A United States Department of Justice statement issued earlier this year states that a federal grand jury in Midland, Texas, charged an oil industry company and its vice president with obstructing a federal job safety investigation and violating federal clean air laws. The indictment alleged that violations of federal safe water laws and false statements made on forms documenting the company’s injection wells’ mechanical integrity, as well as three other job safety crimes, were responsible for the deaths of two employees overcome by hydrogen sulfide at a facility in Odessa.

In 2019, attorneys in Houston filed a lawsuit against the company and related entities on behalf of the families of the two victims. That oil field accident lawsuit came almost immediately after the United States Chemical Safety Board (CSB) said it found multiple safety issues at the site where the deaths occurred.

Best Oil Field Safety Practices

Everybody knows that oil field work is a grueling profession that takes a tremendous toll on a person’s health. None of that means people should be placing their lives in immediate danger, however, so employers need to take steps to help improve worker safety on job sites.

As we enter fall and get ready for winter, there is little doubt that people will be encountering more wet and dangerous surfaces that can lead to slip and fall accidents. Early last month, a Kiewit Offshore Services worker was found dead after falling from a platform into the La Quinta Channel.

In February 2022, a woman who slipped and fell at a Brookshire Brothers grocery store on Memorial Day weekend in 2020 was awarded $1.325 million by a jury in Orange County, Texas. As common as slip and fall accidents can be, negligent property owners and their insurance companies often adamantly oppose any suggestion they are to blame for a person’s injuries and many people instead deal with accusations that they were the parties at fault for their own injuries.

How Slip and Fall Claims Work in Texas

Under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 16.003, a person must bring suit for a personal injury claim no later than two years from the date of an accident. This time limit is known as the statute of limitations, and there are only a few exceptions to the statute of limitations (such as when a victim is a minor), so it is important for any person who suffers slip and fall injuries to quickly retain legal counsel.

Traffic laws are often thought of as not a big deal. Most people do not go to jail for violating a traffic rule, such as speeding or not using appropriate safety equipment. However, traffic laws are one of the main ways the state keeps its roads orderly and as safe as possible. Some traffic laws apply equally to almost all drivers, like speed limits. If the speed limit on a road is 45 miles per hour, then everyone on that road is required to drive or ride at a speed not exceeding 45 miles per hour.

Other traffic laws are based on the type of vehicle being operated. For example, seatbelt requirements do not apply to motorcyclists, because motorcycles generally do not have seatbelts, and a seatbelt on a motorcycle could actually create a higher risk of harm. Instead, motorcyclists are required to wear helmets unless they meet certain legal conditions. 

Perhaps the greatest risks to motorcyclists on the road are careless drivers. A dangerous driver can defeat even the best motorcycle safety precautions. If you were injured in a motorcycle accident, an attorney may be able to help you recover compensation. 

If you have been injured in a car accident and intend to pursue compensation, you may be concerned about whether you will need to go to court to resolve your case. It is very normal to be apprehensive about a potential courtroom battle. Particularly if you have not had reason to experience a trial, the prospect may seem intimidating. Fortunately, most people are able to resolve their car accident cases without entering a courtroom.

Your attorney will likely make efforts to settle your case out of court before proceeding with trial preparation. However, some motor vehicle accident claims are ultimately decided in court after a trial. It is a possibility that your case cannot be settled by agreement, and you will go to court, although this is a much less common result than settling. An attorney can keep you apprised of how your case is progressing. 

Reasons Your Case Could Go to Trial

There are a number of reasons why parties may ultimately go to court to resolve the claim. Parties are not always able to reach a settlement. Some reasons that a case may go to trial include: 

It can be very scary to be a passenger in a car driven by a risk-taking driver. There is very little you can do to prevent a car accident when you are not in the driver’s seat. Getting out of the car may not always be a good option. Asking the driver to please slow down or get off their phone may be ineffective, and doing so could even cause the driver to behave even more recklessly. 

If you get into an accident due to your driver’s negligence, you may be able to recover compensation. There can be differences in how your case should be handled depending on your relationship with the driver. For example, your case might be different if you are a friend of the driver as opposed to an immediate family member. If you were injured in a car accident as a passenger of the at-fault driver, your best option is to speak with an attorney. 

Recovering Compensation as a Social Passenger

If you were a friend, acquaintance, or even in some cases a family member of the careless driver who caused the accident, you may be able to recover compensation through the driver’s insurance policy. If the driver had the right types of coverage, you may only need to file a claim as one normally would after an accident. You may even have a bit of an easier time showing that the driver was negligent, as you likely had a very clear view of exactly what the driver did to cause the accident. Seeking compensation for medical bills through your own insurance coverage may also be an option for some.