Should I Talk to the Adjuster After a Rig Accident?
Keep it short. Your own comp carrier needs the basic facts of the injury, but you don't owe anything to the operator's, a contractor's or a trucking company's insurer, and you never have to give them a recorded statement. Whoever calls, don't guess about fault, don't downplay your injuries and don't sign anything until a lawyer has read it.
The call usually comes within a day or two, sometimes while you're still in the hospital. The adjuster is friendly, says they just need your side of the story and wants to get you taken care of. Here's what's really going on, and how to handle it.
Not Every Adjuster Is the Same
After an oilfield accident, you may hear from three different kinds of adjusters. What you owe each one is different.
Your Comp Carrier
Insures your employer. You need to report the injury and give basic facts to get benefits.
Another Company's Insurer
Insures the operator, a contractor or a trucking company. You owe them no statement at all.
A Nonsubscriber Plan
Your employer's private injury plan. It may tie benefits to a statement or a signature.
What the Adjuster Is Really Doing
Adjusters work for insurance companies. They're paid to close claims for as little as the facts allow. That doesn't make them bad people, but it does mean every question has a purpose. In an oilfield case, they're usually trying to lock down four things early:
Fault. Getting you to say you skipped a step, missed a JSA or "should have seen it coming."
Injury. Getting you to say you're "doing okay" or "a little sore" before the full diagnosis is in.
History. Finding a prior injury or old back problem to blame instead of the accident.
Access. Getting a signed authorization to pull your entire medical history.
Why a Recorded Statement Hurts You
A recorded statement is evidence. You give it while you're hurting, on pain medication and short on sleep, often before you even know what happened. Months later, it gets played back in a deposition or in front of a jury.
Small words do damage. "I'm fine" becomes proof you weren't hurt. "I think I might have" becomes an admission. A guess about which valve was open becomes a fact you have to explain away. Once it's recorded, you can't take it back.
You have no legal duty to give a recorded statement to another company's insurer. Just say no, politely, and tell them your lawyer will be in touch.
What to Say and What to Skip
Okay to share
Skip it
If you've already given a statement, don't panic. Write down everything you remember saying and tell your lawyer. It can usually be worked around.
Dealing With Your Own Comp Carrier
If your employer has comp, the carrier is entitled to know about the injury, and you need to cooperate to get benefits. That means reporting the injury, going to medical appointments and answering reasonable questions about how it happened. Once the carrier gets written notice, it generally has 15 days to start paying or deny, and 60 days to dispute that the injury is covered.
Cooperating doesn't mean giving up your rights. You can keep answers to the facts, ask that questions come in writing and have a lawyer with you. The carrier can also send you to its own doctor for an exam. Treat that exam like a conversation with the adjuster, because the report goes straight to them.
If you have comp questions and no lawyer yet, the state's Office of Injured Employee Counsel offers free ombudsman help with comp disputes. It can't help with claims against other companies.
The Early Offer Is a Test
Some insurers move fast with a check, especially when their own insured looks bad. The offer usually comes before you know if you'll need another surgery or will ever work a rig again. Cashing it means signing a release, and a release ends the claim against that company forever.
A quick offer is often a sign the insurer already thinks the claim is worth more. See what your oilfield case is worth before you answer it.
Once You Have a Lawyer, Calls Stop
After you hire a lawyer, adjusters for the other companies have to go through your lawyer instead of calling you. That alone takes a lot of pressure off while you heal. It also means every statement, every record and every offer gets reviewed before it can hurt you. See how to pick an oilfield injury lawyer.
The Clock Runs on Them Too
Texas law puts deadlines on comp carriers once they get written notice of your injury.
Pay or Deny
The carrier generally has 15 days after written notice to start paying benefits or deny the claim.
Dispute Coverage
If the carrier doesn't contest that the injury is covered within 60 days, it usually loses that right.
State Help
The Office of Injured Employee Counsel offers free ombudsman help with comp disputes.
More on Talking to Adjusters
Do I have to give a recorded statement after an oilfield accident?
Not to another company's insurer. You have no legal duty to give a recorded statement to the operator's, a contractor's or a trucking company's adjuster. Your own comp carrier can ask you about the injury, but you can have a lawyer with you when you answer.
What should I say when the adjuster calls?
Give your name, your employer, the date and place of the accident, and that you're getting medical treatment. Don't guess about fault, describe your injuries as minor, or agree to be recorded. Tell them your lawyer will be in touch.
Is the adjuster on my side?
No. Every adjuster works for an insurance company, and their job is to resolve the claim for as little as the facts allow. That's true even when they're friendly and even when the policy belongs to your own employer.
Should I take the first settlement offer?
Usually not. Early offers often come before anyone knows if you'll need more surgery or can go back to work. A signed release ends your claim for good, so don't sign until the full cost of the injury is known.
See all of our oilfield injury questions, or read about workers compensation versus a lawsuit in Texas.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 409 · Texas Labor Code Chapter 408 · Texas Office of Injured Employee Counsel
This page is general information about Texas law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship.
They Have a Script.
Now You Have a Lawyer.
Insurance companies start working your claim the day of the accident. Talk to a Board Certified oilfield injury lawyer before you give a statement, sign a form or cash a check.