According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Texas leads the nation in oil and gas production, accounting for 43% of the country’s crude oil output and 28% of its natural gas.[1] Houston stands at the center of this massive industry, where thousands of workers face life-threatening hazards every single shift. The work is demanding and dangerous, and when something goes wrong, injured workers deserve real help from people who understand what they are facing.
An oilfield accident changes everything in an instant because the explosion or equipment failure that puts you in the hospital also puts your family’s financial future at risk. The treatment costs start piling up immediately, while your paychecks have stopped coming, and the career you spent years building may never look the same again. Meanwhile, the companies responsible already have lawyers and insurance adjusters working to protect their bottom line instead of taking care of you.
Texas is one of the only states that allows employers to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage entirely. Many oilfield companies take advantage of this option, which means injured workers cannot rely on the standard benefits system that protects employees in other industries. This actually opens up legal options that workers’ compensation would otherwise block, but navigating these alternatives requires an attorney who understands the unique rules that apply to Texas oilfield injuries.
Jim Adler & Associates, The Texas Hammer®, steps in with a clear plan and relentless pressure to hold negligent companies accountable for what happened to you. We secure evidence before it disappears, work with industry experts who can explain exactly what went wrong, and coordinate with your medical team to connect your injuries to hard proof rather than speculation. When insurance companies refuse to offer fair compensation, we are fully prepared to take your case to trial.
We serve injured oilfield workers throughout Houston and across Texas.
With hundreds of oilfield injury lawsuits filed, our numbers speak for themselves.
A single shift in the oilfield can end in catastrophe without any warning at all. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transportation incidents account for the largest percentage of fatalities in oil and gas extraction.[2] When you factor in explosions, equipment failures, and toxic chemical exposures, the oil and gas industry becomes one of the most dangerous places to work in America.
Jim Adler & Associates understands what you are facing right now because Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, has fought for injured oilfield workers for decades. We know the games these companies play to avoid taking responsibility for what happened to you. We know the tactics their insurance adjusters use to minimize what they pay injured workers. Most importantly, we know how to fight back effectively.
Oilfield accidents are far more complicated than typical workplace injuries because of how many different companies operate at every well site. The operator owns the well itself, but a separate drilling contractor actually runs the rig. Service companies come and go throughout the day to handle specialized tasks. Equipment manufacturers supplied the machinery that workers depend on. Staffing agencies provided many of the workers themselves. When something goes wrong and someone gets hurt, every single one of these companies points fingers at the others to avoid being held responsible.
The evidence in these cases goes far beyond what witnesses remember seeing. Electronic logging devices track exactly how the equipment was operating before a failure occurred. Maintenance records reveal whether companies followed required safety protocols or cut corners to save money. Training documentation shows whether workers received proper instruction before being put in dangerous situations. Hours-of-service logs can prove whether companies pushed workers beyond safe limits before an accident happened. This evidence exists, but companies will not hand it over willingly.
An experienced Houston oilfield accident attorney knows how to obtain this critical evidence before companies have a chance to destroy it or claim it never existed. Jim Adler & Associates works with investigators and industry experts who understand drilling operations, safety requirements, and federal regulations. We build cases with documentation that insurance companies cannot simply dismiss or explain away.
Behind every accident statistic is a real person with a family depending on them to come home safely. Oilfield workers often support entire households on their wages because the pay reflects the danger and difficulty of the work. When a serious injury strikes, the financial impact hits the whole family immediately. Treatment expenses start mounting at the exact moment that income disappears, and families suddenly face impossible choices between getting proper medical care and keeping their homes.
Physical injuries tell only part of the story of what an oilfield accident takes from you. Workers who took pride in their jobs and their skills find themselves unable to return to the only work they have ever known. The psychological weight of catastrophic injury affects not just the injured worker but everyone who loves them. Jim Adler & Associates understands these realities and fights for compensation that addresses everything this accident has cost you and your family.
Oilfield accidents rarely happen without warning signs that got ignored along the way. These tragedies typically follow patterns of negligence that experienced attorneys learn to recognize over years of handling similar cases. Jim Adler & Associates has seen firsthand how companies prioritize production schedules and profit margins over the safety of the workers who make their operations possible.
Heavy machinery in the oilfield operates under extreme conditions that push equipment to its limits every single day. When companies defer maintenance to keep production moving or bypass safety systems that slow things down, catastrophic failures become a matter of when rather than if. These failures often trace back to decisions made in boardrooms far from the drilling site, where executives extend maintenance intervals and approve temporary fixes rather than paying for proper repairs.
