Working offshore can be lucrative and exciting, but it can also be hazardous. Regardless of safety measures, offshore accidents and injuries are common and sometimes fatal. Rig operators and drillers can suffer devastating injuries on the unforgiving conditions of ocean platforms, jack-up rigs, and tankers. In addition, those new to rig work are often insufficiently trained and conditioned to work long hours with limited breaks, increasing the risk of an accident or injury.
Those injured offshore can find recovery emotionally and financially devastating. It can be challenging to know where to start when seeking compensation for their injuries. Therefore, we recommend the injured party start by calling an experienced offshore accident lawyer to answer your maritime injury questions.
Common Causes of Offshore Accidents
Many times, oilfield and offshore injuries could have been prevented. While many of the accidents offshore men encounter are similar to workplace injuries on land, their risk is greater on the water. Slip and falls and equipment failure are common but add storm-related wind and rough waters and these slip and fall offshore accidents frequently produce spinal cord injuries, concussions, severed phalanges or limbs, or worse. The cause of these injuries is usually a mix of human error and the heavy equipment associated with oil rig work. Proper training of oil field equipment and seafaring conditions is paramount to safety.
Oil rig decks tend to be chaotic, where workers are surrounded by fall and trip hazards, electrical hazards, crush and pinch point risks, and ever moving heavy equipment. All it takes is a wet surface or sudden sway of a vessel to lose balance. Despite the oil industry being a lucrative industry, training and oversight on oil rigs is often insufficient, even negligent; we call this employer negligence, as lack of proper training and oversight is, more often than not, responsible for the unsafe working environments that lead to accidents.
With mounting medical bills, extensive rehabilitation, and loss of a regular paycheck to provide for your family, recovery from an offshore accident can leave the injured confused on how to move forward. If you find yourself in a situation similar to this, we strongly suggest contacting a Lake Charles offshore accident lawyer to help secure compensation for your injuries.
Hiring an offshore accident lawyer to investigate and negotiate on your behalf can make the difference between night and day in your settlement or award. Depending on the extent of your injuries, you could recover money for lost wages, medical expenses, current and future rehabilitation expenses, emotional trauma, future earning potential, and pain and suffering. In addition, by hiring a personal injury – offshore accident lawyer in Lake Charles, you can ensure your documentation for tangible losses and medical records are accounted for when settlement proceedings commence, or your petition for a compensation award is heard.
