Oil field injury numbers are high – always report an injury immediately

In 2014 alone, 75 workers died while working at oil and mining jobs in Texas. As high as this number is, there is great concern that this number is even unreported. Workers could be suffering injuries and conditions caused by the job that start a more gradual decline that ends in death.

In addition, there have been questions swirling in recent years regarding whether companies are properly reporting all oil field injuries. Stories continue to surface of workers who were injured and then denied workers’ compensation because the oil companies and their insurance partners claim that the injury was not reported. When workers’ compensation claims aren’t approved, those injuries also go uncounted.

If you are injured in an accident on the job – whether on an oil field or at work behind a desk – it is critical that you immediately report the accident to your employer. Do not just tell your employer about the injury; invest time into searching out the correct documents and filing a formal report about the incident.

Insurance companies may try to deny a claim by saying that the manner in which you reported the injury was not sufficient or simply denying that the employer had any knowledge of the accident since there is no paper documentation.

It is also important that you take small injuries seriously, particularly if they impacted your head or back in any way. File reports to ensure that if the smaller injury develops into a big injury, there is a paper trail record that you reported the incident.

If your workers’ comp insurance company is trying to deny your claim or avoid giving you the compensation you deserve, work with a skilled workers’ comp attorney to ensure you are granted the benefits you deserve.

Miller Bicklein zealously advocates on behalf of injured workers to recover the compensation they deserve.