Fracking | Industrial Accidents

Fracking Injury Attorney

Working on or living near a hydraulic fracturing site comes with serious risks involving high-pressure systems and toxic materials. Fracking sites are among the most dangerous industrial environments in America and related injuries are often catastrophic.

The Hazards of Hydraulic Fracturing Sites

Drilling rigs can malfunction, causing catastrophic mechanical failures. Wirelines used to lower tools into wells operate under extreme tension and can snap without warning. And flowback operations can explode outward if equipment fails or protocols aren’t followed precisely.

Chemical exposure represents another serious hazard that doesn’t always cause immediate injury but can lead to devastating health consequences. Workers handle toxic substances daily, including acids, biocides, and volatile compounds. A single spill can expose multiple people to dangerous chemicals that cause burns or long-term illness.

It is not surprising that the large corporations responsible for many occupational health risks downplay the toxic nature of the fracking business, and in turn, fail to properly study the effects of toxic exposure, and fail to warn and protect employees. With that said, any employee injured on a fracking worksite may have a claim against their employer.

A report from the U.S. AFL-CIO warned about the occupational risks of America’s fracking-fueled oil and gas boom, noting deaths in the industry were up nationwide.

The oil and gas industry has never claimed the safest work sites. The fatality among oil and gas workers hovers around eight times higher than the all-industry rate. Injuries and deaths are caused by road and rail accidents, machinery mishaps, valve failure and toxic chemical exposure.

An independent analysis of data submitted by fracking operators revealed that one-third of all fracking jobs reported use at least one cancer-causing chemical.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) works to enforce all rules and regulations for the oil and gas sector, but is not keeping up with growth. Courts and legal representatives are available to assist victims of workplace injury.

Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Toxic Tort and Catastrophic Injury Attorney, representing plaintiffs nationwide in a wide variety of civil litigation claims.

Dangerous Fracking Chemicals

An estimated 600 chemicals are used in fracking operations, many of which can be harmful at low levels of exposure.

Exposures at fracking sites can include silica and heavy metals, known causes of lung diseases like silicosis and associated with lung cancer and other cancers.

A report presented to the Endocrine Society conference warned that among the chemicals that the fracking industry has reported using most often, all 24 tested block activity of one or more important hormone receptors, and have been associated with infertility and birth defects.

Researchers from Princeton University, Columbia University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently presented damaging health and safety findings to the American Economic Association. The researchers found evidence that infants born within a 2.5 kilometer radius of fracking sites “increased the likelihood of low birth weight by more than half.”

Silica sand is the primary agent used to fracture rocks underground and keep those cracks open. If not properly controlled, “frac sand” can cause lung cancer, silicosis and other fatal diseases in exposed workers.

The U.S. government’s safety research agency, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has issued an official Hazard Alert. NIOSH found face masks did not reduce exposures below the limit.

An ongoing attempt by the OSHA to cut the permissible limit for crystalline silica exposure has been opposed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the rest of the fracking industry. API has refused to release the findings of its own evaluation of silica exposures.

NIOSH reported that 92 of 116 air samples it had taken from fracking sites in five states exceeded the recommended safe levels for silica. Too much exposure over a career may result in silicosis, an incurable, irreversible lung disease that can lead to lung cancer and make people more susceptible to tuberculosis.

Fracking Benzene Exposure

Fracking workers are routinely exposed to high levels of benzene, a colorless gas that can cause cancer, according to a study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The agency recommends that people limit their benzene exposure to an average of 0.1 of a part per million during their shift, though research published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene shows workers’ exposure commonly exceeds that amount.

Benzene can be acutely toxic to the nervous system, liver, and kidneys at high concentrations.

Most concerning is that little is known about the long-term effects of benzene exposure on oil and gas workers. The full health consequences may have yet to be discovered.

Common Types of Fracking Accidents and Injuries

Equipment failures happen regularly despite safety protocols. Hydraulic lines burst and valves malfunction under the extreme conditions. Workers near these failures suffer crushing injuries, burns from hot fluids or steam, and traumatic amputations when they get caught in moving equipment parts.

Common fracking accidents in the field include:

• Industrial Equipment Accidents
• Explosions and fires
• Chemical exposures
• Fatigued Worker Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Co-Contractor Negligence
• Waste Management Negligence
• Defective drill pipe
• Defective Surface Casing
• Defective Blowout Preventer
• Defective Wellhead
• Defective Perforating Gun
• Valve Failure

Fracking Toxic Exposure

Employers have a duty to warn workers of the risks and provide them with proper protective equipment and safety protocols. Fracking companies have failed in the past to take responsibility for unsafe workplaces, and employee cancer rates reflect their negligence.

Benzene, for example, is a common dangerous toxin used in the fracking process, known to cause cancer. Many recent studies link Benzene exposure to forms of cancer like Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) now classifies Benzene as a top-priority human carcinogen.

Large quantities of silica sand are also used during hydraulic fracturing and are a serious health hazard to workers. Oil and gas companies continue to use toxins at worksites, despite studies that indicate the dangers.

How Compensation Can Help After a Fracking Accident

Serious injuries from hydraulic fracturing accidents generate massive expenses. Medical costs include emergency care, surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, ongoing treatment, prescription medications, and future healthcare needs.

Many fracking accident victims can never return to their previous jobs. Lost earning capacity covers the difference between what you could have earned throughout your career and what you’re able to earn after your injury.

Pain and suffering damages recognize that serious injuries affect every aspect of your life. Chronic pain, disability, loss of independence, and emotional trauma all warrant compensation beyond purely economic damages.

Loss of consortium allows spouses to recover for how injuries damaged their marriage and family life. When someone’s catastrophic injury changes the dynamics of a relationship, the spouse has suffered a genuine loss that deserves recognition.

Who’s Responsible When Fracking Accidents Happen?

Figuring out liability in hydraulic fracturing accidents gets complicated quickly because multiple companies typically operate on a single site. The mineral rights holder, the drilling contractor, equipment manufacturers, trucking companies, and specialized service providers all share the work area. When something goes wrong, determining who’s at fault requires thorough investigation.

Drilling companies owe workers and nearby residents a duty to maintain safe operations. When they cut corners on safety equipment, fail to train employees properly, or ignore known hazards, they’re liable for resulting injuries.

Equipment manufacturers can be held responsible when defective machinery causes accidents. If a blowout preventer fails, a safety valve malfunctions, or poorly designed equipment creates unnecessary hazards, the manufacturer may be liable under product liability laws.