Nearly 350,000 Texans work in the oil and gas industry. Many of them are offshore workers who work on oil rigs situated off the coast of Texas and Louisiana.

There are many benefits of working in the oil and gas industry. For example, those who work in it make an average of right around $140,000.

But there are also quite a few risks associated with working in the oil and gas industry, especially while working as an offshore worker. An oil field accident or an oil rig accident could lead to a devastating work injury.

An offshore accident attorney can help you recover from this type of injury by filing a lawsuit on your behalf. You may be entitled to collect compensation that can help cover medical costs, lost income, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, and more.

It would be well worth scheduling a meeting with an offshore accident attorney to see what your options are. Here is how you can prepare for this meeting accordingly.

Find an Offshore Accident Attorney

There isn’t any shortage of personal injury lawyers in the U.S. today. More than 50,000 of them are operating all throughout the country right now.

You may initially be tempted to search “personal injury lawyers in Houston” or “personal injury lawyers in Texas” when you want to find an offshore accident attorney. But you should know that not all personal injury lawyers can handle work injury cases related to offshore accidents.

You’ll need to search specifically for an offshore accident lawyer who understands the intricacies of these types of cases. It’ll give you a much stronger chance to claim a victory in court if your work injury case makes it that far.

Schedule a Meeting as Soon as Possible

There are certain civil deadlines in place in the state of Texas for those who wish to file civil cases related to offshore accidents. For this reason, you should work to schedule a meeting with an offshore accident attorney ASAP.

The deadlines that have been created for offshore accident cases vary depending on everything from the type of work injury you sustained to the parties who were involved in it. If you miss a deadline for your case, it could very well lead to your case being dismissed immediately.

A great offshore accident attorney will be able to speak to you more about the civil deadline you may face. But no matter when that deadline may be, it’ll be important to take part in a meeting with an accident lawyer right away to prevent too much time from passing following your work injury.

Get Your Story Straight

One of the first things an offshore accident attorney will ask when you meet with them is, “What happened?” They’ll want to get as many details as they can about the offshore accident you were involved in and the work injury or injuries you sustained.

If your offshore accident occurred just a few weeks ago, it might still be fresh in your brain. But if it occurred several months ago, you might want to take the time to get your story straight prior to sitting down with an offshore accident attorney.

It might help you to write down a timeline that includes:

• When your offshore accident happened
• What the circumstances surrounding it were
• When you first sought medical attention
• How long you’ve been out of work
• When you were able to or will be able to return to work, if applicable
• And more

The more details you can provide to an offshore accident attorney, the better they’ll be able to understand your case. It’ll enable them to give you better legal advice than they might be able to give you otherwise.

Bring the Necessary Documents

Ideally, you should bring a bunch of documents along to your meeting with an offshore accident attorney. It’ll help to solidify your story about what happened before, during, and after your offshore accident. It’ll also paint a clear picture of how your offshore accident and your work injury or injuries have impacted your life.

Some of the documents you should bring with you when meeting with an offshore accident attorney should include:

• An outline of all the medical care you received following an offshore accident
• Any medical care records you can obtain
• Any medical bills you have received
• Other bills related to your offshore accident and work injury treatment (receipts for transportation to and from doctor’s appointments, pharmacy receipts, etc.)

If you have any documents related to your offshore accident, an accident lawyer will likely want to see them. You’ll be better off bringing more documents than you end up needing as opposed to leaving documents behind at home that could have come in handy.

Procure a Long-Term Medical Diagnosis

If possible, you should try to get some sense of how a work injury that stems from an offshore accident will affect you over the long run. The doctor who has been treating your injury should be able to provide you with a long-term medical diagnosis.

This medical diagnosis will indicate whether or not you’ll be able to return to working on offshore oil and gas rigs. It’ll also illustrate how else a work injury might impact your life as you move forward.

Come Up With Questions

Outside of doing everything else that we’ve discussed here prior to meeting with an offshore accident attorney, you will also want to jot down any questions you might have for a lawyer. Here are just some of the questions you may want to ask:

• Do you believe I have a strong enough case?
• Have you handled cases like mine before? (If so, what were the outcomes of them?)
• How much could my offshore accident case potentially be worth?
• Why do you feel as though you would be the right offshore accident attorney to handle my case?
• What are the legal fees I will face if I choose to file an offshore accident case?

A great offshore accident attorney will be willing to answer any and all questions you might have. Don’t be afraid to write down the ones that you want to make sure you don’t forget.

Contact Us When You Need an Offshore Accident Attorney

Are you an offshore worker who was recently injured while on the job? An offshore accident attorney from Heard Accident & Injury Trial Lawyers would love to discuss your case with you.

We can talk to you about what your options are and provide you with the legal advice you need at this time. Request a consultation today and find out if you may be eligible to collect compensation to help you pay medical bills and more.