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Oilfields are essential to the economy of New Mexico, but they present many hazards. There are vehicle accidents involving oil and gas trucks on key roads like US 62, I-10, and US 82; there is the potential for fires and explosions on oilfields; and there are heavy machinery and equipment that can lead to personal injury. It’s crucial to understand the dangers of heavy equipment in the oilfields of New Mexico and how you can financially recover from injuries in an accident.
Reasons for Heavy Equipment and Machinery Accidents
Incidents with machinery led to 12,191 hospitalizations and 88,719 emergency department visits in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On oilfields, these accidents and injuries can be caused by:
- Poor maintenance. Heavy machinery and equipment see a lot of wear and tear in oilfields, and therefore need proper inspection and maintenance. Ensuring maintenance on machines is crucial in work safety regulations.Unfortunately, these requirements are not always followed by employees or enforced by employers. When machines are not inspected for hazards or not given the repairs they need, injuries are much more likely to occur.
- Defective equipment. Equipment and machinery might have a defect or be unreasonably dangerous, causing you to be injured. In these cases, the danger is inherent in the product design, marketing, or materials.
- Insufficient training. If employees are not properly trained to operate machines and equipment onsite, they are likely to make errors and poor decisions that cause injuries. This can include operating vehicles recklessly, failing to communicate important movements with equipment, and not checking blind spots during operation.
There are numerous safety standards in place meant to mitigate the risks on oilfields, but they are still dangerous places to be. Determining how you were injured is important to help point to which party was at fault for the harm you suffered. That way, you can file a civil personal injury claim against that party to recover your losses.
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Who Could Be Held Liable in a Personal Injury Claim After a Heavy Equipment Oilfield Accident?
Accidents in the oilfield and gas industry that involve heavy machinery can be the fault of numerous potential parties. You might be able to file a claim against:
- Product manufacturer. If a machinery incident was caused by a defective product or an unreasonably dangerous product, the product manufacturer, designer, or distributor might be liable for your injuries.
- Oilfield and gas employee. If an employee’s negligence caused your injuries, you may be able to hold them liable. This might include if they improperly managed or operated machinery that caused your injury, or failed to perform required maintenance, causing your injury.
- Oilfield and gas employer. There are many ways an employer might be negligent. They may have failed to ensure safety standards in the workplace were met, failed to provide the necessary training to employees, or failed to vet their employees. You could file a personal injury claim against them when their negligence leads to a machinery incident and your injury.
- Another company or contractor. A third party who is not the primary oil and gas company may be liable. For example, a company that owned the machinery that failed to perform maintenance, or a contractor that was negligent when operating the machinery. A third-party inspector could also be liable for failing to note a hazard.
- Property owner. If you were injured in a machinery accident on an oilfield, and it was caused by a hazard that the property’s owner should have addressed, they might be liable for your injuries. These claims rely on factors like the type of hazard and whether the owner should reasonably have fixed it.
Every oilfield injury and accident is different, and there may be other liable parties depending on your case.
FAQs
What Causes the Most Deaths on Oilfields?
The most common cause of deaths on oilfields was vehicle collisions, which made up 26.8% of fatalities on oilfields from 2014 to 2019, according to the CDC. Contact injuries made up 21.7% of fatalities, which includes injuries resulting from being caught between or crushed by an object or struck by falling object. The highest concentration, 31.5%, of the fatalities recorded during this time occurred in the Permian Basin, the primary oilfield in New Mexico.
What Are the Hazards on Oilfields in New Mexico?
There are numerous hazards on oilfields in New Mexico, including heavy machinery malfunctions or misuse, falling objects, slip and falls, other premises hazards, vehicle accidents, hazardous exposure, fires, and explosions. If someone’s carelessness was the reason an accident happened and you were injured, you may have grounds for a personal injury claim to help you financially recover.
Why Should You Hire an Oilfield Accident Lawyer in New Mexico?
You should hire an oilfield accident lawyer in New Mexico to improve your chances of a successful personal injury claim. A lawyer can assess your claim and help you file a claim against the at-fault party or parties in your case. They can calculate what damages you are owed and negotiate for those damages. Your attorney can also take the case to court if needed to recover compensation. Working with an attorney makes the process less stressful.
What Compensation Can You Recover After an Oilfield Accident?
After an oilfield accident, the compensation that you can recover depends on your case. If you can hold another party entirely liable for your damages, then you could recover any of the losses from the accident and injury. This includes your medical treatment costs, your long-term medical needs, your immediate and future income losses, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional trauma, and pain and suffering.
Compassion and Competence at Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez, LLC
The team at Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez, LLC understands the financial and personal stress of being injured and how frustrating it can be to try to file a personal injury claim. We want to make it easier for you. Our attorneys have decades of combined legal experience.
We bring you the experience and resources of a major firm, but the individual care of a small firm. If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in an oilfield machinery accident, reach out to our team and let us help you file a personal injury or wrongful death claim.
About the author:
Brian Egolf
Partner at
Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez, LLC
Brian Egolf is a Partner at Egolf + Ferlic + Martinez, LLC in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He represents clients in personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, whistleblower, and complex civil litigation matters. He is admitted to practice in New Mexico and before the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico. Brian earned his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of New Mexico School of Law and his B.S. from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
