How the Rise and Fall of Oil and Gas Prices affect On the Job Injuries
The oil and gas industry can be fickle in current economic times with the recent swings in oil prices. Those swings eventually make their way to the actual production level and impact activities in both refineries and pumping operations, including fracking production. The market price for oil has a definite effect on how companies actually operate, often times modifying extraction processes focused on production maximization or cutting costs when prices are down. In turn, these price variations actually put more stress on the work force when standard procedures change because they tend to have a negative impact on work place safety and a reasonable duty of care for the workers. These particular changes in production schedule can also result in an increase in the number of on-the-job injuries that occur due to company negligence or the typical types of accidents. This injury scenario is very common in Texas, and it is important to have an experienced Houston personal injury attorney like Sigmon Law PLLC.
Increases in Price
Oil and gas companies will often attempt to increase production during times of higher prices because it improves company profits. This does not always bode well for the workers because increased production means increased workload and often a rushed production process. It is a general fact that workers are injured at a higher rate when they are overworked in terms of hours or being forced to work quicker. Oil facility work is dangerous as it is when observing all safety measures at a normal pace, but workers who are forced to hurry up often wind up injured.
Reduction in Prices
Managers understand that the best method of maintaining profit margins when business is down is to cut operational expenses. The cut in production could also result in less attention to improve safety programs in the workplace, as safety programs are a necessary expense that could be subject to trimming when low cash flow is occurring. Employee safety includes more than the workers merely watching out for each other. Failure to maintain work equipment and other forms of unreasonable cost cutting can result in more injured employees when malfunctions or calamities occur.
All injuries that occur on the job in the energy industry can be complicated and are regularly well-defended claims. The only method of ensuring you are compensated wholly according to workers compensation, maritime, or personal injury law is to retain a Houston personal injury attorney like the professionals at Sigmon Law PLLC who understand how to build a maximized settlement case.