered due to that negligence. That’s because the insurance company doesn’t want your employer to do that. And paying a claim will certainly produce even higher coverage rates for the defendant(s). Our experience in these matters has revealed that most non-subscribers, their insurance companies, and attorneys will often use one or two traditional defenses to avoid paying injured employees the restitution they deserve.

The primary liability defense afforded non-subscribers after an oilfield employee suffers an injury is to charge the plaintiff with sole proximate cause. This means the victim was totally to blame for his or her own injuries. In order to invoke the sole proximate cause defense, non-subscribing employers, their insurance companies, and attorneys say and do anything to soil your good reputation as a worker by claiming you were careless or irresponsible and caused your own injuries. And since insurance companies are very experienced, and their attorneys very shrewd, when it comes to fighting your claim or civil case, your own cunning oilfield accident attorney to turn the tables of liability back on the negligent employer or third party is a powerful weapon on your behalf.

Please note, the Carabin Shaw Law Office has moved to 875 E Ashby # 1100 San Antonio, Texas 78212

By | 2024-07-23T20:23:31+00:00 August 23rd, 2023|Blog, workplace accidents|0 Comments

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