North Dakota Oilfield Accident Lawyers

Undefeated North Dakota Oilfield Accident and Injury Lawyers

Our Undefeated Oilfield Accident Lawyers have won Billions for oilfield workers who were seriously injured, catastrophically burned, or tragically killed in connection with the worst oilfield accidents, well blowouts, and drilling rig explosions in history, including:

• the #1 Largest Oilfield Accident Settlement in U.S. History
• the #1 Largest Oilfield Burn Injury Settlement in U.S. History
• $62 Million Recovery for Injured Oilfield Worker

Because of our success, our clients have the financial resources to access the best medical treatment available and continue to care and provide for themselves and their families for the rest of their lives.

Find out what oilfield workers from across the country have to say about their experience with our Undefeated Oilfield Injury Lawyers by visiting our Client Testimonial page or our firm’s YouTube Channel.

Contact Our North Dakota Oilfield Injury Lawyers for a Free Consult by Calling 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here

After an oilfield accident or explosion, you can’t afford to trust that your company will take care of you. No matter what they tell you, they’re only interested in one thing: saving money by paying you and your family as little as possible for your injuries and losses.

Having an experienced oilfield accident attorney  – one who has recovered the #1 largest oilfield recoveries in US history – fighting on your behalf is the only way to ensure you and your family recover the damages you truly deserve.

Our Oilfield Injury Lawyers Become Like Family

Not only do we have an unprecedented track record of success, but we genuinely care about each and every one of our clients and have the knowledge, resources, and experience to win against the largest oil companies in the world.

We realize that the bills don’t stop when you’re injured, which is why we are always willing to help with reasonable living expenses and medical bills for as long as your case is pending. Once your case is resolved, we’ll also connect you with the best financial advisors in the industry to help you develop a financial plan and set up trust funds that will continue to provide for you and your family for the rest of your lives.

Contact Our Undefeated North Dakota Oil Field Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation

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.

The North Dakota Oil and Gas Industry

North Dakota boasts the second-largest oil reserve in the United States and, along with Texas, accounts for half of the nation’s crude oil production.

This is mainly due to the Bakken Formation, one of the largest contiguous deposits of oil and natural gas in the country. The Bakken underlies roughly 12,000 square miles of northwestern North Dakota, along with large areas of northeastern Montana, southern Saskatchewan, and southwestern Manitoba.

The Three Forks formation, an oil-rich rock unit found below part of the Bakken, extends farther east in North Dakota.

Oil was first discovered in the Bakken in 1951 but remained largely unexploited until 2007 when improvements in hydraulic fracturing technology finally allowed drillers to extract the oil and natural gas locked in low-permeability rock formations. By the end of 2012, thousands of successful new wells had made the Bakken Formation one of the most important crude oil sources in the history of North America.

Together, the Bakken and the Three Forks formation are roughly the size of West Virginia. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that 7.4 billion barrels of oil, 6.7 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 530 mill barrels of natural gas liquids can be extracted from the Bakken and Three Forks formations using currently available technology.

North Dakota Oilfield Injuries and Deaths

While the North Dakota oil and gas industry has brought economic growth to the state, those benefits have come at a heartbreaking cost to many oilfield workers and their families. In 2023, the AFL-CIO Death on the Job Report declared North Dakota the most dangerous state to work in, noting that the oil and gas extraction industries accounted for 74% of the fatal work injuries in the state’s mining sector.

According to an analysis conducted by REVEAL, one oilfield worker was killed every six weeks in the Bakken Shale throughout the most recent drilling boom, which ran from 2006 through mid-2018. A total of 74 oilfield deaths were recorded during that period, prompting the organization to declare the Bakken “the most dangerous oil field” in the United States.

For example, three Blackhawk contractors were severely burned when an explosion erupted at a Chord Energy site near Stanley in Mountrail County. One of the workers later died of his injuries.

One year earlier, in 2021, an explosion occurred at a JM Oilfield Services site, tragically killing a contractor and severely injuring several others.

In May 2019, a man from Liberal, Kansas, died tragically after being struck in the head by a polishing rod while working at a drilling site in Williston.

