Undefeated Louisiana Oil Rig Accident Lawyers
Louisiana Oil Rig Lawyers with Largest Wins in History
Whether onshore or offshore, no one can doubt the importance of the oil and gas industry to the Louisiana economy.
Ever since the completion of the state’s first successful oil well, Heywood #1, in 1901, the energy sector has brought tens of thousands of high-paying jobs to the Bayou State, improving the standard of living for generations of Louisianans.
However, there is a significant downside to these obvious economic benefits, as few workers face as much danger on the job as the men and women manning the drill sites scattered across Louisiana. From the ever-present threat of catastrophic fires and explosions to the hazards of working at great heights and the constant danger of toxic exposures, Louisiana oil rig workers from the Haynesville shale to the Gulf Coast risk injury and death every single day they’re on the job.
Unfortunately, if you were injured or lost a loved one in a Louisiana oil rig accident or explosion, there’s a good chance that you and your family will be left to deal with the consequences on your own. In all likelihood, the oil rig operator and its insurer have already hired a team of lawyers and will employ whatever tactics they deem necessary to avoid accountability, even if that means blaming you for your injuries and “losing” or misplacing critical evidence proving the accident was preventable and that the company was at fault.
Injured in a Louisiana Oil Rig Accident? Contact Our Undefeated Oilfield Injury Lawyers for a Free Consult by Calling 1-888-603-3636 or by Clicking Here
After a Louisiana oil rig accident, it’s critical that you take immediate steps to protect your future.
Having successfully represented more than 1,000 oil and gas workers in Louisiana and throughout the United States, our Oilfield Accident Lawyers have the resources, knowledge, and skills to successfully take on the largest drilling companies in the world and secure our clients the resources needed to access the best medical care available and provide for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives.
Call 1-888-603-3636, chat with us through our website, or Click Here to send us a confidential email through our “Contact Us” form.
All consultations are free, there’s no commitment involved, and you won’t owe us anything unless we win your case.
Louisiana’s Oil and Gas Industry
Since Haysville #1 came online at the beginning of the 20th century, Louisiana’s onshore oil and gas industry has grown to encompass nearly 1,800 oil and gas fields, such as the:
- Converse Oil and Gas Field in Sabine Parish
- Riceville Field in Vermillion Parish
- Oretta Oil and Gas Field in Beauregard Parish
- Holly Field in DeSoto Parish
- Benson Oil and Gas Field in DeSoto Parish
- North Crowley Oil and Gas Field in Acadia Parish
- North Grand Cane Oil and Gas Field in DeSoto Parish
- Bethany Longstreet Oil and Gas Field in DeSoto Parish
Significant advances in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling technology have led to a shale revolution in recent years, especially in the natural gas-rich Haynesville Shale in northwestern Louisiana. Fracking is also being used to extract Louisiana Light Sweet Crude from the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale in the central part of the state, while the Brown Dense shale area beneath Arkansas and northern Louisiana is believed to hold both oil and gas reserves that could be accessed through fracking in the near future.
As active as Louisiana’s onshore oil activities are, they pale compared to the state’s offshore drilling and oil production. The Gulf of Mexico is a major energy producer, with massive oil reserves in the Mississippi Canyon, Green Canyon, and Walker Ridge basins, among others. In fact, most of the United State’s largest oil fields are located off the Louisiana coast in federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) waters.
The Bayou State is also home to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the nation’s first and only deepwater port for receiving oil imports. Operating since 1981, the LOOP includes underground salt caverns and aboveground storage tanks to allow for the offloading and temporary storage of crude oil transported on some of the world’s largest tankers. In most cases, the tankers serviced by the LOOP are too massive to be accommodated at any of the United State’s inland ports.
Today, Louisiana ranks third among all states in natural gas production and fifth in proved natural gas reserves. The state’s onshore and offshore oil rigs supported 346,710 total jobs (91,720 direct and 254,990 indirect) in 2021, or 13.1 percent of the state’s total employment. Louisiana residents earned $25.8 billion in income from those jobs, while the oil and gas sector contributed more than $54 billion to the state’s GDP.
Recent Louisiana Oilfield and Oil Rig Accidents
Oil and gas workers, including those employed on drilling rigs, are seven times more likely to die on the job compared to workers in other sectors. All too often, these deaths occur because of preventable well blowouts, drilling rig explosions and other catastrophic incidents that were the direct result of an oil or gas company’s willingness to cut corners in the pursuit of higher production and profits.
Wild Well Control Well Explosion
In 2021, four contractors suffered severe burns when an explosion erupted on an abandoned well site near Belle Isle, Louisiana. A well blowout had occurred several days earlier, and a 7-person crew from Houston, Texas-based Wild Well Control was working to cap the well when a spark triggered the blast. Four of the workers suffered severe burns to their hands and face and were taken to burn units in New Orleans and Lafayette, Louisiana. Three others sought treatment for minor injuries on their own.
