Richard LaGarde, Injury Attorney, Raises Questions After Tragic Death of Texas Oil Worker
May 6, 2014
Houston, TX (Law Firm Newswire) May 6, 2014 – A Texas man was killed at a Rice Energy Inc. gas drilling site in Belmont County, Ohio.
David Zamora, 43, of Victoria, Texas was an employee of subcontractor Lee Specialties Ltd. He was crushed by a piece of heavy equipment on Saturday, April 5.
In its statement, Rice Energy did not explain what type of equipment had killed Zamora. No one else was injured. “Relatively speaking, oil and gas drilling is a dangerous occupation,” said Houston personal injury attorney Richard LaGarde, who is not involved with the case. “Nevertheless, workers have the right to a reasonable level of safety at all times. Investigators have a lot of important questions to ask in an accident like this. Were all safety protocols properly observed prior to the accident? Was the subcontractor made aware of the specific hazards present at the job site? Was there a failure of equipment, and if so, was that equipment properly maintained?”
This is the first fatality for the natural gas industry in Belmont County. Rice Energy is nearing completion of its first Utica Shale gas well. It is also the first major incident at a Rice Energy site, according to a statement from Mike Lauderbaugh, the company’s vice president of environmental health and safety.
Operations at the site have been suspended temporarily as the company and authorities investigate the accident. The company said the suspension was self-imposed and that when operations resume, they will be “conducted in the safest manner possible.”
According to Charlie Dixon, the safety and workforce training administrator for the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program, the Ohio oil and gas industry had four fatalities in 2013, two of which occurred in driving accidents. And the Occupational Safety and Health Administration puts the industry’s national death toll from 2003 to 2010 at 823.
“When accidents occur at work sites, you can’t always count on corporate and government investigators to go digging and find out if there’s more to the accident than meets the eye,” LaGarde added. “I recommend that anyone whose family member was killed in an industrial accident speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.”
Learn more at http://www.lagardelaw.com.
LaGarde Law Firm, P.C
3000 Weslayan, Ste. 380
Houston, TX 77027
Phone: (713) 993-0660
Toll Free: 1-866-LAGARDE
LaGarde Law Firm, P.C.
Jason M. Welborn – Of Counsel
617 S. Buchanan Street
PO Box 2053
Lafayette, LA 70501
Phone: (337) 443-4100
Toll Free: 1-866-LAGARDE
- FDA Orders Recall of Heart Pump
HeartWare, Inc., Heartware Ventricular Assist System: Class I Recall – Locking Mechanism of Pump Driveline Connector May Fail to Engage ISSUE: HeartWare, Inc. received reports where the driveline connector locking mechanism failed to engage as a result of a faulty manufacturing assembly process. This failure could result in the pump stopping and potentially lead to […] - Trucking Regulators Propose New Regulation Mandating Electronic Logs
A new government proposal would require commercial trucks and buses that cross state lines to have electronic devices that measure the length of time the vehicles are in operation. The proposal is the latest development in a lengthy effort by safety advocates aimed at preventing accidents caused by fatigued commercial drivers staying behind the wheel […] - How to Give a Great Deposition Part 1 of 7 – Podcast
Double Board Certified Attorney Richard LaGarde, shares tips that he often gives to his own witnesses before they are deposed or testify in court. Allow a few moments after clicking the play icon for video to load. - Texas Oil Companies with Repeated Safety Violations Escape OSHA Severe Violators List
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) maintains a list of U.S. employers with severe and/or repeated violations of safety regulations: the Severe Violator Enforcement Program (SVEP). A major investigation by the Houston Chronicle revealed that several Texas oil companies with repeat violations and multiple fatal accidents in recent years have somehow avoided inclusion in […] - Lafayette Jury Awards $9 Billion in Bladder Cancer Case Caused by Diabetes Drug Actos
A federal court jury in Lafayette, Louisiana found that the manufacturers of the diabetes drug, Actos, failed to warn users that Actos could cause bladder cancer. The suit was brought by Terrence Allen, who began taking Actos in 2006 to treat his Type 2 diabetes. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2011. Six months later, […]