When equipment finally fails, workers pay the price with crushing injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and worse. Defective equipment from manufacturers adds another layer of responsibility that many injured workers never think to pursue. Jim Adler & Associates investigates every potential source of your injuries and pursues all parties whose negligence contributed to your accident.
The chemicals present at every drilling site can create invisible death traps that workers cannot see or smell until it is too late. Natural gas accumulates where a single spark can trigger an explosion. Hydrogen sulfide seeps from wells and kills workers before they realize they are in danger. Well blowouts release tremendous pressure that can send thousands of pounds of equipment flying like shrapnel.
These disasters often stem from warning signs that someone chose to ignore rather than address properly. Gas detection systems require calibration that takes time and money. Blowout preventers need testing, which means shutting down production. Companies know exactly what the risks are and choose to gamble with workers’ lives anyway.
The burns from oilfield fires cause suffering that can last for the rest of a victim’s life, often requiring specialized burn units, skin grafts, and years of reconstructive surgery. Jim Adler, The Tough, Smart Lawyer®, fights for compensation that covers both your immediate medical needs and the future treatment you will require.
Getting to and from remote drilling sites creates risks that many workers do not fully appreciate until something goes wrong. Workers drive long distances on rural highways after exhausting shifts when their reaction times are compromised by fatigue. Falling asleep at the wheel kills oilfield workers every year, and the companies that push them to drive in that condition share responsibility for what happens.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, transportation incidents remain the leading cause of death in the oil and gas extraction industry.[2] These are not simple traffic accidents that happened to involve oilfield workers. They are work-related injuries that result from employer decisions about scheduling, rest periods, and workload expectations. Jim Adler & Associates investigates whether the company’s practices created the unsafe conditions that led to your accident.
Experience matters enormously in oilfield work because split-second decisions can mean the difference between a close call and a catastrophe. Despite this reality, companies routinely hire inexperienced workers and put them in dangerous situations without proper training. Workers who have not been properly prepared cannot recognize warning signs that experienced hands would catch immediately, and when emergencies strike, their confusion leads directly to preventable injuries.
OSHA safety violations run deep at drilling sites throughout Houston and across Texas. Inspectors find machine guards removed to speed up operations, safety systems disabled because they were inconvenient, and emergency exits blocked with equipment. Jim Adler & Associates documents these violations and uses them to prove that your injury resulted from systematic negligence rather than an isolated incident.
Oilfield workers face constant exposure to chemicals that can damage their health in ways that do not become apparent for months or years. Hydrogen sulfide can kill within minutes at high concentrations. Benzene exposure increases cancer risk over time. Silica dust from fracking operations destroys lung tissue gradually. Many workers do not realize they have been poisoned until symptoms finally appear long after the exposure occurred.
Proper protective equipment and monitoring could prevent most exposures, but safety costs money and takes time away from production. Companies that prioritize profits make calculated decisions to skip these protections. Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, works with medical experts to document your current symptoms and project future health problems because compensation must cover not just today’s treatment but tomorrow’s medical needs.
Figuring out who is actually responsible for an oilfield accident requires investigation, expertise, and determination to push past the obstacles that companies put in your way. Multiple parties will point fingers at each other while their insurance companies work to shift blame anywhere but onto their own client. Jim Adler & Associates has the resources to identify all potentially liable parties and pursue maximum compensation from each one.
Oilfield operations involve multiple companies with overlapping responsibilities, and this complexity works against injured workers trying to figure out who should pay for their injuries. The well operator controls the drilling site but may not directly employ most of the workers there. The drilling contractor operates the rig but does not actually own it. Service companies come and go throughout the day to handle specialized tasks, but claim they do not control overall safety. Equipment manufacturers supplied the machinery that failed, but insist they are not responsible for maintenance. Every single one of these companies has lawyers and insurance adjusters working to shift blame onto someone else.
Texas is one of the few states that allows employers to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage entirely. Employers who take this option become “non-subscribers” who can be sued directly for workplace injuries. This actually creates opportunities for broader compensation than workers’ compensation alone would ever provide. Jim Adler & Associates examines whether your employer maintained workers’ compensation coverage and explains exactly how this affects your legal options going forward.