Previous Louisiana Oilfield Accidents
The abandoned well at the center of the Wild Well Control explosion belonged to Texas Petroleum Investments, another Houston-based company that operates more than 2,000 producing wells along the Gulf Coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama. Previous accidents and explosions involving the company’s Louisiana operations have included:
- June 2014: Federal and state agencies were forced to burn an area in the Delta National Wildlife Refuge after it was contaminated by a 2,100-gallon crude oil leak from a Texas Petroleum site.
- May 2015: A rented compressor sparked a platform fire near Breton Island in Plaquemines Parish, resulting in an oil spill and the evacuation of 28 people.
- October 2015: Two men died in a boat explosion in White Lake while working on a Texas Petroleum oilfield production platform.
Fieldwood Energy Offshore Platform Accident
In May 2021, a construction contractor died while performing a non-emergency pressure casing test on a shut-in well at Fieldwood Energy’s Eugene Island 158 #14 facility in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles south of Marsh Island. Investigators with the Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) later reported that the worker’s death was the result of an explosion that occurred during the pressure testing.
Beauregard Parish Tank Explosion
The tragic consequences of an oilfield explosion occasionally extend beyond rig workers and other oil and gas employees. In March 2021, for example, a tank explosion on another inactive oil rig site tragically killed a 14-year-old girl in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana. Despite the well being inactive, Plano, Texas-based Urban Oil & Gas was storing highly flammable crude oil in tanks at the time, three of which were engulfed in flames within seconds of the blast.
Seacor Power Liftboat Capsizing
In April 2021, the Seacor Power lift boat capsized and sank during a 100-mile journey from Port Fourchon, Louisiana, to a Talos Energy platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Nineteen offshore workers were aboard when the vessel went over, but only six people were rescued from sea. Search crews recovered the remains of six others in the following days. Seven remain missing and are presumed dead.
Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board eventually determined the lift boat had experienced a loss of stability in severe thunderstorm winds that exceeded its operational wind speed limits. The speed at which the vessel capsized and the angle at which it came to rest impeded the offshore workers’ escape, while the high winds and seas in the aftermath of the disaster hampered rescue efforts.
The Seacore Power capsizing was the nation’s deadliest offshore accident since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion killed 11 offshore workers in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2011.
Shell Augur Platform Accident
In June 2019, two workers were killed during a routine operation to test lifeboat launch and retrieval capabilities aboard Shell Oil’s Auger Tension Leg Platform, an offshore operation located roughly 214 miles southwest of New Orleans. One of the workers was later identified as a Shell employee, and the other as a contractor with Danos, an oilfield services firm based in Louisiana. A second Shell employee suffered minor injuries in the accident.
Talos Energy Platform Death
In February 2018, a contractor aboard a Talos Energy platform located in an area of the Gulf of Mexico known as West Cameron 215A was seriously hurt while removing firewater piping. He later died from his injuries.
Petrobras Drillship Accident
In December 2017, an offshore contractor died tragically as a result of an accident aboard a Petrobras Americas drillship, which was operating some 172 miles south of Port Fourchon.
The Spencer Ogden employee worked as a floorhand on the vessel and was participating in pipe-handling operations when the incident occurred. In a subsequent alert, the BSEE indicated that the contractor had been positioned between a stanchion with his back to the retracting skate just as it was mobilized. The skate’s movement caused its “loading platform” to pin the worker against the stanchion.
Shell Enchilada Oil Rig Explosion
In November 2017, a fire aboard Shell’s Enchilada oil rig sent two men to the hospital and forced the evacuation of dozens of other offshore workers. Shell later confirmed that one of the injured workers had suffered flash burns and that the other had sustained a concussion and a strained wrist.
The BSEE later reported that an explosion had erupted as the Enchilada crew loaded a piece of cleaning equipment called a pig launcher into a 30-inch gas pipeline. They had just closed the pig launcher door and were pressurizing the equipment when a release of volatile gas occurred, causing the door to separate from the launcher. Metal-to-metal contact or electrical arcing likely ignited the resulting fire.
Clovelly Oil Rig Explosion
In October 2017, an explosion at a Clovelly oil and gas storage platform tragically killed a contract worker near Kenner, Louisiana. Seven other oil rig workers were hurt in the blast.
The explosion ignited at a large tank on the platform’s third floor while a crew from Hydra Steam Generator, Inc., performed a routine cleaning operation on the rig’s pipes. The deceased worker was unaccounted for immediately after the explosion, and his remains weren’t recovered for another five days.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Rig Explosion
In April 2010, an explosion aboard BP’s Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig tragically killed 11 workers and seriously injured 17 others. By the time the blown-out Macondo well was capped 87 days later, an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil had spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
Investigators eventually identified a defective blowout preventer among the main causes of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe. More than a decade later, the explosion ranks as one of the deadliest offshore disasters in United States history.
