Texas Offshore Drilling Rig Injury Lawyer

Offshore drilling rigs — jack-ups, semisubmersibles, drillships, and tension-leg platforms — are among the most dangerous industrial environments on Earth. Around-the-clock drilling, extreme hydraulic pressures, heavy pipe handling, high-torque equipment, and flammable drilling fluids combine to create hazards that simply do not exist on land. When an offshore driller is injured, the legal analysis depends on whether the rig is a “vessel” for Jones Act purposes and whether the injury occurred during drilling, transit, or other operations. A Texas offshore drilling rig injury lawyer at McFarlane Law evaluates these issues and pursues the claim under the regime — Jones Act, OCSLA, or general maritime — that produces the best recovery.

Is a Drilling Rig a Vessel? Why It Matters

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that many mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) — jack-ups, semis, drillships — qualify as vessels in navigation for Jones Act purposes because they are capable of being transported between locations. Fixed platforms and spar platforms generally are not vessels. The classification matters enormously: if the rig is a vessel and the injured worker spends a substantial portion of time aboard, the Jones Act applies with its low burden of proof and full damages menu. Unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure also apply. If the rig is not a vessel, OCSLA borrows adjacent-state law, and the damages picture looks very different. McFarlane Law evaluates vessel status at intake and pleads alternative theories when the status question is contested.

Common Offshore Drilling Accidents

Floor-hand injuries are the most common — workers struck by swinging pipe, crushed by elevators or slips, pinched by rotary tongs, burned by high-pressure mud lines, or pulled into the catwalk between pipe and hoisting equipment. Derrickman injuries include falls from the monkey board, struck-by events from dropped tools, and crush injuries during racking operations. Driller injuries often involve hand and arm traps in brake systems, drilling console fires, and back injuries from repetitive lever operation. Wireline, completions, and well-service crew injuries involve high-pressure fluid injections, hose whips, and falls. Perforation, cementing, and fracturing operations carry their own unique hazards. Every scenario has distinct liability evidence and distinct damages potential.

Who Is Liable in an Offshore Drilling Injury Case

Liability on an offshore drilling rig is almost always shared. The rig contractor (Noble, Transocean, Valaris, Helmerich & Payne, etc.) employs the drilling crew and owes Jones Act duties. The operator (ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Shell, etc.) leases the rig and owes duties to safe operations. Service companies (Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Weatherford) provide specialized technical personnel and equipment — and can be responsible for their own crew’s mistakes. Equipment manufacturers can face product-liability claims for defective tongs, slips, top drives, and BOPs. Tubular suppliers can be liable for defective pipe. Catering contractors are responsible for galley and housekeeping hazards. Marine contractors running the supply boats can be sued under 905(b) or general maritime negligence. McFarlane Law’s first task is to identify every link in the contracting chain.

Evidence Preservation in Offshore Drilling Cases

Rig evidence disappears fast. Drilling daily reports, IADC-format tour sheets, BOP test data, mud logs, drilling parameters from real-time data systems, and video footage from rig-floor cameras are often overwritten or purged within days to weeks. Witness crewmembers rotate off the rig at the end of their hitch and can be difficult to locate. Equipment that failed — slips, tongs, elevators — is often returned to service or discarded. Job Safety Analyses, toolbox-talk rosters, pre-tour meeting minutes, and permits to work are paperwork that can go missing. McFarlane Law issues preservation demands within days of being hired and works with rig-experienced investigators and expert witnesses to lock down the evidence base.

Related Practice Areas

Related: Texas oil platform accident lawyer, Texas jack-up rig accident lawyer, Texas Jones Act lawyer, drilling rig accident lawyer. Hub: Texas offshore injury lawyer.

Talk to a Texas Injury Lawyer Today

If you were injured on a Gulf offshore drilling rig, call McFarlane Law. Free consult; no fee unless we win. Austin (512) 222-4900, Odessa (432) 803-5000.