Caught in Machinery or Hit by Moving Parts - the Hazards of an Oil Drilling Site

Perhaps the most potentially hazardous type of oil field accident is one that involves a worker being caught in or struck by any of the heavy machinery or equipment at the site. If a worker survives at all, he or she may be left with catastrophic injuries that may cause permanent disability. Amputation or dismemberment, fractured or crushed bones, damaged internal organs, spinal cord injury and brain injury are all potential consequences of a machinery accident at an oil field.

Discussing your accident and injuries with an Oklahoma City oil drilling accident attorney is one of the most important steps you can take after losing a loved one or being injured in a heavy machinery accident at an oil field. You may have the right to a significant amount of compensation, and a lawyer can help you seek and recover this.

Heavy Machinery Accidents and Injuries

Working with heavy machinery is just one of the many hazards associated with the job of an oil field worker. Crane riggings, pipes, drill pieces and oil derricks are dealt with on a daily basis. A roughneck not only works in an environment where the deafening noise from this machinery makes verbal communication impossible, but faces physically demanding and dirty work. They must make sure that the working space is free from dangerous obstacles, and this includes ensuring that nothing will get in the way of these large machines and drills. All of this heavy equipment is constantly moving, making a single misstep potentially deadly. Working an 8 to 12-hour shift in these conditions can take its toll, even for an experienced and well-trained worker. A lapse of concentration, even for a moment, may mean that a worker will be caught in machinery or struck by one of its moving parts.