<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=2941673&amp;fmt=gif">
nabors-drilling-rig-injury-settle
10/30/2017

Nabors Drilling pays oilfield worker injured in rig incident - VB Attorneys

Brian Beckcom

Brian Beckcom

10/30/2017

A worker employed as a casing hand by Express Energy Services was on a job at a land-based oil rig operated by Nabors Drilling in Gillette, Texas. Osiel was flagging a Nabors employee who was using a crane to move a pipe from the V-door to the rig floor. The Nabors crane operator improperly maneuvered the load, causing it to hit Osiel’s left arm. Osiel had surgery to his arm, requiring the placement of hardware. He missed 6 months of work, then returned to his job with Express Energy Services.All of the medical bills were paid by workers’ compensation.

One of the main defenses asserted by Nabors Drilling was Chapter 95 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code. We defeated this defense by showing that Nabors had “actual knowledge of the danger or condition resulting in” the injury, and “failed to adequately warn.” Specifically, through written discovery and deposition testimony, we proved that Nabors was having problems with its crane before this incident, in that it would get “stuck” at times. Nabors knew about this problem, but never fixed it.

After significant work on this case, we settled it for $350,000.

Osiel, a 26-year-old oilfield worker, lives in El Campo, Texas with his wife and 6-month old daughter. This young family was very pleased with this settlement, and they are very fortunate that this young man returned to his job and will be able to continue to provide for his family.