This blog is meant to shed light on some of the issues and obstacles Kansas workers and their families have to confront after a work-related accident. Injuries arising out of employment can lead to a workers’ compensation claim, but sometimes insurance companies and employers go to great lengths to reduce or deny compensation payments when injured workers need them most. In other cases, a party who isn’t your co-worker or employer may be responsible for the accident, or maybe a defective product caused an injury.
These issues may have to be considered in the investigation of a tragic drilling-site accident that took the life of one worker and sent another to a Wichita hospital.
According to the sheriff’s department in Trego County, a rig worker was severely injured when he was struck by a falling derrick basket. His injuries were so severe that he died at the scene.
The worker who was in the basket when it fell was also hurt, though the nature of his injuries was not reported. He had to be airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
As is routine after a fatal workplace accident, investigators from the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration were called to the scene. An OSHA spokesperson indicated that D & S Casing, based in Kansas, was involved in the investigation, but a news report does not clarify which company or companies may have employed the workers.
It is known, however, that the Oklahoma company Horizontal Well Drillers is in charge of maintaining the rig.
The man who survived the accident and the family of the man who died may be entitled to compensation in one form or another.
If Kansas residents would like to learn more about what to do after a work-related injury or death, our Kansas City work accident pages are there to help.
Source: Upstream, “One worker was killed and another injured at a drilling site in Trego County, north-west Kansas, according to reports,” Luke Johnson, June 27, 2013
