Oilfield injuries in New Mexico are, unfortunately, all too common. At Stewart + Harmonson, we make it our business to make sure that anyone injured in such an accident is able to recover the compensation they need to make a successful recovery.
In order to do that, you need to prove that someone’s negligent actions were the cause of the accident that injured you. So how do you prove who is at fault?
From our experienced oilfield accident attorneys, here’s how to prove who was at fault for your workplace accident.
Duty of care in New Mexico
In New Mexico, in order to prove that someone was at fault for an accident, you have to prove that they had a “duty of care” toward the injured person. A “duty of care” is a responsibility to ensure someone’s safety.
Here are some examples:
- New Mexico employers have a duty of care to provide a safe working environment for their employees
- Oil companies have a duty of care to meet all health and safety regulations or requirements
- Manufacturers have a duty of care to make sure the parts they produce are safe and functional
- Managers and employees have a duty of care to perform all tasks required of them to ensure their co-workers’ safety
If you can prove that a person or company breached their duty of care, you can prove that they acted “negligently,” and are responsible for your accident.
Proving negligence in New Mexico
“Negligence” is an important term in personal injury law. If you can prove that someone acted negligently, and that negligence caused your oilfield accident, you can hold them liable in court and recover damages.
There are 4 elements to prove negligence in New Mexico:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty of care
- The at-fault party breached that duty of care
- That breach directly caused your accident
- The accident resulted in damages, such as lost wages or medical bills
In order to prove these 4 elements, you will need to work with your personal injury lawyer to collect evidence about the accident and the damages you’ve suffered as a result of the accident.
How Stewart + Harmonson can help
At Stewart + Harmonson, we’ve represented clients injured in oilfield accidents and recovered significant damages for their recovery.
Here’s how we do it:
- First, we help our client write down a statement of everything that happened before, during and after the accident.
- Then, we advise our client on how to give a statement for the company’s accident report and the company’s insurance agency.
- Next, we conduct our own investigation of the accident. We take witness statements from anyone who was present at or around the accident, and collect photo and video evidence of the accident scene. We may even hire a professional to provide an opinion on the cause of the accident or the safety of the workplace.
- We also collect documentation and testimony showing the extent of our client’s injuries, and the financial and emotional damages their injuries are causing them.
- Finally, we present all this evidence to the at-fault party and negotiate a sufficient settlement to cover our client’s damages.
- If the at-fault party refuses to provide an adequate settlement, we’ll present all of this evidence to a jury, and insist that our client be compensated to the full extent that they deserve.
Hire a New Mexico oilfield accident lawyer today
At Stewart + Harmonson, we understand how stressful recovering from a serious workplace accident can be. You can rest assured that we will get to the bottom of who was at fault for your accident, and work night and day to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation and talk about your case.
