Burn Victim Sues Trucking Co. For Injuries

Foster Trucking employee, Derrek Majors, has filed a personal injury lawsuit due to burn injuries he sustained when another employee allegedly caused an explosion by driving a truck through the oil site he was working on, as reported by the Greeley Tribune.

The event occurred at the Eastern Colorado Well Service, at 83^rd Avenue and F Street, in west Greeley on January 14, 2009.  Majors had been employed as a rig hand alongside co-worker Ismael Estrada.

The two suffered both second and third-degree burns to their faces in the explosion.

The owner and CEO of Foster Trucking, Don Foster, claims that Majors' lawsuit is all about blaming someone else for his own actions.  He said, "They're barking up the wrong tree because they started the fire themselves.  I do feel bad for the guys, but when they try to grasp at straws and blame everybody else, I don't feel we were in the wrong. If I did, I'd have nothing to say."

Both Majors and his attorney, David Furtado, didn't respond to a query for comment on the lawsuit.

The driver responsible for the crash - unidentified in the lawsuit - didn't check in at the site, and failed to comply with "numerous directions from the rig crew to immediately stop his vehicle."

The lawsuit states that the driver then left the ignition running, while at the well site, and ignited the natural gas "which was stratified by cold temperatures with his truck causing an explosion of natural gas in a mud tank."

The suit claims that the unknown driver then fled the scene - leaving Majors and Estrada to burn.

Foster contends that if one of his trucks had set off any kind of explosion that damages to the truck, and the employee, would have been just as injurious.  Foster said, "My guy was outside of his truck on the backside when that fire went up, our truck would have been burnt. The company man was closer than my driver was to it."

Foster also said that he has several witnesses that place Majors at the wellhead - behind the wheel of the truck and turning the key.  Foster said, "When Derrek Majors turned the key to the pickup, that's when fire started, that pickup shouldn't have been inside the guide wires. You never pull your pickup up to the wellhead. They were aware the gas was there and still pulled up there."

Fire officials said that the combination of drilling byproducts - crude oil, natural gas, and brine water - added to cold air contributed to the tank battery exploding.  They also reported that if they had any reason to fault an employee that would have chased him down. 

Foster concluded that "Things in the oil fields, they happen, and you just gotta deal with it.  They were in the wrong with everything they did that day. If I have to go to court, I'll point out several things they did wrong that were totally against OSHA regulations."

The Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, OSHA, fined Eastern Colorado Well Service $4,500 for safety violations in January 2010. 

Monetary compensation may be awarded to you for injuries sustained in the workplace.  Contact a personal injury attorney in our directory to discuss your case today!