Eddy County Oilfield Accident Lawyer
Oilfield work in Eddy County is dangerous, and anyone who has spent time on a rig or a completion site near Carlsbad or Artesia knows that there are risks. What workers often don’t realize until they’re injured is how complicated the aftermath gets.
Workers’ compensation may cover part of your losses, but when a contractor, equipment manufacturer, or another company on site caused the injury, you may also have a separate claim. Stout & Stout Lawyers helps injured oilfield workers in Eddy County figure out every source of recovery available to them. Reach out to our personal injury attorneys in Eddy County and schedule your free case consultation.
Why Injured Oilfield Workers Choose Stout & Stout Lawyers
After a serious injury on a well site, just the paperwork you have to deal with can be overwhelming. Workers’ comp forms, medical authorizations, and settlement offers all have to be dealt with. Workers throughout Eddy County turn to us for many reasons. We offer:
- Consultations at no charge, so you can get real answers about your claim before paying anything
- A contingency fee arrangement, so if there is no recovery, you owe us nothing
- Attorneys and staff who work with clients in both English and Spanish
- A focus on personal injury cases only, giving us significant experience and knowledge about this area of law
The companies involved in your accident already have adjusters and attorneys reviewing the claim from their side. Hiring your own lawyer at Stout & Stout Lawyers means someone is building your case, too.
Why You Need a Lawyer After an Oilfield Accident in Eddy County
Some injured oilfield workers may not realize that a third-party claim can exist in addition to workers’ compensation when someone other than the employer or a co-worker caused the injury, and that assumption can cost them a lot of money. When a company other than your direct employer contributed to the accident, a separate injury claim may exist, and handling that can be complicated. A lawyer helps by:
- Determining who actually caused the injury
- Investigating potential equipment failures
- Securing site records early, such as incident reports, inspection logs, and witness statements
- Negotiating with multiple insurers at once
- Filing a lawsuit and litigating when the companies involved will not accept responsibility
Oil and gas companies and their insurers have their own investigators, and you should have yours. An oilfield accident lawyer working for you makes sure everything is looked at properly and presented in the right light.
What Causes Oilfield Accidents in Eddy County?
There are a lot of different factors that lead to oilfield accidents in Eddy County. The unfortunate reality is that safety isn’t always taken as seriously as it should be. Some common causes include:
- Struck-by incidents, where pipe, tools, or suspended loads fall or swing into a worker
- Caught-in accidents involving rotating machinery, tongs, or pinch points on the rig floor
- Well blowouts, fires, and explosions, often tied to pressure control failures or ignition of escaped gas
- Chemical exposure, including hydrogen sulfide releases and burns from drilling fluids or acids
- Falls from derricks, platforms, ladders, and tanks
- Vehicle crashes on lease roads and highways, frequently involving fatigued crews driving to or from remote sites
- Equipment failures, from defective valves and hoses to poorly maintained cranes and winches
Understanding the cause helps you determine who might be responsible and whether you have a workers’ compensation claim or a third-party claim.
Can You File a Workers’ Compensation Claim After an Oilfield Accident?
Generally, yes. Most oilfield workers employed in New Mexico are covered by their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, and these benefits are paid out regardless of who is at fault for the injury. Those benefits typically include medical treatment for the injury and a portion of lost wages while you can’t work.
Workers’ comp has trade-offs though. The wage benefits you receive is only a portion of it, usually around 66%, so you don’t get everything you’re missing out on. You also can’t recover for pain and suffering.
Can You File a Third-Party Injury Claim Too?
Often, yes, and this is where many injured oilfield workers leave money on the table. Workers’ comp only bars lawsuits against your own employer. When someone works in the oil field industry, there are often several companies all working at once. If one of them that isn’t your employer causes your injury, you may be able to sue that company directly.
Examples include a subcontractor whose crew dropped a load, an operator that failed to coordinate safety between contractors, a trucking company whose driver hit you, or a manufacturer whose equipment failed.
A third-party claim allows recovery that you can’t get from workers’ compensation, including your full lost wages and non-economic damages like pain and suffering. You should speak with a lawyer to see what type of claim you have and how they may interact with each other.
What Evidence Can Help Prove an Oilfield Accident Claim?
The strongest evidence usually comes from the site itself. Building the claim means collecting:
- The incident or accident report prepared after the injury
- Job permits
- Contracts between the operator and its contractors
- Maintenance and inspection records for the equipment involved
- Photographs and video of the scene, the equipment, and the conditions that day
- Statements from crew members who saw what happened
- Training records for the workers and supervisors involved
- Any OSHA investigation findings or citations issued after the accident
- Medical records connecting the injury to the accident and documenting its long-term effects
No matter what caused the accident, one of the most important aspects of your case is gathering evidence. A lawyer can help you do this, and it should be done as soon as possible.
Speak With an Eddy County Oilfield Accident Lawyer Today
An injured oilfield worker can’t afford to guess about which claims to file or which companies to pursue, because legal options close permanently once time runs out. Let us help you figure out what you can recover; we’ll handle the complicated legal aspects while you work on getting better. Contact Stout & Stout Lawyers at (575) 393-1555 for a free case review today.