West Virginia Oil, Gas and Pipeline Injury Lawyers
By J. Brandon Shumaker and J. Tyler Slavey · Slavey & Shumaker PLLC · Morgantown, WV · Last updated November 12, 2026
Table of Contents
- Who Gets Hurt in Oil and Gas Accidents
- Common Oil, Gas and Pipeline Accidents
- Workers: Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims
- Who May Be Responsible
- Pipeline Strikes and the One-Call Law
- Oilfield Truck Crashes
- Evidence in Oil and Gas Cases
- Compensation
- Deadlines
- Why Choose Slavey & Shumaker PLLC
- Frequently Asked Questions
Natural gas and oil development is part of daily life in much of West Virginia, from well pads and compressor stations to pipelines and the heavy trucks that serve them. The work involves high pressure, heavy equipment and flammable gas, and when something goes wrong, the injuries can include burns, crush injuries, amputations, spinal cord and brain injuries, or a death.
Slavey & Shumaker PLLC helps workers, drivers and families injured in oil and gas accidents throughout the State of West Virginia, including Monongalia, Preston, Marion and Harrison Counties. For related injuries, see our burn injury page, our spinal cord injury page and our serious injury page.
1. Who Gets Hurt in Oil and Gas Accidents
- Workers employed by drilling, completion, pipeline, trucking and service contractors on well pads and pipeline rights of way
- Drivers and passengers in crashes with water haulers, sand trucks and other oilfield vehicles
- Residents and property owners near wells, compressor stations and pipelines when a leak, fire or explosion occurs
- People injured when an excavator or other contractor strikes a gas line
2. Common Oil, Gas and Pipeline Accidents
Well site blowouts, gas releases, flash fires and pipeline ruptures. See our burn injury page.
Workers struck by pipe, equipment or vehicles, or caught in rotating and moving machinery.
Failures of valves, hoses, fittings, pressure equipment, cranes and other machinery, which can involve a defective product. See our product liability page.
Falls from rigs, platforms, tanks and trucks.
Exposure to hydrogen sulfide, chemicals and other hazardous substances.
Crashes involving oilfield trucks on rural roads, and crashes in company vehicles. See our truck accident page.
Hurt in an Oil or Gas Accident?
Let us review how the injury happened and who may be responsible, at no cost. Telephone consultations are available.
3. Workers: Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims
An employer that procures and continuously maintains workers’ compensation coverage and is in compliance with the law is generally immune from lawsuits for an employee’s injury (W. Va. Code § 23-2-6). Employer immunity does not protect other companies. When a compensable injury is caused, in whole or in part, by a third party, the injured worker may receive workers’ compensation and still make a claim against that third party (§ 23-2A-1(a)).
Oil and gas sites often have many companies working at once: the well operator, the drilling contractor, completion and service companies, trucking companies and equipment suppliers. If you worked for one of them, the others may be third parties. A third-party claim can recover damages workers’ compensation does not pay, including pain and suffering and full lost earnings. When there is a recovery, the workers’ compensation carrier or self-insured employer generally has statutory subrogation for the benefits it paid (§ 23-2A-1(b)(1)).
An employer can lose its immunity in narrow circumstances under the deliberate intent statute (W. Va. Code § 23-4-2). Slavey & Shumaker PLLC does not handle workers’ compensation or deliberate intent claims directly. We refer those claims to, and co-counsel with, other firms that handle the majority of that work. We can review whether you also have a claim against a third party, which is the part of the case we handle. See our workplace injury guide and our factory and industrial accident page.
4. Who May Be Responsible
| Possible defendant | Examples |
|---|---|
| Well and pipeline operators | Companies that own or operate the well, compressor station or pipeline, depending on the facts and their role in the work |
| Contractors on the site | Drilling, completion, pipeline construction, maintenance and service companies whose work created the danger |
| Equipment manufacturers and sellers | Makers of defective valves, hoses, pressure equipment, vehicles and other machinery |
| Trucking companies | Carriers and drivers of water, sand and equipment trucks |
| Excavators | Contractors that strike or damage a gas line while digging |
You can recover as long as your share of fault is not greater than the combined fault of everyone else responsible, and your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault (W. Va. Code § 55-7-13c(c)). West Virginia generally holds each defendant liable only for its own percentage of fault (§ 55-7-13c(a)), so identifying every responsible company early matters.