Our offshore rig explosion lawyers recovered highly favorable settlements on behalf of 5 workers injured aboard the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig.
Oil Rig Accidents and Explosions are Always Preventable
There’s a common theme in all of the oil rig accident and oilfield explosion cases that our lawyers have handled: Every single incident was preventable and occurred because oil or gas companies cut corners, ignored critical safety practices, and violated regulations meant to safeguard the health and well-being of their employees.
Some of the most common causes of oil rig accidents and explosions include:
Well Blowouts
Well blowouts are among the most catastrophic events on an oil rig. They occur when pressure control systems fail, allowing the uncontrolled release of oil, gas, or other fluids from the well. The sudden release of high-pressure substances can cause explosions, fires, and severe injuries to workers nearby.
Equipment Malfunctions and Failures
Issues with blowout preventers, drilling machinery, pumps, compressors, pressure control systems, and electrical equipment can lead to uncontrolled pressure releases, sparks that ignite flammable materials, or structural failures resulting in explosions or fires.
Ignition Sources
The presence of volatile vapors and flammable liquids on an oil rig creates a constant threat of fires and explosions. Even a single spark from a welding torch or cutting operation, an electrical fault, contact with hot surfaces, or static electricity can be enough to trigger a catastrophe.
Inadequate Maintenance and Inspections
Regular maintenance and inspections are critical to identifying and addressing potential hazards on an oil rig before they cause accidents. Inadequate maintenance practices, deferred repairs, or insufficient inspections of critical equipment often set the stage for disaster.
Improper Handling of Hazardous Materials
Oil rig workers risk exposure to numerous toxic and volatile substances on the job, including crude oil, hydrogen sulfide gas, solvents, drilling fluids, and production chemicals. Contact with these materials can cause respiratory problems, allergic reactions, rashes, chemical burns, and asphyxiation in the short term, while long-term exposure may result in cancer and other serious health problems.
Providing workers with adequate training and ensuring they have necessary protective equipment, combined with close adherence to industry standards and federal and state safety regulations, can significantly reduce the likelihood of an oil rig accident or explosion.
Our attorneys are aware of too many disasters resulting from the company’s failure to prioritize worker safety over increasing profits. Unless rig operators are forced to take responsibility and FULLY compensate those they’ve injured, profits will always come first, and oil rig workers will continue to be seriously injured and tragically killed in catastrophes that could (and should) have been prevented.
What Sets Our Louisiana Oil Rig Lawyers Apart?
Our Undefeated Louisiana Oil Rig Lawyers don’t just win. We consistently recover record-breaking verdicts and settlements, including the #1 Largest Oilfield Accident Settlement in History and #1 Largest Burn Injury Settlement in History.
Why are we so successful in and out of the courtroom?
- Our oil rig injury lawyers are Undefeated trial lawyers who have recovered the largest oilfield recoveries in US history
- Because we’ve represented more than 1,000 oilfield and oil rig workers across the country, we have a thorough understanding of the safety regulations governing the oil and gas industry and know how to counter the tactics companies employ to avoid responsibility.
- We’ll refuse to settle your case unless you and your family receive the maximum compensation possible for all of your injuries and losses.
- If the company won’t offer a settlement that fully compensates you and your family, we won’t hesitate to take your case to trial, where we’ve consistently recovered the largest verdicts in history.
From helping you cover reasonable living expenses and ensuring you’re able to access the best medical treatment available while your case is pending to connecting you with a team of top financial advisors who can help establish a financial plan and set up trust funds that will continue to provide for you and your family for the rest of your lives, few law firms can match our dedication to our clients or our ability to hold oil and gas companies accountable.
But don’t just take our word for it. To see what other injured rig workers and past clients say about their experience with our Louisiana Oil Rig Accident Lawyers, just visit our Client Testimonial page or our firm’s YouTube Channel.
Undefeated Louisiana Oil Rig Accident Lawyers: Call 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here For a Free Consult.
If you or a loved one were seriously injured or tragically killed in an oil rig accident or explosion, your employer and its team of lawyers will do everything possible to avoid responsibility and pay you as little as possible for your injuries and losses.
You can’t afford to place your family’s future in the company’s hands!
With Billions in settlements and verdicts and the #1 largest oilfield accident recoveries in US history, our Undefeated Oil Rig Accident Lawyers have repeatedly demonstrated that we don’t just win — we set records.
Call 1-888-603-3636, use the “Chat Now” button on our website, or Click Here to send us a confidential email through our Contact Us form.
We’ll answer your questions, explain your rights and options, and provide the information you need to make the best decision for you and your family.
All consultations are free and completely confidential, and you won’t pay us a dime unless we win your case.