Oilfield Injuries
⚖ Oilfield Injuries
Houston Oilfield Accident Lawyer
If you've been hurt on an oilfield, drilling rig, or well site — onshore or offshore — Stilwell Injury Law can help. We represent oilfield workers and their families throughout Houston, the Permian Basin, the Eagle Ford Shale, and across Texas who have been seriously injured in explosions, fires, blowouts, equipment failures, and loss-of-well-control incidents.
What sets us apart: Tom Stilwell spent years on the other side of these cases, serving as national trial counsel for an international oilfield equipment manufacturer and defending exploration and production companies against claims arising from rig explosions, blowouts, valve failures, and jobsite negligence. He has walked the drill sites — onshore and offshore — in the aftermath of these events. He knows the chain of command at a well site, understands the pressure the “company man” is under to keep operations moving, and knows exactly where the shortcuts happen when a delay means thousands of dollars in lost production. Now he uses that insider knowledge exclusively for injured workers and their families.
⚖ Oilfield Injuries
What Are the Common Causes of Oilfield Accidents?
A well site involves dozens of companies and contractors, all coordinating machinery and personnel to drill, complete, or produce a well. The exploration and production company typically hires an on-site representative — a “company man” — to direct the day's activities. Poor oversight by the company man and site supervisors is one of the leading causes of oilfield accidents and injuries in Texas.
When our oilfield accident lawyers investigate a well-site accident, we routinely find:
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The company man was pushing contractors and workers to move faster than conditions safely allowed
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The companies in charge failed to properly coordinate simultaneous jobs at the well site, creating hazards for workers
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Safety concerns raised by oilfield workers were never evaluated or addressed
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Contractors' crews were not properly trained for the conditions or the specific job being performed
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Equipment had not been properly maintained, refurbished, or repaired between jobs
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Companies kept using malfunctioning or damaged equipment instead of pulling it from service
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Companies failed to comply with OSHA and other jobsite safety regulations
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Poor communication existed between the multiple companies and contractors working the site
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Required safety equipment and personal protective gear was not provided or used
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Flammable, explosive, or hazardous fluids and chemicals were improperly stored or handled
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The company man and supervisors failed to properly monitor and evaluate downhole reservoir conditions
Can an Injured Oilfield Worker Recover Compensation?
Yes. An oilfield worker injured at a well site may be entitled to compensation from the companies that own the well, the companies operating it, and the contractors working on it — separate and apart from any workers' compensation benefits.
To recover, the injured worker must show that the company man or another company's or contractor's crew was at least partially at fault — meaning their negligence, whether an action or a failure to act, caused or contributed to the accident.
Who Is Responsible for an Oilfield Worker's Injuries?
Every party who causes or contributes to an oilfield accident can be held responsible, including:
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Company men and contractors who disobey safety rules, violate OSHA regulations, fail to exercise reasonable caution, or fail to look out for workers around them — along with the companies that employ them
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Equipment owners, operators, manufacturers, and suppliers, when equipment fails, breaks, or malfunctions because it was defective or improperly maintained
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Companies that misuse equipment or ignore manufacturer safety instructions and warnings
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Drilling, completion (fracking), and production companies, when a failure to reasonably prepare for known downhole hazards results in a loss of well control
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Chemical suppliers and companies handling toxic substances, when workers are exposed to improperly handled fracking fluids, additives, or drilling mud that cause injury, illness, or long-term health conditions
What If I Was Partially at Fault for the Accident?
Under Texas's comparative negligence law, a judge or jury apportions a percentage of fault to everyone involved. An injured oilfield worker can still recover compensation as long as they are found to be 50% or less at fault — even if they could have done something differently.
Determining fault is rarely straightforward. The company man will often try to blame the field hands and contractors; the exploration company may argue the injured worker could have avoided the accident. A skilled oilfield accident attorney knows the right questions to ask: Did the company man and contractors follow their own safety rules? Did they stop work at regular intervals to assess hazards? Did they stage the work to keep one crew out of another's zone of danger? More often than not, the accident could have been prevented if the company man had enforced safety protocols and slowed the pace of work — and that failure is itself negligence.
Under comparative negligence, any damage award is reduced by the injured worker's percentage of fault. For example, if a jury finds the drilling company 80% at fault and the injured worker 20% at fault on a $500,000 verdict, the worker recovers $400,000.
Do I Have a Claim If My Employer Has Workers' Compensation Insurance?
Yes. If you're injured on an oilfield job, your employer's workers' compensation coverage should help pay your medical bills and provide weekly benefits while you're unable to work — regardless of fault. But because a typical well site involves multiple companies and contractors, one or more parties other than your employer may share responsibility for your accident. In that case, you can pursue a separate claim against those at-fault companies in addition to your workers' compensation benefits.
What Should I Do After an Oilfield Accident?
If you or a family member has been injured in an oilfield accident, here's what to do:
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Get medical help immediately. Seek treatment right away, even if you're unsure how serious the injury is.
