Most people who look at oil and gas industry pay rates think that workers in this field are paid quite well. What these individuals don’t seem to realize though is that this line of work isn’t easy. It’s dangerous too. Employees in the oil and gas industry have some of the highest injury rates of all professions here in West Virginia and elsewhere in the United States. The types of injuries that this industry’s workers face are varied.
Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) data shows that oil and gas industry workers are particularly vulnerable to having body parts amputated or suffering bone fractures.
Data compiled by OSHA in 2016 showed that amputations are the leading type of injury that oil and gas workers suffer. The most commonly amputated body part is either the fingertip or entire finger. Injuring incidents such as these are often caused by workers getting their hands and fingers caught in a piece of equipment.
OSHA representatives list broken bones as the second most common injury among oil and gas workers. Legs are the body part hurt most often in on-the-job accidents.
Another leading cause of injury among oil and gas workers is fires and explosions. Slip and falls and struck-by equipment or vehicles on work site incidents are two other types of incidents that often result in industry workers being transported to the hospital for medical care and missing one or more days from work.
OSHA data shows that there were at least 503 oil and gas workers that were injured during the 2015-2016 fiscal year. There was a decrease in the rate of severe injuries between 2015 and 2016 though. While there were 27 serious incidents in 2015, this number had declined by seven to 20 one year later.
An overwhelming majority of the workers injured in this field are employed in operation support roles. This means that these individuals work as fracking contractors, sometimes responsible for drilling and constructing cement wells.
From burns to severed fingers and broken bones, there are a lot of injury risks that oil and gas workers in the Ohio Valley face while on the job. Many of these injuries can be permanently disabling, depriving you and your loved ones of a certain quality of life and much-needed income. An attorney can review your case and advise you of your prospect for securing compensation in your Eastern Ohio or West Virginia case.
