Helping Injured Workers & Families Across the Permian Basin
Any employer can put their workers at risk, from schools and supermarkets to medical centers. Then there’s work that is inherently risky. Between the oilfield service companies, drilling contractors, refineries, and the manufacturing and logistics operations that support them, this city depends on people doing physically demanding and often hazardous work. Oilfield and industrial workers are frequently on tight schedules, working with heavy equipment, and forced to be around toxic materials. When employers cut corners on safety to keep production moving, it’s the workforce that absorbs those consequences.
In Odessa’s high-risk industries, workplace accidents frequently result in:
If you’ve been hurt on the job in Odessa, or you’ve lost a family member to a workplace accident, you have the right to pursue full compensation, not just whatever an employer’s insurance adjuster first offers you. At Arnold & Itkin, our work accident lawyers have spent years holding negligent employers, contractors, and equipment manufacturers accountable, and we’re ready to do the same for you.
Call (888) 493-1629 today to request your free, confidential consultation from a law firm that has won over $25 billion for clients.
Odessa runs on an economy that asks a lot of its workforce. It sits in the Permian Basin, one of the most active drilling regions in the world, and the industry that built this city is also one of the most dangerous to work in. Oilfield jobs regularly expose workers to heavy machinery, high-pressure equipment, and hazardous chemicals. Mistakes in the oilfield often turn fatal.
Odessa’s oilfield workforce faces a wide range of hazards that are tied directly to the pace and pressure of the industry:
Blowouts and equipment failures. High-pressure drilling and completion operations can turn a mechanical failure into a catastrophic explosion or uncontrolled release in seconds.
Heavy equipment and struck-by accidents. Cranes, forklifts, drilling rigs, and other heavy machinery are a constant presence on well sites, and a moment of inattention or a poorly maintained piece of equipment can lead to disaster.
Fatigue from long hitches. Oilfield crews frequently work extended shifts and rotating schedules, and exhaustion contributes to poor judgment, slower reaction times, and preventable mistakes.
Chemical and toxic exposure. A prevalent and often lethal risk is exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S). Workers also handle drilling fluids, produced water, and other substances that can cause both acute injuries and long-term health problems.
All these risks can be mitigated or eliminated altogether if employers provide workers with the training and equipment they need. Yet many workers still suffer catastrophic injuries or even death in preventable workplace accidents.
TIED TO THE PACE OF THE INDUSTRY
Hazards Odessa's Oilfield Workforce Faces
Blowouts & Equipment Failure
Heavy Equipment & Struck-By Accidents
Fatigue From Long Work Shifts
Chemical & Toxic Exposure
Corporate Negligence Endangers Workers
One of the clearest examples of corporate failure leading to preventable toxic exposure happened just outside Odessa in October 2019, when an Aghorn Operating employee was killed by hydrogen sulfide exposure while working in a pump house on site. His wife later went to check on him and was able to enter the facility, where she was exposed to a fatal amount of hydrogen sulfide.
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) concluded that Aghorn failed to provide adequate safety training to workers, H2S detectors, ventilation for the pump house, and adequate site security. In fact, Aghorn’s vice president would go on to plead guilty to negligent endangerment charges under the Clean Air Act and be sentenced to five months in prison. The company itself would accept a count of willful violation from Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and pay $1 million in fines.
Tragedies like this are why oilfield employers are required to maintain gas detection equipment, train workers to recognize the danger, and have emergency response protocols in place. When those safeguards are ignored, underfunded, or simply not enforced, workers pay with their lives for decisions that were mad in a corporate office.
It’s Not Just the Oilfield
While oil and gas can dominate the conversation around workplace safety in Odessa, the city’s manufacturing plants, warehouses, construction sites, transportation companies, and other workplaces carry their own risks. Nationally, OSHA’s data shows that the most common causes of serious workplace injury remain constant across nearly every industry.
Texas is unusual in that it doesn’t require most private employers to carry workers’ compensation insurance. Employers who opt out are called non-subscribers, and that status matters enormously if you’re injured on the job.
If your employer carries workers’ compensation, you’re generally limited to workers’ comp benefits, which can cover a portion of lost wages and medical costs, but it won’t cover the full extent of pain and suffering, or the long-term impact of a serious injury. With workers’ comp, you don’t have to prove fault, however, you are simply entitled to those benefits, though insurance may still make you jump through hoops for it.
If your employer is a non-subscriber, you may be able to sue them directly for negligence, potentially recovering full compensation for medical care, lost income, and non-economic damages that workers’ comp would never cover.
