Helping Workers Injured in Drilling Rig Accidents and Blowouts

Originally known as “gushers,” blowouts are the result of drilling into a high-pressure zone. If the pressure cannot be relieved, uncontrolled oil or gas can rush up the well, causing serious injury or worse.

Our injury attorneys understand blowout cases because we’ve represented oil and gas workers who were seriously injured by them. Drilling for oil and natural gas is risky. But with 70 years of experience, we’ve seen enough cases to know that blowouts should never happen.

Established in 1951, Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner is the oldest plaintiffs personal injury law firm in Texas. Let us help you after a drilling rig accident. Call (713) 222-7211 (toll free 713-222-7211) or contact our office online for a free consultation.

What Causes Blowouts?

The first successful blowout preventer was brought to market decades ago. Since then, drilling rig technology has improved enormously. Today’s modern drilling rigs usually have blowout prevention valves and devices — but the oil and gas industry is nowhere close to preventing dangerous blowouts entirely.

Engineers typically monitor the well site for changes in pressure. If the drill encounters a high-pressure zone, blowout preventer devices and valves act as fail-safes (when the valves are closed, the well is “shut in,” which helps to prevent a blowout) while engineers work to bring the pressure under control.

But any mistake during or related to the drilling process — such as failing to fix known safety or maintenance problems or failing to properly monitor and address changes in pressure — can lead to a dangerous blowout. Inadequate training from the start can also lead to a drilling rig accident.

For Help With Your Oil Rig Accident Injury Claim, Call Our Lawyers Today

There have been more than 40 major blowouts on offshore drilling rigs, causing the deaths of workers and substantial property damage in resulting oil spills. In the recent Deepwater Horizon blowout, 11 oil and gas workers were killed and millions of dollars in damage affected property owners and business owners.

Attorneys at our firm have been involved in blowout cases like these, including the world’s worst offshore disaster — a fire on the Piper Alpha rig in the North Sea just off Scotland that killed 166 workers in 1988. We have been handling these cases for a long time and know how to get results for our clients and their families.

If you were injured or a family member was killed in a drilling rig accident, call (713) 222-7211 (toll free 713-222-7211) or e-mail our Houston office for a free consultation.

Free Consultation

We offer a free consultation to prospective clients. If you have been injured and wish to speak to one of our attorneys in a no-cost consultation, please call us at (713) 222-7211. or toll free at 713-222-7211

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