The Charleston natural gas accident lawyers at DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC can help you file a lawsuit if you’ve been seriously injured in a natural gas explosion, fire, collision, or refinery-related accident. Due to the obscurity of this type of accident, it can be incredibly difficult to pinpoint who is liable for your injuries and damages. When you retain our services, our priority will be to figure out who owes you compensation and construct your case once we do.
For more than 20 years, our Charleston law firm has been analyzing medical records, reviewing eyewitness testimonies, and using all means of investigative techniques to support our clients’ claims in court. We understand that a complex case like a natural gas accident injury claim will not be solved by the work of one person alone. Our firm functions as a team comprised of multiple personal injury attorneys, allowing us to see every possible angle and ensuring we make only the best choices for you.
How Are Natural Gas Accidents Caused?
Sources of natural gas are abundant, especially here in West Virginia where the Marcellus shale provides plenty of resources for the oil and gas industries. As companies collect, refine, and distribute natural gas for a variety of purposes, they can create an array of potential hazards if they do not act safely and responsibly. Many of these hazards affect only the workers at the refinery or oil field, but others can affect nearby residents and even homeowners.
Natural gas accidents and related injuries can stem from:
Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, often referred to as fracking, involves injecting a mixture of high-pressure water and chemicals into a rock bed beneath the earth to cause natural gas to flow outwards. Not only can this destroy the environment but it is reported to cause frequent leaks of hazardous materials into nearby water systems, potentially poisoning adjacent neighborhoods.
Pipeline Explosions and Fires
To extract and move natural gas through a refinery or oilfield worksite, miles of pipelines must be constructed. Maintaining them regularly is an entirely different task, and neglect can cause devastating pipeline explosions and fires with no warning to the employees or homeowners in the area.
Collisions
An estimated 400 gasoline tankers and commercial trucks are needed on even a small-scale fracking or refinery site. All these large trucks must deliver payloads over major highways and local streets, which means a direct increase on the chances an average motorist may be struck by a negligent trucker. Commercial trucks like gasoline tankers cause a large portion of our many truck accidents nationwide and in West Virginia.
Contamination
The collection of natural gas can lead to contamination in many forms. It can cause direct, toxic contamination to workers through natural deposits found in the soil like silica as well as harm land and nearby properties if chemicals seep back into the soil. Proper care and handling is needed to ensure this doesn’t occur, but companies sometimes make mistakes and hope no contamination results. The potential degradation of a homeowner’s property value is an unfair consequence of the gas industry’s actions, however, and corporations should be held accountable for it.
Workplace Accidents
Working in a natural gas refinery or oil field is innately dangerous, but most accidents can be avoided with proper care. If you’re a worker at a refinery or oil field and have been seriously injured in a machinery accident, falling accident, line failure accident, or confined space accident that you believe was caused by negligence, you may be eligible to file an accident claim against the company you work for.
When a major gas refinery acts negligently or irresponsibly and does not prioritize safety for its workers or fails to ensure that proper safety precautions are in place for local residents and homeowners, the U.S. legal system lets victims of injuries or illnesses file a claim against the refinery. Doing so can let a suffering family find the road to recovery while ensuring the guilty corporation takes measures to not make the same mistake twice.
Our West Virginia Natural Gas Explosion Lawyers Don’t Fear Industry Giants
When an injured worker or victim of a gas accident tries to file an injury lawsuit against a company in charge of natural gas extraction and use, it’s almost inevitable that the plaintiff will be forced to go up against a major, powerful corporation in court. Most law firms are hesitant to go up against the natural gas industry due to the heavy-handed legal teams most corporations boast.
This isn’t the case with DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC. We will not hesitate to build a strong case using thorough evidence and expert testimony to ensure our best chances possible when going up against major gas corporations. We are prepared to take on any opposition, big or small, if it means that our clients can rest, recover, and live comfortably.
We have 150+ years of collective experience. Learn what it can do for you during a free consultation. Contact our Charleston firm to speak with our team of Charleston natural gas accident lawyers today.