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Notify your employer and file a workers' compensation claim. This creates a record of your injury, triggers an investigation, and starts benefits that can help with medical bills and lost income.
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Prepare a complete written statement or incident report. Include every detail you can remember, and name every worker, contractor, and company that may have caused or contributed to the accident.
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Identify the company man on site — both day shift and night shift. The company man oversees job sequencing, contractor supervision, and well conditions that may be central to your claim. Your lawyer will need each company man's name, contact information, and employer.
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Make a list of your co-workers. Oilfield crews rotate daily, and it can be difficult to remember exactly who was working alongside you weeks or months later.
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Make a list of every company and contractor on site. If a lawsuit is filed and a responsible company is left out, you may lose the ability to ever pursue a claim against that company.
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Write down any irregularities or problems at the well. Companies and contractors often fail to document well-site problems, even after an accident. If you don't write it down, it's unlikely anyone else will.
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Write down any safety complaints or violations you know of. Every company claims to give workers “stop work authority,” but stopping work costs money — so real safety concerns are often minimized. Document them anyway.
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Keep your protective gear, boots, hard hat, and clothing exactly as they were. Torn, burned, melted, or blood-stained gear can be powerful evidence for a jury — don't clean it up or use it again.
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Take photos, and collect photos from your co-workers. Document the accident scene, the equipment involved, contractor vehicles and logos, and everyone present, from as many angles as possible.
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Ask your employer for the Job Safety Analysis (JSA) or Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) form. This document identifies the job being performed, its known hazards, and the required safety procedures — and it's often key evidence in an oilfield injury case.
What Compensation Is Available After an Oilfield Accident?
An injured oilfield worker in Texas may recover damages including:
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Physical pain and mental anguish — including emotional distress, anxiety, fear, depression, trauma, anger, and grief
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Lost wages — income and benefits lost from the time of injury through recovery
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Lost earning capacity — a permanent reduction in your ability to earn income going forward
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Disfigurement — permanent, visible changes to your body from the injury or its treatment
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Physical impairment — a lasting limitation on your ability to move, coordinate, or perform daily activities
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Medical expenses — costs for doctors, hospitals, medication, physical therapy, and rehabilitation
If injuries are severe, an injured worker's spouse may also recover for loss of household services and loss of consortium.
If an oilfield accident results in death, Texas law allows surviving family members to recover:
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Loss of pecuniary support — the financial care, maintenance, and contributions the family would have received
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Loss of companionship and society — the loss of love, comfort, and companionship
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Mental anguish — the emotional pain and suffering caused by the loss
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Loss of inheritance
The Insurance Company Wants a Recorded Statement — What Should I Do?
After an oilfield accident, the exploration company and contractors will notify their insurers, who will assign a claims adjuster to evaluate your injury. The adjuster does not work for you — their job is to protect the company or insurer that hired them, and if fault is clear, their goal is to settle your claim for as little as possible.
Do not give a recorded statement without a personal injury attorney present. Anything you say can and will be used against you later, and how you describe the accident and your injuries can significantly affect your compensation.
The Insurance Company Wants My Medical Records — What Should I Do?
The claims adjuster will likely ask you to sign a medical records authorization. Don't sign it without having an oilfield accident attorney review it first. Most authorizations aren't limited to your accident-related injuries — they give the adjuster access to your entire medical history, which they'll use to argue that your injuries are “pre-existing” or that a routine health condition or medication, rather than the accident, caused your injuries. Your full medical history is not on trial — only the records related to your oilfield accident injuries should be. Our attorneys will help you gather and provide the right records.
The Insurance Company Wants to Settle — What Should I Do?
Adjusters often push to settle quickly — sometimes before you've even spoken with an attorney — because they know you don't yet know your rights or the true value of your claim. They may offer to cover your medical bills and some lost wages, and little else.
Settlements are final. Once you accept, you cannot go back for more money if your injuries turn out to be worse than expected. Don't settle until you know the full extent of your rights and your injuries, including whether they're permanent. An experienced oilfield accident lawyer will evaluate your claim, gather your medical records, calculate your full damages, and present a demand that sets realistic and fair expectations for settlement negotiations.
How Long Does an Oilfield Accident Lawsuit Take?
Most oilfield accident cases resolve within roughly 18 months of hiring a lawyer, though straightforward liability cases may move faster and complex or catastrophic-injury cases can take longer. It's important not to rush the investigation — this is typically your only opportunity to recover for your injuries, so understanding exactly what happened, who is responsible, and how your injuries will affect your future is critical. We build every case with the diligence it deserves; rushing to judgment only benefits the defendants.
⚖ Free & Confidential Consultation
Injured in an Oilfield Accident? Call Stilwell Injury Law Today.
Our attorneys bring decades of experience — including firsthand experience defending oilfield companies — to every case we handle for injured workers and their families. We work on a contingency fee basis: if we don't recover for you, you owe us nothing.
Call (832) 274-6749 or email tom@tsinjurylaw.com for a free, confidential consultation.