When petroleum companies have difficulty reaching oil or natural gas deposits located deep in the ground, they implement an extraction technique referred to as hydraulic fracking or hydro-fracking. The extraction process mixes water and chemicals that are injected into a drilled hole at an extraordinary high pressure that produces breaks in the rock. With crumbled rock opening larger holes, petroleum companies gain access to the difficult to extract oil and natural gas.
Much of the controversy surrounding the extraction process concerns the negative impact fracking has on the environment. However, hydraulic fracking also is a highly dangerous process that puts workers at risk of illness and injury. Fracking injury examples include electrocution, brain trauma, and spinal cord damage. If you or a loved one sustained an injury while fracking, you might have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit.
Since 1988, Morgan & Morgan has represented clients from all over the United States for personal injury cases. As a relatively new type of personal injury case, fracking can produce a wide variety of illnesses and injuries that can put a worker out of a job for weeks, if not months at a time. When you contact one of our experienced attorneys, the first step is to determine whether you should file a workers’ compensation claim or file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.
The difference between the two forms of legal action is filing a civil lawsuit requires proof the other party committed one or more acts of negligence. Filing a workers’ compensation claim does not involve proving negligence. Instead, workers’ compensation is a type of insurance program employers must buy to protect employees when they get hurt in the workplace.
Schedule a free case evaluation to determine whether you should file a workers’ compensation claim or receive monetary damages by filing a civil lawsuit.