Oil and Gas workers are subject to some of the most hazardous industrial conditions in the U.S., and serious injuries and fatalities often occur from oil and gas accidents. In January of this year, NPR reported that accidents among workers in the industry are on the rise. From 2009 to 2012 the industry added 23 percent more workers, “[b]ut the hiring spree has come with a terrible price: Last year, 138 workers were killed on the job – an increase of more than 100 percent since 2009,” wrote Andrew Schneider and Marilyn Geewax for NPR. “In fact, the fatality rate among oil and gas workers in now nearly eight times higher than the all-industry rate of 3.2 deaths for every 100,000 workers.”
The hazardous conditions that oil and gas workers are subject to are far and wide. The majority of oil and gas workers are completing hydraulic fracturing or fracking jobs. This method is used to extract natural gas from rock formations underground. The fracking workers work with very heavy and powerful machinery, and typically work 12-14 hour shifts for a week or two consecutively. Furthermore, recent studies have been illustrated that fracking is also linked to cancer and other serious, chronic illnesses because of various chemicals that fracking workers are being exposed to.
Benny Agosto, Jr. is a partner at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner in Houston, Texas. For over 65 years, Abraham Watkins has successfully represented injured people and families who fall victim to catastrophes. Our attorneys have the knowledge, experience and resources necessary to obtain just compensation their clients. For more information, please contact the office of Benny Agosto, Jr. at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, by letter at 800 Commerce Street, Houston, Texas 77002, or by phone at (713) 222-7211.