Undefeated Odessa Plant & Refinery Accidents
Have you been injured in a plant and refinery accident in Odessa, Texas? Contact the undefeated legal team at Zehl & Associates Injury & Accident Lawyers today. You have rights as an injured refinery operator, including the ability to pursue damages for your medical treatment, lost wages, and out-of-pocket costs. Our Odessa plant and refinery accident lawyers are here to help you make the most of a tough situation.
Since 2006, workers and families in Odessa have turned to us after catastrophic accidents at nearby refineries and plants. Recognized as leaders in Texas workplace accident litigation, we’ve represented thousands of plant and refinery workers and helped them achieve life-changing results. In total, we’ve successfully won billions for clients like you.
Don’t settle for less than your refinery accident case is worth. Trust our law firm to help you get every cent you deserve. Contact our law office in Odessa, TX, at 432-220-0000 to set up a time for a free consultation.
Table of Contents
- How Our Undefeated Lawyers Can Help You After a Plant or Refinery Accident in Odessa, TX
- Refinery and Plant Accident Statistics
- What Causes Most Accidents at Odessa Plants and Refineries?
- Helping You Seek Compensation For All Injuries You’ve Suffered in a Refinery or Plant Accident
- What is the Statute of Limitations For Texas Plant and Refinery Accident Lawsuits?
- Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Undefeated Odessa Plant and Refinery Accident Lawyers
How Our Undefeated Lawyers Can Help You After a Plant or Refinery Accident in Odessa, TX
Industrial plants and refineries are notoriously dangerous workplaces, where things can go wrong in a heartbeat. Without warning, an explosion, toxic chemical reaction, or equipment malfunction can leave workers with severe burns or debilitating, if not fatal, injuries. And tragically, in the aftermath, families are often left to pick up the pieces alone.
Even when your company promises to “make things right” after an accident, the truth is that it’s not up to them. It’s up to their insurers. And insurance companies have one goal: to pay you and your family as little as possible.
Fortunately, you have legal rights and options — but you must act fast. As you’re considering hiring a lawyer, your employer and their legal team and insurers will already be working overtime to downplay your injuries, hide critical evidence, undermine your credibility, and avoid responsibility at all cost.
You need the best plant and refinery accident lawyers you can find, a team of undefeated litigators who have the resources, knowledge, and experience to take on the biggest companies in the world and anyone else standing between you and the maximum compensation possible.
When you hire Zehl & Associates, we immediately make sure that:
- We assemble a team of the best lawyers, experts, engineers, medical professionals, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, and other professionals in the nation to consult on your case and independently investigate your refinery or industrial plant accident.
- We assess training policies and procedures, photographs of the scene of the accident and resulting injuries, witness statements, medical records, and other evidence. We determine if your employer violated important U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) safety regulations or Texas state law and do everything in our power to hold them accountable.
- You’re able to see the best doctors and medical providers for your injuries. you’re able to pay your medical bills and necessary living expenses while your case is pending, and that you have access to the best tax and financial professionals after your case has been resolved.
- We handle all negotiations with the insurance company and do everything possible to resolve your case quickly, so you can focus on what matters most.
- We NEVER settle for an offer that doesn’t provide you with the maximum compensation possible for all of your injuries and losses. We prepare every case for trial, so if the defendant refuses to offer a settlement that fully compensates you, they will face us in the courtroom in Ector County, TX, where we remain undefeated.
- We not only win — we set records.
Contact our Odessa law office today to learn more. Your initial case evaluation with our team is free.
Contact our Odessa law office today to learn more. Your initial case evaluation with our team is free.
Refinery and Plant Accident Statistics
Texas is home to some of the most dangerous industries in the nation. Industrial plants and refineries, which are bountiful in the Lone Star State, are no exception. Statistically speaking, at least one industrial plant or refinery worker is killed on the job in the state of Texas every 111 minutes.
In 2022, Texas led the nation in industrial plant and refinery accident fatalities, with 608. Fires and explosions accounted for 18 of these worker fatalities.
Accidents, injuries, and deaths happen at refineries and plants across the state – including those right here in Odessa.
Notable Odessa plants and refineries include:
- Guezco Manufacturing
- Oil Path Power
- Devon Energy
- Sample Tech
- Direct Water
- Wright Cowden Jr
- Forum Energy Technologies
- Team Industrial Services
- Energy Transfer Equity
- Meritum Energy Holdings
If you’ve been injured or lost a close family member in an accident at a refinery or industrial plant in Odessa, call Zehl & Associates. You have a limited time to pursue compensation, and our plant and refinery accident attorneys in Odessa can help you fight for justice.
What Causes Most Accidents at Odessa Plants and Refineries?
Plants and refineries are particularly dangerous because of the nature of the work that’s performed on the premises. And even though refineries are required to comply with strict state and federal safety regulations, accidents are still a common occurrence.
