Wyoming Oil Field Injury Lawyer

Casper Attorney Has 15+ Years Representing Oil Field Workers 

Video Transcript:

Grant Lawson: 

Most of these hurt employees, they've never been through it before, they don't know what to expect, and they don't know if they're getting taken advantage of.

Tom Mustin: 

Where can you find help if you or a loved one were injured working in an oilfield? We're gonna talk to attorney Grant Lawson from the Metier Law Firm about that on today's Ask The Lawyer. Grant, thanks for joining us.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, thanks for having me.

Tom Mustin: 

Good to have you. Now, what types of oilfield accidents and injuries have you seen as an injury attorney in Wyoming, and how common are they?

Grant Lawson: 

We have seen everything, from minor injuries all the way to unfortunately tragic deaths, and everything in between. The oilfield is a dangerous place. There's a lot of moving parts, a lot of different aspects of the job that are going on with drilling operations, completions operations, work-over, transportation, set-up, movement, everything, you name it, it's there. And there's always risk involved with all of those operations, and unfortunately, sometimes safety measures get cut and steps get cut, and that leads to people getting hurt and sometimes even unfortunately killed.

Tom Mustin: 

And is workers' comp the primary way that an injured worker is compensated? And walk us through the process there.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, so we start with the premise that if somebody's working for a company who pays into the workers' comp system, then workers' compensation coverage is there for the employee. This is definitely the majority of the situations that we encounter. Sometimes, somebody will be an independent contractor that will not have workers' compensation, will not be entitled to it even under their employer, even if they're an employee. And so in those situations, they don't have workers' compensation, and it's a different analysis. But for the most part, workers out on the job do have workers' compensation coverage, and when they get hurt on the job, they have a duty to report it, a duty to make sure their supervisor knows about it and that their supervisor, the employer has a duty to report it and know it, which we find sometimes is, that step is being skipped as well, or there's actions taken by employers to try and hold off on having an employee make a claim because it goes against their rating, it could increase their insurance coverage rates under work comp, and so there's a number of factors that go into play.

Tom Mustin: 

Isn't it true that because a person receives workers' comp they can't sue their employer? And is workers' comp the only form of compensation available to them?

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, so those are great questions. So number one, depending on the state you're in, you are typically prevented from suing your employer any time you have workers' comp coverage. Any time that the employer is paying into workers' comp, you're prevented from suing your employer or co-employees for their negligence, their cause in hurting you or killing a family member of yours, with some exceptions, and especially in Wyoming, we have an exception to that rule. If the level of conduct that leads to the injury or death goes beyond what's just called simple negligence and rises to the level of a reckless, willful wanton disregard for the health and safety of somebody, somebody's life.

Grant Lawson: 

And that's a high standard, but unfortunately we do see that because employees are pushed to work hard, sometimes skipped safety steps or were cut, make shortcuts, or work in dangerous conditions, even though they've reported, even though they don't want to, even though they've asked not to, even though their employer or supervisor knows about it. And that's those situations where, unfortunately, it leads to tragic results. But there also is a potential avenue of recovery that gets outside of the workers' comp system, and I handle... I have, for the last 15 years, I've handled numerous cases like that, where the actions by whoever it is, the supervisor or co-employee, in causing somebody's injury or death, goes beyond just negligence, and it rises to this higher level of conduct that should allow a hurt individual or a family of someone killed to try and get compensation that's outside of the workers' comp system.

Tom Mustin: 

Now, you've had a lot of these cases as you said. Does someone need an attorney to actually file a workers' comp claim? And why do you advise using an attorney in cases like this?

Grant Lawson: 

They do not. And most times, the first steps, it's just, let's get this thing filed, let's ensure there is a case on file, a claim on file made. However, the work comp process itself is its own animal, so to speak, and there's always the system against the employee who's hurt. And the system is is, "Okay, maybe we'll be helpful in sending you to doctors and paying for bills, but at the end of the day, our job is to try and save the workers' comp system money," whether it's like Wyoming here, which is a state-run system or in states like Colorado or other states that have private insurers involved. And of course, any time you're fighting an insurance company, state or private, their job is to save money, not to spend money and not to pay money. And so it's always, always my recommendation, no matter what the circumstances are, that if somebody gets hurt out on the job, especially in the oilfield, to get a workers' comp attorney to help them navigate that process, because there's a lot of... It's a completely foreign process. At least for most of these hurt employees, they've never been through it before. They don't know what to expect and they don't know if they're getting taken advantage of.