Third-party claims often provide the path to full compensation even when your direct employer carries workers’ compensation insurance. Other companies at the worksite may bear responsibility for what happened to you, regardless of who signed your paycheck. The equipment manufacturer whose defective valve caused an explosion can be held liable for their role in your injuries. The transportation company whose driver was fatigued at the time of the accident shares responsibility for putting a dangerous driver on the road. The maintenance contractor who failed to repair critical safety equipment contributed to the conditions that hurt you. Jim Adler & Associates investigates every company whose negligence played a role in your accident.
Negligence in oilfield cases goes beyond simple mistakes made by individual workers on a bad day. What we typically find is a pattern of decisions that consistently put profits ahead of worker safety. Maintenance gets deferred because repairs cost money and take equipment out of service. Safety systems get disabled because they slow down production and cut into the bottom line. Training gets rushed because companies want workers on-site, generating revenue as quickly as possible. Each of these decisions increases the risk of a serious accident until disaster becomes inevitable.
Jim Adler & Associates works with industry experts who can explain exactly how your accident happened and why it should have been prevented. Former safety inspectors know what proper procedures look like and can testify when companies cut corners. Engineers can examine failed equipment and identify defects that caused or contributed to your injuries. Accident reconstruction specialists can demonstrate precisely how negligence led to the moment you got hurt.
Documentation makes the difference between allegations that companies can deny and proof they cannot escape. We obtain maintenance records that show whether equipment received proper care or got pushed past safe operating limits. We collect training logs that reveal whether workers received adequate preparation for dangerous tasks. We subpoena safety audits that identify hazards companies knew about but chose not to fix. We depose the managers who made dangerous decisions and force them to explain their choices under oath. Without experienced legal representation fighting for you, companies will never share these critical documents voluntarily.
Insurance companies want to pay you as little as possible and close your file as quickly as they can. Jim Adler & Associates fights for comprehensive compensation that addresses everything this accident has cost you and continues to take from your future. We push for every dollar you deserve because you should not have to absorb losses that resulted from someone else’s negligence.
Medical expenses often represent the largest financial impact of a serious oilfield accident, and these costs start accumulating from the moment emergency responders arrive at the scene. The initial emergency treatment is just the beginning of what you will face financially. Surgeries, hospitalization, rehabilitation, medications, and medical equipment all add to the total over time. For permanent injuries that require lifetime care, future medical needs must be calculated and included in any fair settlement.
Lost wages hit your family immediately when you cannot return to work after an accident. The paychecks you miss during recovery create real hardship, but the true financial impact often comes from lost earning capacity over the rest of your working life. A 35-year-old oilfield worker who can never return to high-paying physical work loses decades of income that would have supported their family. Jim Adler & Associates works with vocational experts who can accurately calculate what this accident will cost you over the long term.
Out-of-pocket expenses add up faster than most people expect after a serious injury. Travel to medical appointments costs money, especially when specialists are located far from your home. Disabilities may require modifications to your house so you can live there safely. Tasks you used to handle yourself may now require hiring help. Every one of these expenses deserves compensation from the parties responsible for your injuries.
Pain and suffering compensation recognizes what you have endured and continue to face every single day. The physical pain from your injuries affects your quality of life in ways that receipts and billing statements cannot capture. Emotional trauma from disfigurement changes how you see yourself and how you interact with the world. Activities you once loved may now be impossible, and that loss of enjoyment deserves recognition. These losses matter just as much as the financial ones, even though they are harder to calculate.
Mental anguish and emotional distress from a catastrophic injury affect entire families, not just the person who got hurt. Spouses watch their partners suffer and struggle with feelings of helplessness. Children see their parents change in ways they do not understand. Brain injuries can alter personality in ways that make someone feel like a stranger to the people who love them most. Depression and anxiety following serious injury require their own treatment and deserve their own compensation.
Loss of consortium claims recognize how your injuries have affected your most important relationships. Spouses lose the companionship and partnership they built their lives around. Children lose parental guidance during critical years of their development. Families fracture under the stress of catastrophic injury in ways that may never fully heal. These losses deserve compensation because they represent real harm that this accident caused.
Some oilfield accident cases involve conduct so reckless that ordinary compensation is not enough to address what happened. Companies that knowingly put workers in danger made a choice that deserves consequences beyond simply paying for the damage they caused. Managers who disabled safety systems to increase production gambled with human lives to improve their numbers. Employers who lied about known hazards or destroyed evidence after an accident tried to escape accountability for their actions.
