Royal Dutch Shell is an oil and gas company, founded in 1907. It has been active for one hundred and twelve years and is one of the four biggest oil companies in the world. Shell is active in every area of the gas and oil industry from exploration and production to refining, including transport, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It has revenue of $ 388.4 billion and, as of 2018, it registered a total of eighty two thousand employees globally.

  • While working on a on a crane boom an employee injured his lower back.
  • An employee was struck in the face by a drill pipe.
  • While doing reparations on pipe handling equipment, an employee injured his hand, suffering lacerations and a broken wrist. The worker was taken to a local hospital.
  • During painting work on a gear unit platform and ladder of the bowleg of the rig. The employee was wearing a full body harness hooked up to a vertical life line, the worker stepped out of the ladder to finish painting outside of the handrail. The moment the worker put his weight on the vertical life line, the top anchor holding the cable pulled loose and the worker fell approximately eighteen feet to the deck below. The employee had two broken bones o his right foot and one on his left one.
  • A motor vessel moved over one of the rigs pontoons and punctured it, while picking up the anchors on the rig. All nine employees on board were safely evacuated; three of them jumped overboard and the remaining ones boarded the lifeboats. One of the employees suffered minor injuries.
  • An employee suffered injuries to his head, back and shoulder after falling ten feet to the deck bellow when he tripped. The worker was airlifted to nearest hospital to receive treatment.
  • While changing the elevator links in preparation to pull the marine riser, the short elevator links had been removed and changed for the long elevator links. Link A was already on place and the workers were trying to secure it, while others were working on Link B. Elevator Link B was pushed out of place, knocking onto Link A and loosening it, when Link A fell it landed on an employee, pinning him to the rig floor. The crew removed the link from the employee and the crew medic performed CPR, to no avail. The worker died.

Asbestos and the Oil Industry

Asbestos was a very commonly used material on oil rigs during the Twentieth Century. Known for its low costs, durability and resistance to heat and fire, asbestos was present in many older oil rigs. The oil industry has high rates of asbestos exposure, which can cause many health complications, including Mesothelioma, a deadly kind of cancer most common in the lungs.

[widgets_on_pages id=”Offshore News”]

Oil Rig Accident Lawyers

Oil rig workers face numerous work place risks that can lead to accidents, these accidents can in turn lead to series injuries, chronic pain and mounting medical bills. Some of them can even be fatal. Contacting a specialized lawyer after being involved in one of these accidents for a case consultation can make a big different in dealing with the consequences of it.