Undefeated Oilfield Injury Lawyers
If you’ve been injured in an oilfield accident or explosion, it can be difficult to see a clear path forward. Your regular paychecks stop coming, and the limited workers’ compensation benefits you might be receiving are rarely enough to cover even basic living expenses—let alone the future lost wages you’ll likely incur should your injuries prevent you from ever returning to work.
That’s why our Undefeated Oilfield Injury Lawyers fight so hard to recover the maximum compensation possible for the workers and families we represent. We’ve won billions for our clients, including record-setting verdicts and settlements against the largest oil and gas companies in the world.
So what damages might you be awarded in an oilfield lawsuit? Let’s take a closer look.
Economic Damages in an Oilfield Lawsuit
Economic damages are intended to compensate you and your family for the measurable financial losses you’ve suffered due to your injury. They encompass both the costs that began to pile up immediately after you were hurt, as well as any losses and expenses you’re likely to incur in the future:
- Medical Bills: Covers all reasonable and necessary medical care, including emergency transport, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, and prescription medications.
- Future Medical Care: Anticipated costs of ongoing treatment, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, and long-term pain management.
- Lost Wages and Employment Benefits: Income lost during recovery, along with overtime, bonuses, and contributions to retirement or insurance plans.
- Loss of Earning Capacity: Compensation for diminished ability to earn income in the future because of permanent disability or impairment.
- Rehabilitation and Support Services: Payment for physical and occupational therapy, vocational training, and in-home assistance needed to restore functionality or independence.
- Out-of-Pocket Costs: Travel expenses for treatment, replacement of damaged property or tools, and any other necessary expenditures resulting from the accident.
If you lost a loved one to an oilfield accident or explosion, a wrongful death lawsuit may allow you and certain other surviving family members to recover compensation for the quantifiable losses resulting from their death, such as the deceased’s lost income and benefits, future earning capacity, lost inheritance, medical bills for the deceased’s final treatment, and all funeral and burial expenses. In Texas and some other states, a deceased worker’s estate can also bring a survival claim seeking compensation for the objective financial losses the worker incurred before their passing, such as medical expenses and lost wages between the time of injury and death.
Texas and most other states do not limit the amount of economic damages that can be awarded in an oilfield lawsuit. Unlike workers’ compensation, which replaces only a fraction of lost wages, the law allows you to recover all proven financial losses—past and future. The dollar figure you ultimately recover is based entirely on evidence, documentation, and expert testimony rather than any formulas set by statute or the insurance company.
Non-Economic Damages after an Oilfield Injury
Economic damages may cover your bills, but they can’t restore what an oilfield accident truly takes away—your health, your peace of mind, and the life you and your family enjoyed before you were hurt. That’s where non-economic damages come in. They account for the physical and emotional toll that follows a catastrophic injury, including:
- Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain, discomfort, and limitations resulting from the injury or its complications.
- Mental Anguish: For the psychological effects of trauma—anxiety, depression, nightmares, and post-traumatic stress that can last for years.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: For the inability to engage in hobbies, daily activities, or personal pursuits that once defined independence and identity.
- Disfigurement and Physical Impairment: For visible scarring, burns, amputations, or loss of bodily function that alter appearance and self-confidence.
- Loss of Consortium: For the disruption an injury causes to marriage, companionship, and family relationships.
In wrongful-death cases, non-economic damages also compensate surviving family members for their grief, mental anguish, and loss of companionship, guidance, and love. In a survival claim, the estate can recover compensation for the pain, suffering, and mental anguish experienced by the deceased between the time of injury and their death.
While some states do limit the non-economic damages that can be awarded in an oilfield lawsuit, that’s not the case in Texas. They are based on credible evidence demonstrating how the injury affected the worker’s life and well-being, taking into account factors such as the degree of permanent disability, the psychological impact of the trauma, and how the injury interferes with daily life.
Punitive Damages: Accountability for Gross Negligence and Reckless Conduct
Punitive (or exemplary) damages are reserved for the most serious cases—when a company’s conduct goes beyond carelessness and crosses into gross negligence or willful disregard for safety. In addition to compensating the injured worker and their family, punitive damages are intended to punish a company for misconduct and send a message that placing profits above people will not be tolerated.
Texas law defines gross negligence as an act or omission that, when viewed objectively, involves an extreme degree of risk, coupled with the company’s actual, subjective awareness of that risk and its conscious decision to ignore it. On an oilfield, examples of gross negligence may include:
- Disabling safety systems or alarms to keep production running.
- Forcing crews to meet unsafe quotas or work excessive hours.
- Ignoring prior accidents, near-misses, or OSHA violations.
- Failing to repair or replace defective drilling or fracking equipment.
- Falsifying safety documentation
To recover punitive damages, you must meet a higher legal burden—clear and convincing evidence—showing that the company’s actions were more than negligent; they were reckless and deliberate.
The impact of a punitive-damage award often extends far beyond its dollar value, publicly exposing corporate misconduct and forcing oilfield companies to reform dangerous practices that put workers at risk.
Potential Defendants in an Oilfield Lawsuit
Workers’ compensation laws in most states prevent oilfield workers from suing their employers if they carry valid coverage. However, Texas is the only state that does not require employers to carry workers’ comp. If an oilfield company chooses to opt out of the system, its employees can sue it directly for injuries caused by the company’s negligence. So-called “non-subscribers” also lose several defenses normally available to employers, including claims of comparative negligence, co-worker fault, or assumption of risk.
In Texas and elsewhere, companies that carry workers’ comp can be sued if you’re able to prove gross negligence or intent to harm. If your employer did provide workers’ comp, you may still be able to file lawsuits against any third parties whose negligence caused or contributed to your injury, such as:
- Contractors or subcontractors that ignored safety rules.
- Equipment manufacturers or maintenance firms that produced or serviced defective machinery.
- Trucking and logistics companies involved in crashes or cargo accidents.
- Property owners or site operators who failed to maintain a safe worksite.
Contact Our Undefeated Oilfield Injury Lawyers
Our Texas oilfield injury attorneys aren’t just undefeated—we’ve recovered billions for accident victims and their families across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and throughout the United States, including:
- The #1 Largest Oilfield Accident Settlement in US History
- The #1 Largest Oilfield Burn Injury Settlement in US History
- A $62 Million Settlement for Worker Burned in a West Texas Oilfield Blowout
- A $55 Million Settlement on Behalf of an Odessa Oilfield Worker
If you or a loved one were injured or killed while working on an oilfield, our attorneys are ready to help you hold every negligent company accountable and recover all of the damages you and your family are entitled to under the law.
Call 1-888-603-3636, click “Chat Now” on our website, or send a confidential message through our Contact Us form.
Your consultation is free, and you won’t pay a penny unless we win your case.