Punitive damages exist to punish this type of egregious behavior and deter other companies from making similar choices in the future. While these damages are less common than ordinary compensation, they send a powerful message that putting profits over worker safety has real consequences. Jim Adler & Associates pursues punitive damages when evidence shows gross negligence or intentional misconduct contributed to your injuries.
Missing a filing deadline can ruin your right to compensation, no matter how strong your case would have been. Insurance companies and their lawyers know exactly when these deadlines expire, and some will deliberately delay the claims process, hoping you will run out of time. Jim Adler & Associates tracks all applicable deadlines from day one and ensures your case moves forward without the kind of delays that put your rights at risk.
Texas generally gives injured workers two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.[3] Two years might seem like plenty of time when you are focused on recovering from serious injuries, but evidence disappears much faster than most people realize. Companies can legally destroy records once the minimum retention periods expire. Witnesses move away or become difficult to locate. Memories fade, and details that seemed unforgettable become harder to recall with each passing month.
Offshore workers may face different deadlines depending on where their accident occurred and what type of work they were performing. The Jones Act provides maritime workers with three years to file claims for injuries suffered at sea.[4] The Death on the High Seas Act gives families three years to file wrongful death claims when a loved one dies in an offshore accident.[5] Determining which law applies to your situation requires legal expertise because the wrong assumption about deadlines could cost you everything.
Some injuries do not appear immediately after the exposure or incident that caused them. Chemical exposures may not produce symptoms for years after a worker breathes in toxic substances. Repetitive stress injuries develop gradually over time rather than resulting from a single accident. The discovery rule may extend filing deadlines in these situations, but proving exactly when you should have known about your injury can be difficult without experienced legal help.
Call Jim Adler & Associates today for a free consultation to make sure you understand which deadlines apply to your case.
As soon as we accept your case, Jim Adler & Associates immediately sends letters to all relevant companies demanding that they maintain every piece of evidence related to your accident. These letters create legal obligations that prevent companies from conveniently losing or destroying records that would prove their negligence. We work with investigators to photograph accident scenes before anyone has a chance to alter the conditions or repair the equipment that failed. We identify witnesses and conduct interviews while their memories of what happened remain fresh and detailed.
Quick action in the early days of a case often makes the difference between proving what happened and watching your evidence disappear. The companies responsible for your injuries will not voluntarily help you build a case against them, which is why having experienced legal representation from the start matters so much.
The hours and days after an oilfield accident are critical because your actions can either protect your legal rights or destroy them before you even realize what happened. Insurance adjusters and company representatives may seem helpful and concerned, but they are already working to limit what their employers will have to pay you. While every situation is different, understanding what steps typically help injured workers can make a real difference in the outcome of your case.
The following steps may help protect your rights after an oilfield accident:
Our Houston oilfield accident lawyers help Texans get the financial compensation they deserve. We only get paid if you win.* And we fight to win.
When you are hurt in an oilfield accident, you face powerful companies with teams of lawyers working to protect their interests and minimize what they pay injured workers. You need someone just as tough fighting on your side. Jim Adler & Associates has fought for injured Texans for decades, taking on the biggest oil companies and insurance giants who thought they could intimidate injury victims into accepting pennies on the dollar. Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, does not back down, and these companies know it.
We treat every client with respect and compassion because you are not just a case number to us. We keep you informed throughout the entire process and make sure you always know what is happening with your case. Contact Jim Adler & Associates today for a free consultation to review your case and explain your options. You pay no fees unless we recover compensation for you.*
After an oilfield accident, you have urgent questions about your rights, your options, and what steps you should take next. This FAQ addresses the key concerns that injured workers face and provides answers that can help you right now. If you need help understanding how these answers apply to your specific situation, call Jim Adler & Associates for a free consultation.* We will listen to what happened, explain your options, and help you determine the best path forward.
Compensation in oilfield accident cases typically covers both economic and non-economic losses, and Jim Adler & Associates fights to recover every dollar you deserve based on the specific facts of your situation.
Economic damages include all the financial losses you can document with receipts, bills, and records. Medical expenses often account for the largest share of these damages, covering everything from emergency treatment and surgeries to hospitalization, rehabilitation, medications, and medical equipment. Future medical costs must also be calculated, especially for permanent injuries that will require care for the rest of your life. Lost wages compensate you for the paychecks you missed while recovering, and loss of earning capacity addresses your reduced ability to earn income going forward if you can never return to the same type of work.
