West Virginia is heavily involved in the production of its natural resources and those resources include coal, oil, gas, heavy industry, electrical power houses, chemical factories, and steel mills. Here at the Segal Law Firm, we often see the vast majority of injury cases stemming from employment in these industries.
Mining is an inherently dangerous occupation, particularly when mining plans or safety rules are not followed by management, equipment fails or the mine itself fails, injuring multiple people. Further problems can arise with untrained people who are placed improperly in both surface or deep mines.
These same problems are seen in the natural oil and gas industries. The Marcellus Shale is a very dangerous type of gas to extract because of the huge amount of pressure it is under when you are drilling on a rig. People who perform this work must be trained very carefully with regard to co-workers’ safety as well as their own safety.
Injuries are seen in both power and chemical plants where, once again, equipment is not properly maintained. Management may be more interested in making money than in proper safety protocols and improperly trained people may be placed in jobs that require very close attention to safety. Management should be constantly vigilant when it comes to worker safety, but this is not always the case.
Because of these issues, as well as others, Segal Law Firm has worked with many people injured whose careers and lives are disrupted or ended as a result of their employment.
If you have questions concerning workplace injuries or cases, contact us here or call 855-344-9100.