Holding Negligent Operators & Contractors Accountable for Oilfield Injuries
Louisiana’s oil and gas corridor runs from the drilling fields of Acadiana through the refineries and chemical plants that line the Mississippi River near New Orleans, and the workers who keep that industry running face some of the most punishing conditions in the state. Land-based oilfield work involves heavy machinery, high-pressure lines, combustible materials, and job sites that are often remote, poorly lit, or short-staffed.
Frischhertz & Impastato represents workers injured at drilling sites, refineries, pipeline operations, and oilfield service yards throughout the greater New Orleans area and along the Louisiana oil and gas corridor.
Call (504) 276-6962 for a free consultation. Our oilfield accident attorneys have recovered over $700 million on behalf of our injured clients.
Explosions and flash fires remain among the most catastrophic risks in the oilfield, often triggered by a spark near flammable vapors, a pressurized line that fails, or a static discharge during transfer operations.
Beyond these headline-grabbing incidents, workers are regularly hurt by:
Falling from drilling platforms and scaffolding
Being caught in unguarded machinery, such as rotating equipment and conveyors
Being struck by falling tools or dropped objects
Being exposed to toxic chemicals, like hydrogen sulfide gas
Vehicle collisions hauling equipment or crude between remote sites
Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic byproduct of drilling that can cause unconsciousness or death within minutes at high concentrations. Long hours behind the wheel also make vehicle collisions one of the leading causes of oilfield workers’ deaths.
Who Bears Responsibility for Oilfield Accidents
Oilfield work sites rarely involve just one company.
A well site or refinery job might bring together:
The property or well owner
A drilling contractor
Several dedicated service companies that handle everything from cementing to wireline work
Equipment manufacturers whose tools and machinery are used by workers
When a piece of equipment fails because it was poorly maintained, a contractor skips a required safety check, or a site operator understaffs a high-risk job to save money, more than one company may share legal responsibility for the resulting injury.
Louisiana’s workers’ compensation system generally limits the types of benefits that an injured worker can recover directly from their direct employer to medical bills and a portion of lost wages. Workers’ compensation alone does not cover everything. The path to full compensation for pain and suffering, permanent impairment, and other damages involves identifying a negligent third party, such as an equipment manufacturer, a subcontractor, or a site owner who does not directly employ the injured worker.
Building the Oilfield Accident Case: What We Look For
Oilfield accident investigations move fast, and evidence can disappear just as quickly. Equipment gets repaired or replaced, incident reports get filed internally and never shared, and witnesses scatter to other job sites across the region. Our New Orleans oilfield accident attorneys move quickly to preserve physical evidence, secure surveillance and equipment data, and interview coworkers while their memory of events is still fresh.
We examine contractors, safety logs, and equipment maintenance records to determine which companies had a hand in the conditions that led to an injury. Often, we work with safety engineers and industry consultants to reconstruct what actually happened on site.
Louisiana Law & Filing Deadlines for Oilfield Accident Claims
For injuries that happened on or after July 1, 2024, Louisiana law generally gives an injured worker two years to file a personal injury lawsuit, a change from the one-year deadline that applied to earlier accidents. Separately, as of January 1, 2026, Louisiana follows a modified comparative negligence rule with a 51% bar, which means that a worker who is found to be more than half at fault for causing their own accident cannot recover damages from other responsible parties.
That is for personal injury lawsuits against third parties at an oilfield. For workers’ compensation benefits, fault for the accident typically does not matter. And you generally have one year from the day of your injury to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in Louisiana.
A Firm Built to Take on the New Orleans Oil & Gas Industry
Oilfield injury cases often mean going up against some of the largest drilling contractors, refineries, and energy companies operating in Louisiana, along with their insurers. Frischhertz & Impastato is a firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients, and our attorneys bring more than 85 years of combined experience with backgrounds spanning insurance defense, maritime commerce, and trial practice. Several of our eight attorneys carry recognition from Super Lawyers, Lead Counsel, and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel for their work in personal injury law.
Part of our success is that we prepare every oilfield case as though it may end up in front of a jury. Another key factor is that we operate as a team, not solo attorneys handling separate cases. Each of our lawyers weighs in on every case, ensuring that each client benefits from our collective insights. No matter how complicated an oilfield accident case may be, our legal team knows how to win the fight.
A compilation of the Frischhertz & Impastato attorneys and staff at work and interacting with clients.
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