Oil workers in Texas face a high rate of injury. Whether you are working on an oil rig, working offshore, performing pipeline maintenance, or working in a refinery, your safety is one of your biggest concerns. If you are injured while working at an oil refinery, you could be entitled to compensation – and a Fort Worth oil refinery injury lawyer might be able to help.
Getting compensation from an employer for oil refinery injuries can be difficult. You could wait months filing through insurance. Instead, a lawsuit might be the best way to get the compensation you need for pain and suffering and other damages.
Call Our Fort Worth, TX oil refinery injury lawyers at The Queenan Law Firm to get help with your injury case. Our injury lawyers will aggressively fight to get you the financial compensation you need for yourself and your family. For a free review of your case, call us at (817) 476-1797.
What to Do After an Injury at a Fort Worth Oil Refinery
If you work at an oil refinery in Fort Worth and you were injured on the job, there are some initial steps you should take. These steps may seem obvious, but it is important to follow all three to put yourself in the best position to bring a claim and get compensated for your injuries.
Get Medical Treatment
If you were injured and the injuries are severe enough to stop you from working for the day, you likely need medical attention. If you do not seek medical care, your employer will argue that the injuries were not that bad and that you do not need compensation. Get medical attention right away, especially if the injury is severe. Untreated injuries can also get worse over time, but your employer might not be liable for injuries to the extent that they got worse without prompt treatment.
Report the Accident
Typically, work injuries need to be reported to your employer. This helps make sure that emergency care is taken care of by the employer, and it is a necessary part of any workers’ compensation claims. Having an internal report of the accident at your job will also help create a paper trail if you later need to sue for injuries. The way to report injuries might vary from job to job, so speak with a lawyer if you are unsure how to report the injury.
Talk to a Lawyer
An attorney can help you from Day 1 after an injury by helping you document the accident, document the injuries, coordinate medical care, and keep records of all communications related to the accident. Your lawyer can also help collect evidence by having pictures taken of the scene where the accident happened, getting statements from witnesses, and contacting your employer to begin demands for compensation.
Ultimately, a lawsuit might be necessary to get you the compensation you need. Talk to your Fort Worth oil refinery injury lawyer early on to learn more about what evidence should be collected, how to file the case, and how long it will take to get you the compensation you need.
Suing for Injuries at an Oil Refinery in Fort Worth
To get compensation for a work injury, you usually go through one of two processes: you either file a workers’ compensation claim or a lawsuit. Workers’ compensation claims tend to pay lower damages since they only cover around 2/3 of your normal wages in lost wage damages, and they do not pay for pain and suffering. They also may restrict what doctor you can use for medical treatment. Because of this, many injury victims seek to file lawsuits for oil refinery injuries.
Texas law allows both employers and workers to opt out of the workers’ comp. system. If your employer does not carry workers’ compensation insurance – which is not uncommon in the oil industry – then you might have no choice but to sue for injuries. You can also opt out of workers’ comp. coverage when you start working at a job, allowing you to keep your right to sue in case of injury.
When you sue for injuries with the help of an experienced Fort Wort oil refinery injury lawyer, it is important to sue the right parties. Many times, lawsuits are filed against negligent employers. In oil refinery accidents, injuries are often caused by unsafe machinery, unsafe or lacking safety gear, lack of training among workers, and other issues. These kinds of issues are within the employer’s control, so any mistakes in these areas can often justify a lawsuit against an employer at an oil refinery.
Some injury cases are filed against people other than the oil refinery/employer at the job site. For example, many injuries are caused by defective equipment. Those lawsuits are potentially better aimed at the negligent manufacturers who produced the defective equipment. Talk to a lawyer about whom to sue for your oil refinery injuries.
Damages in an Oil Refinery Accident Claim in Fort Worth
When you sue for an oil refinery accident, you could be entitled to get damages for all of your lost wages caused by the accident, any injuries and medical care you needed, and the physical and mental effects of the injury (pain and suffering). When calculating these damages, it is important to account for any and all economic effects of the injury, including things you might not think of, like the cost of childcare and household chores while your injuries keep you out of commission. You could also be entitled to claim compensation for ongoing needs, such as wheelchair ramps in the home or skilled nursing care.
A Fort Worth oil refinery injury attorney can help you calculate your damages.
Call Our Fort Worth Oil Refinery Accident and Injury Lawyers Today
To set up a free review of your case, contact The Queenan Law Firm today at (817) 476-1797. Our Fort Worth oil refinery injury lawyers are here to help injury victims and their families get the financial compensation they need.