Non-economic damages recognize the losses you cannot put a dollar figure on, but that affect your life just as profoundly. Pain and suffering compensation addresses both the physical pain you endure and the emotional trauma of what happened to you. Mental anguish damages acknowledge the psychological weight of living with a catastrophic injury. Loss of enjoyment of life compensates you for activities and hobbies you can no longer participate in. Disfigurement and disability damages recognize permanent changes to your body and physical abilities.
In cases involving gross negligence or intentional misconduct, punitive damages may also apply. These damages punish particularly reckless behavior, like disabling safety systems to speed up production or destroying evidence after an accident occurs. While punitive damages are less common than ordinary compensation, they send a powerful message that putting profits over worker safety has real consequences.
Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, works with experts to calculate your complete losses accurately. We document your current expenses, project your future needs, and fight for compensation that truly addresses everything this accident has cost you.
Time limits for oilfield accident cases vary depending on where your injury occurred and what type of work you were performing. Missing these deadlines typically means losing your right to compensation forever, which makes early legal consultation absolutely critical.
For land-based oilfield accidents in Texas, you generally have two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit under Section 16.003 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code.[3] This deadline applies whether you are suing your employer as a non-subscriber or pursuing third-party claims against contractors, equipment manufacturers, or other companies whose negligence contributed to your injuries.
Offshore workers face different deadlines that depend on which federal law applies to their situation. The Jones Act typically provides three years for maritime workers to file claims for injuries suffered at sea.[4] If your accident occurred on a drilling platform, jack-up rig, or support vessel operating beyond state waters, maritime law rather than Texas state law may govern your case. The Death on the High Seas Act gives families three years to file wrongful death claims when a loved one dies in an offshore accident.[5]
Some situations can extend or affect these standard deadlines in ways that require legal expertise to understand. If your injuries did not appear immediately, such as with chemical exposures or repetitive stress injuries that develop gradually, the discovery rule may extend your filing deadline. Claims involving government entities may require notice within just six months of the accident. Minors who are injured typically have until their 20th birthday to file claims in most situations.
Do not wait until deadlines approach to seek legal help because Jim Adler & Associates moves quickly to secure evidence and protect your rights from day one.
Jim Adler & Associates handles oilfield accident cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay absolutely nothing upfront to get experienced legal representation. This arrangement allows injured workers to access quality legal help regardless of their current financial situation.
If your case settles without filing a lawsuit, our fee is 35% of the recovery. If we need to file suit and litigate your case through the court system, the fee is 40% of the recovery. These percentages are clearly explained in a written agreement before we begin any work on your case, so you will always know exactly what to expect.
You pay no fees at all unless we recover compensation for you.*
Most oilfield accident cases settle before trial, but Jim Adler & Associates has extensive courtroom experience and will not hesitate to present your case to a Houston jury if that is what it takes to get you fair compensation.
Trial becomes the path to justice when settlement offers do not reflect your actual losses. Insurance companies sometimes dispute liability entirely by claiming someone else caused your accident or that you were responsible for your own injuries. They might acknowledge the accident but minimize your injuries by arguing you are not as hurt as you claim to be. When companies refuse to offer reasonable compensation through negotiation, taking your case before a jury may be the only way to hold them accountable.
The decision to go to trial ultimately belongs to you because it is your case and your life. We provide honest assessments of settlement offers compared to the risks and potential rewards of trial, but you make the final call on how to proceed. Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, supports your decision either way and fights aggressively whether we are negotiating a settlement or presenting your case in court.
Oilfield accidents typically involve multiple potentially liable parties, creating complex webs of responsibility that require thorough investigation to untangle. Jim Adler & Associates works to identify every party whose negligence contributed to your injuries so we can pursue maximum compensation from all available sources.
Your direct employer may bear primary responsibility if they failed to provide proper training, adequate safety equipment, or properly maintained machinery. In Texas, employers who opt out of workers’ compensation coverage become “non-subscribers” who can be sued directly for workplace negligence without the protections that workers’ compensation would otherwise provide. Even employers who maintain workers’ compensation coverage may face liability for gross negligence or intentional acts that caused your injury.
Third-party contractors often work alongside your employer at the same site and may share liability for what happened to you. The well operator who controls overall operations bears responsibility for site safety. The drilling contractor who runs the rig must ensure proper procedures are followed. Service companies that provide specialized work can be liable if their employees acted negligently. Maintenance contractors responsible for equipment upkeep may share fault if they failed to make necessary repairs. Transportation companies that move workers or equipment can be held responsible for accidents involving their vehicles or drivers.
