California has a thriving oil industry. While oil rigs offer numerous employment opportunities and help our energy independence and local economy, oil field work is dangerous and often leads to traumatic injuries.
If you or someone you love has been injured in an oil rig accident, our Bakersfield oil field accident attorney can help. With decades of experience helping victims of oil field accidents, attorney Mickey Fine has the knowledge, skill, and resources necessary to fight for your rights and seek the full and fair compensation you deserve.
Following an oil field accident, it may be in your best interest to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer to explain your rights and legal options. First, consider the following steps to take immediately after your workplace injury.
What Do You Need to Do After an Oil Field Accident in California?
Depending on how you got injured, you could potentially have multiple claims for compensation. With this in mind, you should try to take the following steps as soon as possible:
1. Report the Accident to Your Employer
If you work on an oil rig, there is a good chance that you are eligible for workers’ compensation. If you are eligible, you will need to report your accident to your employer in order to start the claim process.
2. Seek Medical Treatment for Your Injuries
After suffering any type of job-related injury, it is important to seek medical care right away. Burns, concussions, and other common oil field injuries all require prompt diagnosis and treatment.
3. Collect as Much Evidence as Possible
In order to file for workers’ compensation, you need to be able to prove that you got injured on the job. In order to file a personal injury claim, you need to be able to prove that a company or individual (other than your employer in most cases) is liable. As a result, it is important to try to collect as much evidence at the scene of your accident as possible.
4. Start Keeping Track of Your Losses
Securing compensation for your losses also requires proof of how much you are entitled to recover. Your medical records, employment records, and other records related to your oil field injury will all be important evidence in your claim for compensation.
5. Learn about Your Legal Rights
Seeking compensation for an oil field injury is not easy, and it requires a clear understanding of your legal rights. With this in mind, you will want to learn as much about your legal rights as possible.
How Can an Oil Field Injury Lawyer Help?
While the steps above are some of the most important actions you need to take, these are by no means the only steps involved in recovering financial compensation after an oil field accident. With this in mind, here are just five examples of reasons to hire an oil field injury lawyer to help you:
- Making Sure You File Your Accident Report Correctly and On Time – California has a strict deadline for reporting job-related injuries. If you miss the deadline, or if you fail to include any necessary information in your accident report, you could lose your right to workers’ compensation benefits.
- Making Sure You See an Approved Doctor if Necessary – In California, employers can dictate the providers who treat their employees who file for workers’ compensation. However, if you “predesignated,” then you may be able to see a doctor of your choosing. Your lawyer can help make sure you see an approved doctor if necessary (failing to do so can lead to a denial of benefits).
- Investigating the Cause(s) of Your Oil Field Accident – While you can collect some basic evidence on your own, you will need far more in order to seek full compensation for your oil field injury. Your lawyer can quickly conduct a full investigation and collect the evidence needed to seek the full compensation you deserve.
- Determining How Much You are Entitled to Recover – How much are you entitled to receive in workers’ compensation benefits? If you have a claim outside of workers’ comp, how much more can you recover? An oil field injury lawyer can help you answer these questions so you don’t end up with less than you deserve.
- Explaining Everything You Need to Know about the Recovery Process – As we mentioned above, seeking compensation for an oil field injury is not easy. However, it is very easy to make mistakes that jeopardize your recovery. In order to give yourself the best chance of recovering maximum compensation, you need to speak with a Bakersfield oil field injury lawyer right away.
Talk to a Bakersfield Oil Field Injury Lawyer for Free
Are you dealing with an oil field injury? If so, we can help you with your recovery. Bakersfield oil field injury lawyer Mickey Fine understands the hardships you may be facing, and he is committed to helping you pursue the maximum compensation you need and deserve.
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Don’t face your injury alone. Call the Law Offices of Mickey Fine today at (661) 333-3333 or contact us online. We serve clients in Bakersfield and nearby areas in California.