Can I Sue the Manufacturer of Defective Rig Equipment?
Yes. If a BOP, valve, line, tong, cable or other equipment failed because of a design defect, a manufacturing flaw or missing warnings, you can bring a product liability claim against the company that made it under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 82. You don't always have to prove anyone was careless, and comp doesn't block the claim.
When equipment fails, the crew usually gets blamed first. "He didn't make it up right." "He was standing in the wrong spot." Sometimes the real problem was built into the equipment before it ever reached location. That's a claim against the company that made it, and it's one of the most overlooked claims in the oilfield.
What Makes Equipment Defective
Dangerous by design
Every unit has the flaw. You have to show a safer alternative design existed that would have prevented the injury without making the product useless, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 82.005.
Built wrong
The design was fine, but this unit came off the line different: a bad weld, wrong material, a flawed casting or a missing part.
Missing or inadequate warnings
The product had a danger the user wouldn't know about, and the maker didn't warn or give proper instructions.
Prove the product was defective and the defect caused your injury, and you can recover without showing the manufacturer was negligent. That's what makes product cases different from most other claims.
Equipment That Fails Most Often
Pressure control. Blowout preventers, valves, chokes and relief valves that don't seal or release when they should.
High pressure iron. Treating iron, swivels, hoses and hammer unions that burst or separate under pressure.
Lifting gear. Wire rope, slings, elevators, catlines and crane components that snap or slip.
Floor tools. Tongs, slips, spinners and pipe handling equipment that swing, kick or release without warning.
The hammer union problem
Here's a known oilfield hazard that shows how design and warnings come into play. Two common two inch hammer unions, the Figure 602 rated for 6,000 psi and the Figure 1502 rated for 15,000 psi, can be made up together by mistake. They look connected, but a mismatched union can fail at a fraction of either rating, launching the wing nut and releasing high pressure fluid. Industry safety alerts on mismatches go back to the late 1990s. When a manufacturer knows about a hazard like that, how it designs, marks and warns about the product matters.
Who Can Be Held Responsible
Equipment passes through a lot of hands before it reaches the rig floor. Possible defendants include:
When a seller or rental company is liable
Texas protects sellers that just pass a product along. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 82.003, a company that didn't make the product is liable only if it helped design it, altered or installed it, controlled the warnings, misrepresented it, knew about the defect, or the manufacturer is insolvent or beyond the court's reach. Rental yards that rebuild, repair or recertify equipment often fall into those exceptions.
How Manufacturers Fight Back
Some of these are real defenses. Texas bars most product claims filed more than 15 years after the product was sold, with limited exceptions. Fault can also be split with the operator, the contractor or the worker. See what happens if you were partly at fault. Answering these arguments takes the equipment itself, its records and independent engineers.
Save the Equipment. Save the Case.
A product case lives or dies on the failed part. If it gets repaired, scrapped, sent back to the manufacturer or "lost," the case can go with it. Texas courts can punish a company that destroys evidence it should have kept, but that's a poor substitute for having the part.
Maintenance logs, inspection and recertification records, rental agreements, prior failure reports and recalls round out the evidence. See what to do in the first 24 hours.
Product Claims and Your Comp Benefits
A product claim is a third party claim. You keep your comp benefits, and the carrier gets repaid from part of any recovery. Product claims often bring in large corporate insurance policies that change what a case is worth. See third party claims and comp liens and what your case is worth.
The Rules That Shape These Cases
To File Suit
Most product injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the injury.
Statute of Repose
Most product claims are barred more than 15 years after the product was sold, with limited exceptions.
Alternative Design
A design defect claim requires showing a safer design was available and practical.
More on Defective Equipment
Can I sue an equipment manufacturer if I'm on workers' comp?
Yes. Comp only protects your employer. You can bring a product liability claim against the company that designed, made or sold the defective equipment while you keep receiving comp benefits.
Do I have to prove the manufacturer was careless?
Not always. In a Texas product liability case, you can recover by proving the product was defective and the defect caused your injury. For a design defect, you also have to show a safer alternative design was available under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 82.005.
Can I sue the company that rented or sold the equipment?
Sometimes. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 82.003, a seller that didn't make the product is liable only in certain situations, like when it modified or installed the product, knew about the defect or the manufacturer can't be reached by the court.
Is there a time limit on defective equipment claims in Texas?
Two years from the injury to file suit in most cases, and a product liability claim generally can't be brought more than 15 years after the product was sold, with limited exceptions under Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.012.
Ready to talk about what failed? See our oilfield equipment failure lawyer page, or see all of our oilfield injury questions.
Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 82 · Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 16 · Oil and Gas Journal, Hammer Union Mismatches
This page is general information about Texas law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney client relationship.
The Equipment Failed.
Not You.
Product cases are won with the failed part and the engineering behind it. Talk to a Board Certified oilfield injury lawyer before that equipment disappears.