Posts Tagged ‘drill’

Taxing and collection of taxes on drill rig gas production continues to be a hot topic in Pennsylvania.  Gov. Tom Corbett remains 100% against any type of gas production tax.  However, many local politicians are pushing for some type of tax or severance fee to protect local communities such as Susquehanna, Bradford, Tioga, Potter, Lycoming, Wyoming, Sullivan, Luzerne and other counties in Northeast and Northcentral Pennsylvania affected by the drill rig industry.  DLP continues to monitor this issue for it’s clients as it represents individuals injured in drill rig, truck and other serious accidents related to the gas industry.

Dougherty Leventhal and Price LLP, DLP, has recently been contacted to handle drill rig accident injuries suffered in West Virginia, Louisiana and Texas.  DLP is working with local law firms to represent the workers seriously injured in these accidents.  The twelve lawyers at DLP are available to assist you in your case if you suffer injury in the drilling fields of Pennsylvania including Potter, Tioga, Bradford, Lycoming, Susquehanna or any county throughout Pennsylvania.  DLP has represented residents of Wellsboro, Mansfield, Coudersport, Montrose, Towanda and many other towns.  Please contact DLP if you suffer injury in a drill rig accident.

Paul had worked for a Texas-based natural gas drilling company out of Texas for a number of years. The company started to develop drilling sites in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and Paul was put up at a hotel close to the drilling site. Paul had never had an accident in the ten previous years he had worked, despite doing very physical types of activities while working with the various drills on the sites.

Paul’s good fortune ran out though, and he jammed his hand on one of the drill bits, seriously injuring the hand. Paul’s employer was insistent that since Paul was employed out of Texas and the employer was based out of Texas, that he would have to file his comp claim under Texas law.

Issue: Is Paul’s employer correct?

Answer: No. In Pennsylvania, regardless of where an employer is principally located and/or where a contract for hire was entered into, if an injury occurs in Pennsylvania, then Pennsylvania has jurisdiction and Paul will be entitled to benefits under Pennsylvania law. Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation benefits are, for the most part, far more generous, and the injured worker is provided far more protection than in other states, especially states in the South and Midwest.