Two Accidents Involving Oilfield Trucks Have Left One Man Dead and Three Heavy-Duty Trucks Destroyed.
A pair of truck accidents over a three-day period have left one man dead, two others injured, and destroyed three heavy-duty commercial trucks.
The fatality accident occurred at the intersection of Old Colorado City Highway and U.S. 380 at around 9:00 AM Monday and involved one truck hauling pipe and another truck that was transporting either oil or fuel. According to a witness at the scene, the truck that was carrying pipe lost its load and its sleeper compartment was sheared off in the collision. The same witness reported that he and others attempted to reach the driver but were unable to do so because of flames and intense heat. As of this writing, the drivers of both trucks have not been publicly identified and the accident investigation is ongoing.
The accident was the second oil & gas tanker truck crash in the Big Spring area within 3 days. On Saturday night, police and fire department first responders were called to the scene of an apparent traffic-related accident on northbound U.S. 87 about 8 miles north of Big Spring. In that accident, the truck driver was transported to a local hospital with what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, but the driver’s condition remains unknown as of the time this report was written.
Discussion About the Risks of Big Rig Trucks on the Road
The economic recovery in the West Texas oilfields has seen the price of oil rise to over $64 per barrel. As prices rise, it has now become economically feasible to reopen marginally-productive oil wells. But, as production rises, so does the number of oil tankers on our highways.
Thanks to stricter regulations involving vehicle inspection and maintenance, the number of truck accidents per 100,000 miles driven had generally been decreasing prior to the resurgence of the oil and natural gas markets. However, increasing demand for oil transportation and related services may be leading transport companies to cut their operating costs by several means, none of which will lead to improved highway safety. These “cost-cutting” measures may include:
- Hiring relatively inexperienced drivers to transport oilfield products
- Imposing unrealistic delivery schedules
- Using substandard vehicle parts for repairs or routine replacement
- Performing only the minimum safety inspections required by law or only minimum vehicle preventative maintenance
How an Oil Tanker Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help Accident Victims
As mentioned in previous sections of this post, oil tanker truck accidents are more likely than other truck accidents to produce serious injuries due to the potentially-hazardous nature of their cargos. Such injuries can include burns caused by fires or by the exposure of accident victims to a truck’s spilled cargo of raw oil.
Survivors of oil tanker accidents, which may include drivers’ helpers as well as passengers in non-commercial vehicles such as autos or vans, often face long hospital stays and are frequently hit with large amounts of related medical expenses that can quickly run through a family’s available financial resources. When coupled with the fact that oil tanker truck accidents can cause a wage earner to lose their ability to work for long periods of time, these accidents often cause major financial hardships for accident victims and their families.
If you or a family member have been injured in an oil tanker truck accident, we suggest that you contact an experienced truck accident lawyer to arrange a review of the facts in your case and to discuss the legal options that may be available to you and your family. In the Big Spring-Midland-Odessa area, one such truck accident firm is the Midland office of the Doan Law Firm.
When you contact our firm, your first consultation is always free of charge and does not obligate you to hire our firm. If you decide that we should manage your oil tanker truck accident case, we are willing to assume all responsibility for every aspect of preparing your accident case for trial in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of the final settlement that we will win for you.