Equipment manufacturers face product liability claims when defective machinery causes injuries to workers. Design defects that make equipment inherently dangerous create liability even when the product is manufactured correctly. Manufacturing defects that result in faulty individual products create liability for the specific items that caused harm. Failure to provide adequate warnings or instructions about known dangers can also create manufacturer liability.
Jim Adler, The Tough, Smart Lawyer®, investigates every potential source of liability and pursues all parties whose negligence contributed to your injuries.
Yes, you should report your injury to your employer promptly, but you need to be careful about exactly how you do it. According to the Texas Department of Insurance, Texas law typically requires reporting workplace injuries within 30 days, and failure to meet this deadline can jeopardize both workers’ compensation benefits and personal injury claims.[6]
Report the basic facts of your accident to your supervisor as soon as you are able to do so. Include when and where the accident occurred, what equipment or conditions were involved, who witnessed what happened, and what injuries you suffered. Request a copy of any accident report that gets filed because this creates an official record that helps protect your rights going forward.
Be cautious about providing detailed statements beyond these basic facts without first speaking to an attorney. Stick to objective information about what happened rather than speculating about fault or causes. Do not minimize your injuries or tell anyone you are “fine” when you are actually hurt. Do not sign any statements that accept blame or waive your rights. Company representatives may pressure you to provide recorded statements or sign documents while you are still in shock and not thinking clearly about the consequences.
Jim Adler & Associates can help you navigate the reporting process properly. We ensure your injury gets documented without jeopardizing your legal rights. We handle communications with your employer and their insurance company so you do not say something that hurts your case. Prompt reporting combined with proper legal representation protects your rights while building the strongest possible case.
Insurance companies start working against you immediately after an oilfield accident. They have entire teams of adjusters, investigators, and lawyers whose job is to minimize what they pay injured workers. Jim Adler & Associates knows their tactics inside and out and understands exactly how to counter them effectively.
Never give recorded statements to insurance representatives without legal representation, no matter how friendly and concerned they seem. Adjusters are trained to ask confusing questions designed to get contradictory answers they can use against you later. They push for detailed statements while you are medicated, in pain, and not thinking clearly. Anything you say gets analyzed by their legal team for ways to argue you are not really hurt or that the accident was somehow your fault. Tell them you need to speak with an attorney before providing any statement.
Do not sign any documents without having an attorney review them first. Insurance companies rush paperwork to injured workers, hoping to get signatures before people understand what they are agreeing to. Medical authorizations may give them access to your entire medical history rather than just treatment related to your accident. They search through years of records looking for pre-existing conditions they can blame for your current injuries. Quick settlement offers come with full releases that permanently bar you from seeking additional compensation even if your injuries turn out to be far worse than initially expected. Once you sign a release, you cannot go back and ask for more.
Let Jim Adler & Associates handle all communications with insurance companies on your behalf. We know exactly which information they are legally entitled to receive and which requests are just fishing expeditions designed to hurt your case. We respond to legitimate requests while protecting you from tactics designed to minimize your claim.
Texas is one of the few states that allows employers to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage entirely and become what the law calls “non-subscribers.” While companies make this decision to save money on insurance premiums, it can actually benefit injured workers by opening the door to broader compensation through personal injury lawsuits.
Non-subscriber employers lose the legal protections that workers’ compensation would otherwise provide them. They cannot use the exclusive remedy defense that normally prevents employees from suing employers who carry workers’ compensation insurance. They also lose most common law defenses that would otherwise help them avoid liability. Contributory negligence, which allows employers to argue you partially caused your own injury, largely disappears as a defense. Assumption of risk, which claims you knew the job was dangerous when you took it, becomes much harder to use. The fellow servant doctrine, which allows employers to blame a co-worker for your injury, also goes away.
This means you can sue non-subscriber employers directly for workplace injuries with a lower burden of proof than typical personal injury cases require. You need only show that your employer’s negligence contributed to your injury in some way, even if other factors were also involved. This is a much easier standard to meet than proving the employer was entirely at fault.
Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, has extensive experience handling non-subscriber cases throughout Houston and across Texas. We understand the special rules that apply to these situations and know exactly how to prove employer negligence in ways that maximize your compensation.
