Oilfield & Lease-Road Trucking Crashes

Why Oilfield Trucking Is Uniquely Dangerous

Crude haulers, frac-sand trucks, and oversized-equipment loads move around the clock across the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford on roads that were never built for them. The economic pressure to keep the operation moving pushes drivers past safe limits, and a fatigued driver behind an oversized load on a dark lease road is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

The Same Federal Rules Apply, and So Does the Company’s Hiring Record

Hours-of-service (Part 395), maintenance (Part 396), and driver-qualification (Part 391) rules apply on a lease road just as they do on the interstate. So does the carrier’s duty not to hire a dangerous driver. When a company puts an unqualified driver behind a heavy load to save time, its own driver-qualification file becomes the heart of the case.

Onshore or Offshore? The Question That Can Change Everything

Oilfield work blurs the line between land and water, and the legal classification, an ordinary land-based claim versus a maritime or Jones Act claim, can change which law applies, what you can recover, and how long you have to file. Getting it right early is critical. If your injury happened on or around a vessel, see our maritime injury practice.

What This Looks Like in a Real Case

A two-year-old boy was killed when a trucking company put an oversized load of oilfield equipment on the highway behind a driver it should never have hired: a three-time felon with a revoked commercial license who was high on cocaine at the time of the crash. After the wreck, the company falsified the driver’s logs to hide how long he had been behind the wheel. We uncovered it and recovered $10 Million for his family.

Most cases settle, and the number they settle at depends on whether the other side believes your case is ready for a courtroom. Ours always are; our Truck Accidents page shows exactly how we prepare one.

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