Liability doesn’t always stop with your direct employer. Oilfield settings and other job sites can involve multiple contractors, equipment manufacturers, and third-party service companies. Any of these parties can share responsibility for a workplace accident, depending on the details.
To determine fault requires a real investigation, which means sifting through safety records, maintenance logs, training documentation, and more. Expert analysis is often needed to explain exactly what failed, and why.
Our Firm’s Results for Injured Workers
At Arnold & Itkin, we’ve built a reputation for taking on major employers and industrials companies and coming away with a win for our clients.
Some of our results for workers and their families include:
$357 million settlement for a group of workers: the largest work injury settlement in Texas history
$222 million verdict secured for the widow of a worker killed in a plant accident
$209 million verdict for the family of an oilfield worker who was killed by employer negligence
$177.5 million settlement for workers who sustained burn injuries in an industrial accident
These results reflect what’s possible when a legal team is willing to fully investigate an accident, hold every responsible party accountable, and take a case all the way to trial if that’s what it takes.
What to Do After a Workplace Accident in Odessa
When a worker gets hurt on the job, a boss may be sympathetic and willing to help, but it’s an insurance company that has to sign off on a payout. Insurance companies are not on the side of workers, and they will immediately leap into action to start their case against a worker. Their experienced teams are well-versed in the tactics needed to reduce and undermine workers’ compensation benefits and personal injury claims. The good news is that you too can take steps immediately to help your case.
PROTECT YOUR CLAIM
What to Do After a Workplace Accident
1
Get Medical Attention Immediately
Even if the injury seems minor, documenting it early protects both your health and your legal rights.
2
Report the Accident to Your Employer
Do this as soon as possible, and avoid signing any paperwork you don't fully understand, especially anything that looks like a waiver or early settlement offer.
3
Request Copies of Incident Reports
Ask for any reports filed with OSHA or your employer's internal safety team, if possible.
4
Avoid Giving Recorded Statements
Don't speak with your employer's insurance company before talking to an attorney.
5
Talk to an Attorney Before Accepting Any Settlement
Once you accept, you generally lose the ability to pursue further compensation, even if your condition gets worse later.
Talk to an Odessa Work Injury Lawyer
If you or someone you love has been hurt because an employer put speed, production, and profit ahead of basic safety, you deserve real answers and real accountability. At Arnold & Itkin, our workplace accident attorneys have gone up against some of the largest oil and gas companies in the country and won. We offer free, confidential case reviews, and you don’t pay us anything unless we win your case.
To find out how a work injury attorney in Odessa can help you, contact us at (888) 493-1629 today.
CommonQuestions
What Can I Do If My Employer Doesn’t Have Workers’ Comp?
Texas is unique in that it doesn’t require employers to subscribe to workers’ compensation insurance. While being a “nonsubscriber” is legal here, it can open the door to you directly suing your employer for a workplace accident that they should have prevented. If your employer does have workers’ comp, you might still be able to file lawsuits against other parties, if that’s what is needed to cover all the costs of your workplace injury. If you talk to an Odessa work accident lawyer, they can help you determine what your legal options are.
What If Workers’ Compensation Benefits Won’t Cover Everything?
It’s always best to speak with a work injury lawyer before you accept a settlement of any kind. In many work injury cases, multiple parties are at fault. That means you can collect workers’ comp benefits and go after the at-fault parties in a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. While you may not be able to sue your employer directly, there may be other contractors, manufacturers, or other parties who contributed to the accident who owe you compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, and your pain and suffering.
What Does It Cost to Hire a Work Injury Lawyer?
At Arnold & Itkin, you have zero upfront costs. Our Odessa work injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means that we only get paid after we win compensation for you. Even if we take your work accident claim to trial, we will cover all the associated costs. Every worker deserves access to excellent legal representation.
How Can an Odessa Work Injury Lawyer Help Me?
While insurance companies have their own investigators and legal team, who are working to pay out as little as possible to you, you deserve to have legal help on your side, to make sure that you’re treated fairly. It’s free to talk to a lawyer about your case, and there’s no obligation to hire us after that initial consultation. We can help you figure out if your case is worth more than you’re being offered, and if so, we can help you pursue a better settlement, one that covers all your medical expenses, future medical needs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
What Do I Need to Do Right After Getting Hurt on the Job?
The first step is always to get medical help. You should then report the incident to your employer and talk to a lawyer. You don’t want to talk to an insurance company before discussing your injury with a work accident attorney in Odessa. By prioritizing these steps, you can protect your health and your legal rights.