Some of the most commonly cited causes of plant and refinery accidents include:
- Combustible chemical explosions caused by a sudden generation of gas, heat, or inappropriate chemical mixing
- Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosions (BLEVEs)
- Equipment malfunctions, often due to corrosion and/or a lack of proper maintenance
- Defective equipment
- Inexperienced workers
- Chemical contamination
- Gas explosions due to high pressure in pipelines
- Combustible dust
- Methane gas contamination
- Fires and explosions caused by soil contamination
Our Texas plant and refinery accident attorneys have discovered that OSHA violations are the most common cause of worker injuries and deaths. From disregarding safety protocols, failing to educate and train employees on critical procedures and policies, failing to maintain equipment, to not supplying workers with necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), simple mistakes tend to come at the highest price.
How Do I Get Compensation After a Refinery or Plant Accident in Odessa, Texas?
If you’re injured in an accident at a refinery or plant in Odessa, the good news is that you have legal options available to you. You don’t have to struggle with medical bills, lost wages, and disability on your own. In fact, you may have multiple ways to recover compensation for your workplace accident and injuries.
File a Claim for Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Texas does not require employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. However, many do. If your employer has workers’ compensation, you can file a claim after you suffer a work-related injury or illness.
Workers’ compensation benefits can be a lifeline if you’re struggling to get back on your feet by paying:
- Medical expenses
- Temporary Income Benefits
- Supplemental Income Benefits
- Impairment Income Benefits
- Lifetime Income Benefits
- Death Benefits if a spouse or parent is killed on the job
Workers’ compensation will help reduce the financial stress of your refinery accident by paying a percentage of your lost wages and taking care of your medical bills.
However, not all of your losses will be covered. It can be important to explore other options, including taking legal action directly against a liable party.
Seek Damages in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Texas law may also offer you the opportunity to take legal action directly against a negligent or otherwise liable party. This includes your employer if they are a workers’ compensation non-subscriber. If your employer has workers’ compensation, you typically can’t sue them for additional compensation.
Through a lawsuit against a manufacturer, property owner, or operator, you can seek both economic damages and non-economic damages.
This can allow you to recover money for:
- Present and future medical bills
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Nursing care
- Lost wages and income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Temporary and/or permanent disability
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Reduced enjoyment of life
- Embarrassment
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Chronic physical pain
Punitive damages can also be awarded through a civil plant and refinery accident lawsuit. Intended to punish for particularly heinous behavior, punitive damages can be awarded if a jury determines a defendant’s conduct was intentional or grossly negligent.
Don’t stress about how to get compensation for your injuries. Our plant and refinery accident lawyers in Odessa will handle your legal claim(s) while you take the time you need to figure out how to get back on your feet.
Helping You Seek Compensation For All Injuries You’ve Suffered in a Refinery or Plant Accident
Accidents at Odessa industrial plants and oil refineries can be catastrophic.
Our Odessa personal injury attorneys are here to help you pursue compensation for any and all injuries you’ve suffered, including:
- Severe burns
- Amputation injuries
- Nerve damage
- Degloving injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Eye injuries
- Vision or hearing loss
- Crushing injuries
- Chest injuries
- Catastrophic injuries
- Broken bones and fractures
- Paralysis
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Wrongful death of a spouse, child, or parent
Report your accident to your supervisor immediately. Then, seek medical treatment at the closest emergency room in Odessa. When your injuries are stable, call our personal injury law firm to talk about your legal options. Members of our team are always available to help – 24/7/365.
What is the Statute of Limitations For Texas Plant and Refinery Accident Lawsuits?
As a general rule, you’ll have one year to seek workers’ compensation benefits and two years to file a civil workplace accident lawsuit after you get hurt at an oil refinery or plant in Odessa, Texas.
Once the statute of limitations expires, you’ll lose the opportunity to assert your rights and demand compensation for your losses.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Undefeated Odessa Plant and Refinery Accident Lawyers
With Billions won, our undefeated Odessa plant and refinery lawyers have successfully represented thousands of industrial workers seriously hurt on the job and continue to recover the largest settlements and verdicts for injured workers in Texas history.
Our recent victories against the biggest plant and refinery operators in the world include:
- $100 Million secured on behalf of a group of workers injured in a refinery explosion, despite their employer attempting to limit them to less than $50,000 in workers’ compensation benefits.
- $90 Million secured — the largest burn injury settlement in U.S. history
- $85.7 Million secured for a refinery contractor injured in a fall from improperly constructed scaffolding
- $75 Million secured for workers injured in petrochemical plant explosion
If you or a loved one were injured in an Odessa plant or refinery accident, call us for a free consultation at 432-220-0000. Or contact us via online.
All consultations are free and confidential, and you won’t pay us a dime unless we win your case.