Many of us take some of the modern comforts of life for granted – take gasoline for instance. How often are you thinking about how that fuel you’re putting in your vehicle got there? If you’re like me, it generally doesn’t occur to you when you’re at the pump.
Extracting the oil and gas resources to make modern life possible is quite a dangerous occupation however. Nearly half of all fatal injuries connected with oil/gas drilling were attributed to motor vehicle crashes and workers being struck by machinery and equipment…other causes of fatality include explosions, fire, chemical burns and falls.
Workers are often hit in the head or back by tools or equipment, causing major injury.
When an injury occurs on an oil rig, the severity of injuries and the duration of one’s recovery are far worse than most other industries. In fact, it takes about twice as long on average to recover from an oil rig accident.
We’ve all heard of major oil rig accidents through the years, the most recent one occurring just a few days ago in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana where 11 workers are still missing and 4 in critical condition. The deep water rig collapsed, causing oil to leak into the gulf. Besides the injured and missing workers, this accident could envelope into a full blown environmental disaster – affecting the fragile coastline from Louisiana to Florida.
Oil and gas drilling is a big part of Colorado’s economy as well and while other states like Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana may see more injuries because of the larger presence of this industry in those states, it stands to reason that many injured workers in Colorado come from this.
If you’re an oil and gas worker whose been injured on-the-job and are having difficulty in obtaining the benefits you need to deal with your injury, contact Denver workers’ compensation attorney R. Mack Babcock today for a free consultation.
