Industrial Accident Lawyer Blog

Work injuries occur with some frequency at sea. While working on an offshore rig can be dangerous, proper workplace safety mechanisms and procedures can help reduce the frequency of work injury or death.

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon exploded, taking the lives of 11 workers and injuring scores more. The explosion was preventable, was preventable had either Transocean or BP used a blowout preventer----a mandatory safety device which is common. At the time of the explosion, the Deepwater Horizon was two days away from capping the oil well and handing off the pumping responsibilities to a production platform. During the disconnection process, the rig suffered a blowout. The rig's blowout preventer---a 450 ton series of valves developed to prevent a gusher if drilling mud controll is overwhelmed---failed, allowing oil to escape into the Gulf of Mexico.

Continue reading "Deepwater Horizon: Transocean Rig Explodes, Workers Die." »

Georgia work comp lawyers see clients with preventable injuries caused by dangerous working conditions. Often, it is a workers compensation claim or work injury which leads an employer to initiate appropriate workplace safety initiatives.

Recently, in Macon, Georgia, OSHA inspectors were proactive in inspecting the Robins Air Force Base, and found dangerous conditions which could have led to a Georgia work injury had it not been discovered. When OSHA visited the facility, it found process issues identified that did not meet OSHA standards, specifically noting problems with sanding equipment and protective gear.

Continue reading "GA: OSHA Violations and Work Injury" »

Edgar Rieffel, a contractor at the Atlanta airport working on the expansion of the international terminal, was killed on the job in Georgia recently. Mr. Rieffel worked for DH Pace & Co., an overhead door contractor. While the cause of death is currently unknown, OSHA is investigating the incident.

Every day in America, at least 14 workers are killed on the job. While an Atlanta Workers Compensation attorney can help you with a work injury claim, recovery for a Georgia worksite death will be very limited in the workers comp context. To obtain full recovery, a third-party claim, against other contractors on the job site, the premises owner, and others should be filed.

Continue reading "Georgia: Construction Accident Leads to Death at Hartsfield" »

Another oil refinery explosion has caused work injury and worker death, and has also led to the fling of workers compensation claims, this time in New Mexico. The Navajo Refinery, owned by Dallas, Texas based Holly Corp., exploded because the plant operator failed to follow safety instructions. According to a recently filed lawsuit, several workers were injured the the explosion, some suffering burn injury. Apparently, a large tank used to produce tar exploded, causing this incident.

Continue reading "Refinery Explosion Leads to Death; OSHA Investgating" »