Tom Mustin: 

Sure. And other than the workers' comp, are there other forms of compensation or benefits that are available to an injured worker, and can you give us some examples there?

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, this is where it gets fun for me to talk about because, in the oilfield, you're usually not just talking about you got one employer with employees working. You have so many different companies and aspects of the job going on, and a lot of times accidents occur, whatever tragedy occurs because of other companies or other people from other places that are involved with whatever the circumstances are that caused the accident or the tragedy, and those people are fair game. They're not protected by the worker's comp system, and frankly, they shouldn't be, with some exceptions I'll get to in a minute. And those parties who are responsible for hurting or unfortunately killing somebody can be held accountable and there can be action taken in a court of law from attorneys like us who specialize in oilfield injury and death cases.

Grant Lawson: 

And so outside of the workers comp, there's potential that there's claims that can be brought for others who are not shielded by the workers' comp system. And if there is an exception to the workers' comp or that you can get outside the workers' comp bar from suing someone, then yes, absolutely, there's claims for the damages called non-economic damages and economic damages. Economic including loss of wages, medical treatment, past and future on both of those, and then your non-economic damages, which includes disfigurement, impairment, loss of enjoyment of life, mental pain and suffering and anguish, things along those lines that are claims and damages that can be sought when you have the ability to bring that sort of case.

Grant Lawson: 

Now, getting back to that just one exception I noted, there's states like Colorado, we don't have this in Wyoming, but Colorado, unfortunately and in some other states around the country, and this becomes a really big issue in oil and gas oilfield injury cases, is something called statutory employer where not only is the employer who's paying into workers' comp protected or shielded from any lawsuit from a hurt employee, but then it goes up the chain and protects a general contractor, for example, an operator or owner of the well, who then hires the employer. But that protection doesn't go out and provide a complete umbrella for everybody out on the job.

Grant Lawson: 

When you're in a drilling operation or completions operation or whatever it is, there's multiple companies involved for all the different aspects, and usually that's where things go wrong, is there's a lack of communication, a lack of coordination, a lack of safety procedures, a lack of supervision, things along those lines that lead to these very tragic accidents and deaths. And so it's a really specialized area in the law. It's really complicated in some ways and not so complicated in other ways, but that's why it's always recommended that if you get hurt out in the oilfield or if you have a family member killed, go to somebody who knows this, not just some general "I'm an injury lawyer person" who doesn't take their time to specialize and fight in this realm, this world, like those that do.

Tom Mustin: 

And what you're saying, Grant, makes a lot of sense. But is there any cost or any downside to speaking with an attorney after an injury like this?

Grant Lawson: 

I'm not aware of an injury lawyer, especially those who do oil and gas oilfield related injury cases, who charge anything. It's typically based on a contingency fee basis. Us specifically, we would never charge a client. We would spend the time necessary talking the client through the situation, figuring out what's going on, and then of course, if we go forward with the case, the costs are covered by us and we only get paid if they get paid at the end of the day, and thankfully, it allows clients who are hurt, don't have money, they can hire lawyers like us to go fight for them. It would just be an incredible burden for somebody to have to come up with money to have to pay a lawyer to find out what their rights are and whether they can bring a claim. And so I'm thankful we have the ability to do that for them.

Tom Mustin: 

And I'm sure that brings a peace of mind to a lot of your clients. Well, Grant, I appreciate your time. It's so great to talk to you.

Grant Lawson: 

Yeah, yeah. Great to talk with you and to all my oilfield workers out there, stay safe and if you get hurt, make sure you call the right people and get the help you need.

Tom Mustin: 

Alright. Thanks, Grant. And that's gonna do it for this episode of Ask The Lawyer. My guest has been Grant Lawson. If you'd like to ask Grant a question about your situation, call the number you see on the screen. Thanks for watching. I'm Tom Mustin, for Ask The Lawyers.

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