Examples of other serious and fatal North Dakota oilfield accidents reported over the past decade include:

• July 2011: Two men were critically injured when a Cyclone Drilling rig located outside of Beach, North Dakota, exploded and caught fire. One of the workers suffered severe burns to over 60% of his body, while the other was burned over 80% of his body.
• September 2011: Two men died of severe burns sustained in a McKenzie County oilfield explosion. Two other workers were hospitalized.
• August 2012: A fire at a Statoil well in McKenzie County left two oilfield workers severely burned.
• October 2014: A man was killed when an uncleaned tanker trailer exploded during a welding operation. In 2019, C&J Well Service plead guilty in connection with that incident and agreed to pay $2.1 million to settle federal criminal charges that it willfully violated an OSHA standard requiring that tanks be cleaned before welding.
• June 2016: An Advanced Energy contractor died at a Mountrail County drilling site after being struck by a crane boom.
• June 2016: An explosion and fire at an oil well near Watford City killed a 52-year-old Wyoming man and seriously injured two others.

Causes of North Dakota Oilfield Injuries

Some of the most common oilfield injuries in North Dakota and elsewhere include:

• Burns from explosions, blowouts, and volatile hydrocarbons
• Fires, blowouts, and explosions
• Being struck or crushed by tools or machinery
• Equipment and machinery malfunctions
• Motor vehicle crashes going to and from the oil rigs

By its very nature, the oil and gas industry constantly exposes its workers to hazardous materials and conditions, including heavy machinery and combustible hydrocarbons and chemicals. However, the 2018 REVEAL study also cited several preventable factors driving the carnage in North Dakota’s oilfields, including weak federal oversight that allows drilling companies to avoid accountability for accidents that left oilfield workers injured or dead.

What to Do After an Oilfield Accident or Explosion

Sadly, it’s also been our experience that oilfield tragedies are entirely preventable and directly result from a company’s decision to ignore essential safety rules in their rush to extract as much oil and gas from the ground as quickly as possible.

We’ve also found that oil and gas companies will do whatever necessary to avoid responsibility for their negligence and limit your financial recovery to whatever workers’ compensation benefits you might be entitled to, even if that means blaming you for the accident and “losing” or destroying vital evidence proving the company was at fault.

That’s why it’s essential to act as quickly as practically possible to protect your rights to compensation and safeguard your family’s future in the wake of an oilfield accident or explosion:

• Stop working immediately and report your injury as soon as possible.
• Demand immediate medical treatment at a doctor of your choice. Then, attend all follow-up medical and therapy appointments and fully comply with your doctor’s treatment recommendations.
• Do not give a formal statement, sign ANY paperwork, or accept any money from the company (besides your regular paycheck) before speaking with an experienced oil field injury lawyer.
• Don’t assume that workers’ compensation will cover all of your injuries and losses. In many cases, workers’ comp doesn’t cover a worker’s normal weekly wages, let alone future lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages you could recover by filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the company.
• Don’t discuss your accident or injuries with anyone other than your spouse,  including with co-workers or on social media.
• Contact our Undefeated Oilfield Accident Lawyers as soon as possible

Why Our North Dakota Oilfield Injury Lawyers Are Different

Our Undefeated Oilfield Accident Attorneys have a consistent track record of winning record-breaking verdicts and settlements against the largest oil and gas companies in the world, including the  #1 Largest Oilfield Accident Settlement in History and #1 Largest Burn Injury Settlement in History.

Why are we so successful?

• We have a deep understanding of the safety regulations governing the oil and gas industry, and we know how to leverage that knowledge to prove the company was at fault for our client’s injuries.
• Our oilfield accident attorneys understand just how far oil and gas companies will go to avoid responsibility and have the experience, knowledge, and resources to take them on – and win.
• We never accept anything less than maximum compensation for our client’s injuries and losses, and we won’t hesitate to go to trial if the company refuses to fully compensate our clients and their families.

We realize that the bills don’t stop when you’re injured, which is why we are always willing to help with reasonable living expenses and medical bills for as long as your case is pending. Once your case is resolved, we’ll also connect you with the best financial advisors in the industry to help you develop a financial plan and set up trust funds that will continue to provide for you and your family for the rest of your lives.

Contact Our Undefeated North Dakota Oilfield Accident Lawyers at 1-888-603-3636 or Click Here for a Free Consult

If you or a loved one were injured or tragically killed in a North Dakota oilfield accident or explosion, contact our Undefeated Oilfield Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation at 1-888-603-3636, use the chat form on our website, or send us a confidential email through our Contact Form by clicking here.

We’ll answer your questions, explain your rights, and provide you with the information you need to decide what’s best for you and your family.

All consultations are free and 100% confidential, and you won’t pay us a dime unless we win your case.