Oilfield Burn Injury Lawyer in Kern County
A burn injury from an oilfield fire or explosion can often support a claim beyond workers’ compensation. When a flash fire, a well blowout, or defective equipment is the cause of an injury, an operator, a contractor, or an equipment manufacturer other than your employer can be held liable in a third-party claim that proceeds separately from workers’ compensation benefits. This claim can recover damages that workers’ compensation cannot, including full lost earnings and compensation for pain and suffering.
Chain | Cohn | Clark’s Personal Inkuried Lawyers represent oilfield burn injury victims across Kern County’s oil and gas region, from Oildale and Taft to Lost Hills and McKittrick.
How Oilfield Fires and Explosions Cause Severe Burns
Flash Fires
A flash fire happens when accumulated hydrocarbon vapors ignite suddenly, often during well completions, flowback, tank gauging, or hot work near a vapor source. A flash fire spreads in an instant, so a worker often cannot move away before being burned, even when wearing flame-resistant clothing.
Well Blowouts
A blowout occurs when a well’s pressure control systems fail and oil or gas escapes under extreme force. If the release finds an ignition source, it can cause a fire or explosion with little warning.
Refinery and Pipeline Explosions
A loss of containment can let flammable hydrocarbons escape from equipment, form a vapor cloud, and ignite. Corrosion, overpressure, and equipment failures are recurring factors, and the resulting blast and fire can burn workers across a large area of the body.
Chemical and Steam Burns
The caustic and corrosive substances used in oilfield operations, including the acids used in well acidizing and the chemicals used in drilling and completion, can cause deep chemical burns that continue damaging tissue until they are neutralized and removed. Steam lines and hot equipment cause thermal burns as well.
Burn Severity and Types in Oilfield Accidents
The severity of a burn largely determines the treatment it requires and, in turn, the categories of damages at issue in a claim. Burns are classified by depth.
First-degree burns affect only the outer layer of skin and usually heal on their own. Second-degree burns reach the layer beneath and can require a skin graft, in which healthy skin is transplanted to close the wound. Third-degree burns destroy the full thickness of the skin and the tissue below it, and generally require grafting and reconstructive surgery.
With oilfield burns, there are two added concerns. A flash fire can burn a large portion of the body at once, which increases the severity and the subsequent long-term care required. A chemical burn can also continue to injure tissue after the initial contact, so the visible wound can understate the eventual damage.
Who Can Be Held Liable for an Oilfield Burn Injury
An oilfield worksite rarely involves a single company. Identifying every responsible party is a key part of achieving full legal recovery.
The Operator, Drilling Contractor, or Another Company on Site
A well operator, a drilling or service contractor, or another company sharing the site may be liable in negligence if its conduct caused a fire or explosion.
The Equipment or Product Manufacturer
Where defective equipment or a defective product caused the injury, the manufacturer can be held liable under California product liability law. Product liability in California is governed by strict liability, which means an injured person does not need to prove the manufacturer was negligent, only that the product was defective and that the defect caused the injury.
Maintenance and Service Contractors
Oilfield operators often rely on outside companies to inspect, test, and maintain equipment. When a maintenance or service contractor fails to do that work properly and a fire or equipment failure results, that company may share liability.
Workers’ Compensation Is Not the Only Option for Oilfield Workers
Workers’ compensation is typically the exclusive remedy available to an employee against their direct employer, and it provides medical care and disability benefits regardless of fault. However, it does not compensate a worker for pain and suffering or for the full value of lost earnings and future earning capacity. Because an oilfield worksite rarely involves a single company, a worker injured by the negligence of an operator, a contractor, or another company on site, or by defective equipment, often has a third-party claim in addition to workers’ compensation. That claim can reach those larger categories of loss.
Many oilfield workers are classified as independent contractors or employed by staffing and service companies, and they often have third-party claims against an operator, a drilling contractor, or an equipment manufacturer. An independent contractor who does not have workers’ compensation coverage may still pursue a personal injury claim against a company whose negligence caused the injury.
Compensation in Oilfield Burn Injury Cases
The costs of a serious burn can accrue over a lifetime. Compensation in these cases can include:
- Medical and surgical care, including emergency treatment, skin grafts, and the reconstructive surgeries a severe burn commonly requires
- Future medical care, including additional reconstructive procedures, scar and wound management, physical and occupational therapy, and treatment for complications that develop over time
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity, accounting for both time missed and the effect of a permanent injury or disability on the kind of work a person can do going forward
- Pain, suffering, and permanent disfigurement or scarring, categories available in a third-party claim but not through workers’ compensation alone
- Disability accommodations, including home or vehicle modifications where a permanent injury requires them
Because these losses can compound over years, attorneys often work with life-care planners and economists to document the full future cost.
$22.1
million
Pedestrian Accident
$15
million
Products Liability Explosion
$11
million
Premises Liability
$10
million
Oilfield Accident
$10
million
Motorcycle Accident
$9
million
Industrial Accident
$8.8
million
Police Misconduct
$8
million
Pedestrian Accident
How Chain | Cohn | Clark Builds an Oilfield Burn Injury Case
Oilfield cases depend on evidence that disappears quickly. Equipment is repaired, data is overwritten, and crews move on to new sites. This is why prompt investigation is so important.
We work to preserve the equipment and conditions involved, along with rig logs, maintenance and inspection records, and other documentation, before they can be altered or discarded. From there, we identify every company that shared the site, retain engineering and medical experts, and document the injury and its long-term effects through the worker’s medical records and, where needed, a life-care plan.
Frequently Asked Questions About Oilfield Burn Injuries
It depends on what caused the fire. Because an oilfield site usually involves several companies, liability can fall on a well operator, a drilling or service contractor, a maintenance company, or the manufacturer of defective equipment. Workers’ compensation covers your injury through your employer regardless of fault, but a third-party claim against one of these other companies can recover more.
There is no single average, because the value depends on the injury and the losses it causes over a lifetime. The main drivers are the severity and size of the burn, the surgeries and long-term care it requires, the effect on your ability to work, and compensation for pain, suffering, and disfigurement.
Yes. Workers’ compensation is typically the exclusive remedy against your employer, but it does not prevent a claim against a third party such as an operator, a contractor, or an equipment manufacturer. A third-party claim proceeds alongside your workers’ compensation benefits and can recover the larger categories of loss that workers’ compensation cannot.
Possibly, yes. Independent contractors and workers employed by service companies often have strong third-party claims against an operator, a drilling contractor, or an equipment manufacturer. An independent contractor who does not have workers’ compensation coverage may still bring a personal injury claim against a company whose negligence caused the injury.
Deadlines in these cases are strict and time-sensitive. Some claims, such as those involving a public entity, can carry a much shorter deadline, so it is important to speak with an attorney promptly.
Contact a Kern County Oilfield Injury Lawyer
If you or a family member suffered a burn injury in an oilfield fire or explosion in Kern County, contact Chain | Cohn | Clark for a free consultation to learn what claims may be available to you.
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