5. Pipeline Strikes and the One-Call Law
Many pipeline and gas line accidents begin with digging. West Virginia’s underground facilities damage prevention law requires a person who intends to perform excavation or demolition work to notify the one-call system at least 48 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and no more than 10 work days before the work begins (W. Va. Code § 24C-1-5(a)(1)). The excavator must also instruct equipment operators to avoid damaging underground facilities, to report any break, leak or damage immediately, and to alert the public to any emergency (§ 24C-1-5(a)(3)).
Whether an excavator followed these rules, and whether the line was properly located and marked, can be important evidence in a claim after a gas line strike or explosion. Responsibility depends on the facts of each case.
6. Oilfield Truck Crashes
Oil and gas development brings heavy truck traffic to rural roads, including water haulers, sand trucks and equipment carriers. Claims against the driver and the trucking or operating company generally follow the rules for commercial truck cases, including federal safety rules where they apply. See our truck accident page. A defendant whose impaired driving was a proximate cause of the damages is jointly and severally liable (§ 55-7-13c(h)(1)).
7. Evidence in Oil and Gas Cases
Ask in writing that the equipment, vehicles, records and video involved be kept unchanged.
Company incident reports, safety meeting records, and federal and state agency reports and inspection files.
Under federal OSHA rules, a covered employer must report a work-related fatality within 8 hours, and a work-related in-patient hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye within 24 hours (29 C.F.R. § 1904.39(a)).
Contracts between the operator and contractors can show who controlled the work and the safety of the site.
The names of coworkers and others on the site, and the companies they worked for.
8. Compensation
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Medical expenses | Emergency care, burn treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, medication and future treatment |
| Lost income | Missed wages and reduced ability to earn in the future |
| Noneconomic damages | Pain and suffering, scarring, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life |
| Property damage | Damage to homes, vehicles and other property |
When punitive damages are allowed, the plaintiff must prove the required conduct by clear and convincing evidence, and the award may not exceed the greater of four times the compensatory damages or $500,000 (W. Va. Code § 55-7-29(a), (c)). When an oil or gas accident causes a death, the family’s claim is governed by the wrongful death statute; see our wrongful death page.
9. Deadlines
| Claim | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Workers’ compensation (injury) | Within six months after the injury or death (§ 23-4-15(a)) |
| Personal injury or property damage lawsuit | Generally within two years after the right to sue accrues (§ 55-2-12(a), (b)) |
| Wrongful death | Within two years after the death (§ 55-7-6(d)) |
Other deadlines can apply depending on the claim and the defendant. See our West Virginia filing deadlines guide.
10. Why Choose Slavey & Shumaker PLLC
Our attorneys, J. Tyler Slavey, J. Brandon Shumaker, Scott B. Harris and Kasey Libby, practice from our office at 174 Chancery Row in Morgantown. In oil and gas cases, we:
- Send preservation letters for equipment, vehicles, records and video
- Identify the operator, contractors, equipment makers and other companies that may be responsible, and their insurers
- Work with qualified experts when needed
- Coordinate with the workers’ compensation claim and the subrogation lien
- Refer workers’ compensation and deliberate intent claims to, and co-counsel them with, other firms that handle the majority of that work
No lawyer can guarantee a result. You can read what past clients say in our more than 100 Google reviews.
11. Frequently Asked Questions About Oil, Gas and Pipeline Injuries
Talk With a West Virginia Oil and Gas Injury Lawyer
Slavey & Shumaker PLLC, 174 Chancery Row, Morgantown. Serving clients throughout the State of West Virginia, including Monongalia, Preston, Marion and Harrison Counties. The consultation is free, telephone consultations are available, and you pay no fee unless we recover.
This page is provided for general informational purposes about West Virginia law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.