Oil rig explosions are disastrous accidents that can cause injuries and fatalities among workers in a dangerous industry. If you work on oil rigs, your employer is responsible for providing a safe workplace. If negligence leads to an explosion that injures you, contact a maritime attorney for advice and representation in seeking compensation.
What Causes Oil Rig Explosions?
Offshore rigs or platforms are large structures built in the ocean to extract crude oil, petroleum, or natural gas. They support drills and other machinery used to extract natural resources from rock formations in the seabed.
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Drilling for oil offshore presents many challenges. The platforms and rigs must be secured or anchored to the seabed. Equipment and machinery must be set up to reach the seabed, drill into it, and extract oil or gas.
The technical challenges that make this activity possible can also go wrong and lead to disastrous accidents. When oil or gas leaks or spills, it can explode. These are some of the more common causes of these explosions:
Leaks and Blowouts
Safety measures are in place on rigs to prevent gas or oil from leaking from a well. When these systems fail, it can lead to a slow leak or a massive blowout. A blowout is an uncontrolled leak often referred to as a gusher.
A leak or blowout doesn’t have to explode, but it happens easily. Gas and oil must be controlled and contained because they are highly flammable. Just one little spark can ignite a spill, leading to an explosion. Many factors can lead to a leak or blowout that explodes.
Equipment Failure
Rig equipment failure is a common cause of explosions or leaks that ignite and explode. Poor initial construction, incorrect use, or failure to maintain or repair equipment can all lead to failures.
A structural failure in part of the drill, pipes, or pumps can cause a leak that then ignites. Safety measures designed to prevent these events can also fail, including pressure control systems. Fire suppression systems can stop a leak from becoming an explosion but may also fail.
Human Error
Workers’ mistakes can also lead to leaks, ignition, and explosions. Several factors underlie worker errors that lead to explosions:
- Inadequate training
- Inadequate sleep or break time
- Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Poor communication
Workers’ mistakes may or may not be negligent. Being under the influence and then causing an explosion is negligent. An employer not providing workers with adequate training, leading to an accident, is negligent.
What Are the Consequences of Oil Rig Explosions?
Oil rig explosions are among the most disastrous workplace accidents. They often cause injuries and fatalities. Workers not killed in offshore explosions may suffer many types of injuries:
An explosion can also send workers into the water, where they may suffer hypothermia or drown.
Offshore explosions damage platforms and equipment significantly, resulting in significant financial losses. They also cause environmental damage. Major oil spills have harmed marine life, coral reefs, and shoreline ecosystems.
What Rights Do I Have if I Was Injured in an Oil Rig Explosion?
Oil rig workers have some of the most dangerous jobs in the world. If you work on an oil rig or platform and suffered injuries because of an explosion, you have rights.
If negligence caused the incident, which is often the case, an experienced maritime lawyer can help you recover damages.
Damages cover costs associated with your injury. These include past, current, and expected future medical expenses. They include costs of care if you become disabled due to the injury. They also include lost wages if you can no longer work and emotional pain and suffering.
You may also be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits through the federal Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).
OCSLA was created to extend workers’ compensation rights to workers on offshore oil rigs and similar workplaces. You do not need to show negligence played a role in the accident to qualify for OCSLA benefits.
What if I Lost a Loved One in an Oil Rig Explosion?
If your loved one died in an oil rig explosion caused by negligence, you have a right to seek compensation. You can also seek OCSLA benefits if negligence was not involved in the incident. OCSLA includes benefits for remaining dependents.
Contact a Maritime and Offshore Lawyer
If you have been affected by an oil rig explosion, working with an experienced maritime lawyer who has worked on offshore cases is essential. The laws involved can be complicated to follow. It can also be challenging to prove negligence without expert investigators.
A maritime lawyer or law firm gives you the best chance of recovering damages after a devastating offshore accident. They have expertise and experience winning for victims like you. They know how to find evidence to prove negligence and how to navigate the process of getting OCSLA benefits.
Contact a maritime lawyer as soon as possible after suffering injuries in an offshore explosion. Provide them with all the information you have about the incident, as well as your medical records.
Examples of Oil Rig Explosions
Oil rig explosions are often significant incidents that lead to environmental disasters, injuries, and loss of human life. These are some examples that caused major harm and damage and that should have been prevented.
Piper Alpha
The deadliest of all offshore oil rig accidents was a series of explosions on the Piper Alpha platform in the British North Sea in 1988. The incident resulted in 167 deaths.
The primary cause of the accident was a miscommunication that led to workers turning on a pump that should not have been in use. This led to a gas leak that ignited and caused multiple explosions.
Deepwater Horizon
A more recent example of a catastrophic oil rig failure leading to an explosion occurred in 2010 on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico.
Eleven workers died, a small number for an oil rig explosion, but the incident resulted in the biggest oil spill ever in the U.S. The cause was the failure of the well’s concrete core. It led to a gush of gas that ignited and exploded on the rig.
An explosion on an offshore oil rig or platform is almost always deadly. Many workers also suffer injuries. If an oil rig explosion impacted you, contact an experienced maritime lawyer to learn your rights and to take steps to seek compensation.