Oil workers regularly suffer serious and sometimes even fatal injuries in the process of oil and gas extraction. Three frequent causes of injury in the oil and gas extraction industry include transportation incidents, contact with equipment, and explosions and fires. Texas, the largest producer of crude oil in the United States, is frequently the site of such injuries.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 2003 and 2009, the oil and gas extraction industry had a yearly fatality rate of 27.5 per 100,000 workers, which was seven times higher than the fatality rate for the average worker. For example, in 2008, 41% of fatalities in the oil and gas extraction industry resulted from transportation incidents, with most of the incidents involving highway accidents. 15% of incidents resulting in fatalities in 2008 involved fires and explosions. 25% of incidents involved contact with equipment such as a worker being struck by a heavy object. Contact with equipment accounted for the majority of fatalities resulting in the course of drilling oil and gas wells. Oil workers regularly suffer catastrophic non-fatal injuries as well.
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