Crosley Law: Attorneys for Victims of Oil and Gas Accidents

Crosley Law Fights for Victims of Oil and Natural Gas Field Accidents

When oil and gas prices rise, Texas begins to see “man camps” filled with out-of-town contract workers, frenzied hiring, and a boom in truck traffic. All these factors contribute to spikes in oil- and gas-related accidents and injuries.

Crosley Law handles a wide variety of oil and gas field injury claims in Texas, including those involving truck wrecks, workplace incidents, and catastrophic injuries. Keep reading to learn more about oil and gas field accidents and how Crosley Law can help you recover after a serious injury. If you’re ready to schedule your free consultation, contact us today.

Texas Contains Some of the Nation’s Most Productive Oil and Gas Fields

Texas’ history is deeply linked to the oil and gas industry. Near San Antonio, the Eagle Ford Shale formation contains immense amounts of oil and gas-rich marine shale. Although the pace of production in the Eagle Ford Shale region has slowed since 2015, it remains the second most active drilling basin in the United States, and production is ramping up.

The Permian Basin, which spreads across West Texas and New Mexico, is the United States’ largest shale oil region. Like Eagle Ford Shale, production in the Permian Basin slowed when oil prices began to fall. However, industry experts believe that the Permian Basin’s production will increase to 5.4 million barrels per day by 2023, which would more than double its 2017 output rates.

While an oil boom provides jobs and economic stability for many communities, it also creates challenges and hazards. Our roads become filled with heavy equipment, trucks, and workers who flock to our communities during a boom. And when those workers get to the fields, they work under dangerous conditions and sometimes suffer serious injuries. Data from OSHA shows that oil and gas workers have some of the highest rates of severe injuries among all professions in the United States.

Truck Accident Rates Skyrocket When Oil and Gas Prices Rise

The rates of car crashes in Texas directly correlate with oil and gas prices. When oil prices began to drop in 2015, the number of fatal crashes also fell. Now that the oil and gas industries are starting to boom again, crash rates are climbing as well. In 2017, 93 people died in wrecks near the Permian Basin on Route 285, a highway that some experts have called the most dangerous in the United States.

Unintended Consequences: The Rise of Vehicle Collisions as a Result of Increased Fracking & Drilling

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Increased oil and gas production contributes to Texas car crashes in numerous ways, including the following:

• Heavier truck traffic as 18-wheelers carry crude, machinery, sand, water, and other supplies to and from the fields
• Many Texas roads were not designed for their current truck volumes
• Fly-by-night trucking companies often encourage drivers to work long hours and break safety regulations
• There aren’t enough experienced truck drivers to meet the industry’s demands, which means companies often hire inexperienced drivers instead
• Oil and gas production can cause sinkholes that damage roadways

Many times, multiple factors contribute to a crash, which leads to multiple defendants and insurance companies becoming involved in any claims that follow.

At Crosley Law, we carefully investigate oil and gas truck crashes and demand accountability from negligent drivers, trucking companies, refineries, and other entities. We use cutting-edge strategies to investigate our clients’ severe injuries — assessing electronic data, sifting through corporate documents, consulting with experts, and interviewing witnesses. We have handled numerous cases involving oil field injuries to rig workers, roustabouts, as well as injuries caused by heavy trucks, tankers, and frack sand haulers.

In one recent case, an 18-wheeler was pulling out of a drilling site onto a two-lane rural highway, and blocked both lanes of the highway as it attempted to make a left turn. Our clients came around a bend in the highway at 70 mph and could not stop in time, causing a serious collision. In another recent case, we represented the widow of a roustabout who was killed when a top drive used on the drilling rig violently spun and fatally struck our client. These are just two examples of the types of oil-related injury cases Crosley Law handles.

Oil and Gas Fields Are Dangerous Places to Work and Visit

Research Suggests Jobs in the Fracking Industry are More Dangerous than Other Occupations

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Oil and natural gas fields are incredibly hazardous places. When you work on or visit an oil field, you’re exposed to dangerous equipment, rough terrain, and harmful chemicals. If you suffer a serious injury while working at or visiting an oil or gas field, you might have a variety of claims against your employer, the property owner or manager, or the manufacturer who created the dangerous or defective machinery.

Crosley Law: San Antonio’s Oil Field Injury Lawyers

Crosley Law focuses its practice on serious injury claims, including those involving oil- and gas-related injuries. If you or someone you love suffered injuries in an oil truck crash or at an oil field, we’d love to speak with you and help you understand your legal options at no cost to you. To schedule your free consultation with an experienced attorney from the Crosley Law team, complete our quick and easy online contact form or call us at 210-LAW-3000 | 210-529-3000.