Yes, accidents that occur offshore fall under federal maritime law rather than state workers’ compensation, and these federal laws often provide broader compensation than land-based workers can receive under the Texas system.
The Jones Act covers seamen who are injured while working on vessels or offshore rigs.[4] Unlike workers’ compensation, the Jones Act allows you to sue your employer directly for negligence without giving up your right to seek full damages. You need only prove that your employer’s negligence played any part in causing your injury, even if that part was relatively small. This lighter burden of proof, combined with the ability to seek full damages for pain and suffering, often results in significantly larger recoveries than workers’ compensation would ever provide.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act covers maritime workers who do not qualify as seamen under the Jones Act. This includes many platform workers and those who are injured while working in ports or harbors. Benefits under this federal program are typically higher than state workers’ compensation, with better wage replacement rates and more comprehensive medical benefits. You may also pursue third-party claims against vessel owners or other contractors while receiving these benefits.
General maritime law provides additional remedies that can significantly increase your total compensation. Maintenance and cure requires your employer to pay your living expenses and medical treatment until you reach maximum medical improvement, regardless of who was at fault. Unseaworthiness claims apply when unsafe vessel conditions cause injury, and these claims do not require you to prove employer negligence at all.
Different time limits apply to maritime claims than to land-based injuries. The Jones Act typically provides three years to file suit, which is longer than the two-year deadline for most Texas personal injury cases. The Death on the High Seas Act provides families three years to file wrongful death claims for fatal offshore accidents.[5]
Jim Adler & Associates understands these complex federal laws and knows how to use them to benefit injured offshore workers.
Burns and chemical injuries are among the most devastating injuries we see in oilfield accident cases. Flash fires from gas leaks cause severe burns that require specialized treatment at burn centers, multiple surgeries over months or years, and painful skin grafts to repair damaged tissue. Chemical burns from hydrogen sulfide, acids, and drilling fluids create deep tissue damage that may not be apparent immediately after exposure. These injuries often result in permanent scarring, limited mobility, and chronic pain that requires treatment for the rest of your life.
Traumatic brain injuries and spinal damage frequently result from falls, being struck by objects, and equipment failures on drilling sites. Workers fall from derricks and platforms, get hit by swinging equipment, or suffer violent impacts in vehicle accidents. Even concussions that seem mild at first can cause lasting cognitive problems, personality changes, and an inability to return to complex work. Spinal injuries range from herniated discs that require surgery to complete paralysis that requires lifetime care and fundamentally changes everything about how you live.
Crush injuries and amputations occur when workers get caught in machinery or struck by falling equipment. Hands and fingers get crushed during pipe handling operations. Feet get caught under dropped equipment on the rig floor. These injuries often end careers permanently because workers lose the physical abilities that are essential for oilfield work. Beyond the physical trauma, the psychological impact of losing a limb affects entire families in ways that deserve recognition and compensation.
Transportation accidents remain the leading cause of death in the oilfield industry. Long commutes to remote drilling sites, driver fatigue after exhausting shifts, and heavy equipment transport on rural highways all contribute to deadly accidents that devastate families.
Regardless of how you have been injured, Jim Adler & Associates is here to fight for you while you focus on healing and putting your life back together.
Jim Adler & Associates, The Texas Hammer®, brings decades of experience fighting for injured oilfield workers across Houston and Texas. We have taken on the biggest oil companies and won. We have stood up to insurance giants who thought they could pressure injured workers into accepting pennies on the dollar. We do not back down, and these companies know it.
Your injuries are real, your losses are mounting, and your family is depending on you to find a way through this. Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer®, understands what you are facing and fights for you while you focus on healing. We handle the insurance companies, secure the evidence needed to prove your case, and build your claim properly from the very start.
We serve clients in English and Spanish across Texas, so call now for a free consultation.* You pay no fees unless we recover compensation for you.*
[1] U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas State Energy Profile. https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=TX
[2] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fatalities in Oil and Gas Extraction Database. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/ss/ss7208a1.htm
[3] Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Section 16.003. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/cp/htm/cp.16.htm
[4] Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Jones Act. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/jones_act
[5] 46 U.S.C. Chapter 303 – Death on the High Seas Act. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title46/subtitle3/chapter303&edition=prelim
[6] Texas Department of Insurance. Injured Employee FAQ.
Hurt in an accident? Tell us what happened. We’ll give you straight answers — fast, free, and with no strings attached.*
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