Corpus Christi Plant and Refinery Accident Lawyers

Most industrial workplaces expose employees to an inherent risk of illness or injury, due to the materials they use or create and the machinery that is often necessary for their daily duties. Chemical plants and refineries are no different, and workers often face more threats than the average employee. While a multitude of regulations, safety inspections, and training programs aim to improve the industry’s safety standards, accidents still occur and may cause workers serious harm. A work-related illness or injury may cost you thousands of dollars in hospital bills and rehabilitation, and it may also prevent you from returning to work temporarily or permanently. This can have a significant impact on you and your loved one’s financial stability.

Work With the Injury Lawyers You Can Trust

Sometimes you may not be able to prevent these dangerous accidents. However, when accidents occur as the result of another person’s negligence or carelessness, or failure on the part of supervisors or the company as a whole, you should not have to pay for the consequences. The Corpus Christi plant and refinery accident lawyers at Brunkenhoefer, P.C. Injury Attorney understand the devastation a work-related accident can cause, and we are prepared to help you seek justice.

Plant and Refinery Accidents in Corpus Christi

For individuals living in Corpus Christi, the oil and gas industry is a major employer that has seen a significant increase over the past few years due to its location on the Gulf Coast and its proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale. In fact, officials in Corpus Christi, including the President and CEO of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce Project, Foster Edwards, believe that the increase in oil and gas jobs in the area has had a huge impact on the entire local economy. Retail sales, hotels, and vehicle sales have all increased due to the projects near our city.

But with the economic boom that oil and gas jobs bring to the region comes an increase in the likelihood of serious accidents and workplace deaths. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks numbers for fatal and non-fatal injuries, and for the oil and gas industry, they found that 120 people died in 2008 alone from accidents in this sector. 4,200 people were hurt in non-fatal accidents the year before. Texas ranked the highest with 41 fatal injuries, in front of the 21 reported fatalities in Oklahoma and the 13 fatal work injuries reported in Louisiana.

Nearly all of the fatal work injuries in this sector (according to the study) were male, and the age range of most of them were ages 25 to 34. Seventy-five percent of these workers were white, while 17 percent were Hispanic, and another 10 percent were born in another country.

The causes of fatal workplace accidents in refineries and plants were most often transportation injuries (49 of the 120 fatalities), collisions with objects or equipment (30 of the 120 fatalities), fires and explosions (23 of the 120 fatalities), and 18 from other un-categorized causes.

In 2010, an updated Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed that workers were forced to miss work most often due to being struck by an object (32%), being caught in an object or material (21.2%), overexertion (11.3%), fall on the same level (9.3%), fall onto lower level (5.3%), struck against object (3.3%), exposure to harmful substances (3.3%), transportation accidents (2.0%), and other reasons.