Working on an oil rig is a dangerous, demanding job. Professionals are away from their families for weeks at a time. They work long hours in a very inhospitable environment. They may work with heavy equipment and around dangerous chemicals.
Countless things can go wrong when working on an oil rig. Workers are often one mistake or equipment malfunction away from career-ending injuries. Companies in the extraction sector generally need to provide ample training and to prioritize worker safety through regulatory compliance.
What many oil and gas professionals working at offshore locations may not realize is that getting to work can be just as dangerous as the job that they perform. Transportation incidents are a common source of severe worker injuries and fatalities in the offshore sector.
Every transportation option comes with risks
There are two ways for oil and gas professionals to reach an oil rig. They either travel by air or by sea. There may be vessels that make routine trips to the oil rig to transport workers back and forth from land.
Issues ranging from crew mistakes to maintenance oversights can lead to maritime incidents on vessels headed to offshore oil rigs. Inclement weather can develop rapidly in offshore locations, and small transit vessels may be particularly vulnerable to heavy winds and large waves.
Transportation by air is likely not much safer. Historically, small planes providing on-demand transportation are riskier than large commercial planes. Helicopters might be even more dangerous than fixed-wing planes. They account for a large percentage of aviation incidents every year. California sees more helicopter-related incidents than any other state, according to recent statistics.
Offshore oil and gas workers hurt on the way to or from an oil rig may need help pursuing compensation. If transportation incidents result in fatalities, the surviving family members may need help pursuing appropriate compensation. Maritime injury and fatality lawsuits are generally more complex than litigation related to incidents that occur on land.
Retaining appropriate assistance can help people understand the maritime injury laws that apply and the options available for compensation for their injurious circumstances. Offshore oil and gas workers and their families may need help when transportation incidents keep people from working and generate secondary expenses, and that’s okay.