Posts Tagged ‘gas drilling injury’

By Jennifer Micale

Elmira Gazette

March 12, 2010

A 31-year-old worker died Thursday after he fell 20 feet off a natural gas rig in Towanda Township, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

At around 5:30 p.m., Greg Allen Henry, of Athens, Tennessee, was working on a Nomac Drilling site off Plank Road, two miles from Towanda, Pa.

He was attempting to dislodge a handrail while the drilling unit was being moved to another hole on the drilling pad, police said. The handrail gave way and Henry fell 20 feet, suffering a severe head injury. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Bradford County Coroner Thomas Carman. An autopsy will be conducted at a later date, police said.

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A panel offers an update on legislation, which turns out to center on money.

By Rory Sweeney rsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

BENTON – With interest increasing in drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, there’s a whole swirl of legislation related to it being considered in Harrisburg, but much of it comes down to money.

“A lot of what goes on in Harrisburg is who’s gonna pay to make the pie and who’s going to get a piece,” said state Rep. Garth Everett, R-Lycoming. “The fight is how we’re going to divide up the pie. … We want to see the Commonwealth get its fair share, but we also don’t want to … go New York on them and drive them away.”

Everett was among two other representatives – Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, and David Millard, R-Columbia – who spoke on Thursday evening at a meeting of the Columbia County Landowners Coalition.

A state Department of Environmental Protection official and a Penn State University educator were also on the panel.

Everett described the intention and status of nearly 20 bills throughout the legislature, noting that they fit into four categories: taxation and where the money goes, water protection, access to information and surface-owner rights.

While some likely won’t ever see a vote, Everett said a few will probably pass this session, including a bill that would require companies to release well production information within six months instead of the current five years.

He said a tax on the gas extraction also seems likely “at some point.”

For the most part, the industry received a pass at the meeting, with most comments favorable. One woman suggested companies might underreport the amount of gas they take out and questioned what’s being done to help landowners keep them honest.

Dave Messersmith of Penn State suggested that an addendum to each lease should be the opportunity for an annual audit of the company’s logs.

Robert Yowell, the director of the DEP’s north-central regional office, said the rush to drill in the shale happened so quickly that DEP is still trying to catch up with regulations. Likewise, he said, companies are still becoming acquainted with differences here from where they’re used to drilling.

“When they first came to town, I don’t think they realized how widely our streams fluctuated,” he said.

He added some public perceptions need to be changed – such as the belief that people aren’t naturally exposed to radiation all the time – and that he felt confident that “this can be done safely.”

In response to contamination issues in Dimock Township in Susquehanna County, DEP is upgrading and standardizing its requirements for well casings, Everett said. He added that it’s being suggested the contamination in might have been caused by “odd geology.”

“Every time humans do anything, there’s an impact on the land,” he said. “We just need to balance this right so that we end up with something we’re happy with when we’re done.”

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

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In Pennsylvania, the Department of Labor and Industry monitors and administers the codes and regulations which affect the safety of our workforce. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (“the BWC”) administers laws which assure that workers are insured against job-related injury, illness, or death. The Health and Safety Division of the BWC is responsible for enforcement of the health and safety regulations of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
The Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety is responsible for the administration and enforcement of various provisions and regulations including the Uniform Construction Code, the Fire and Panic Law, the Universal Accessibility Law, the General Safety Law, the Boiler Law, and the Elevator Law. Also included in the purview of the Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety is the enforcement of the provisions of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Law and the Flammable & Combustible Liquids Law.

With the burgeoning growth of the natural drilling industry in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale field, it’s important that the workers in this industry can be assured of a safe work environment. It’s also important that these workers are aware of the rights and remedies available to them in the event that they suffer a work injury. The team of lawyers at Dougherty, Leventhal & Price are ready to answer your questions on workplace safety and the workers’ compensation system. If you do suffer a work injury, contact us and we will be happy to represent you and guide you through the litigation of your workers’ compensation claim.

In an effort to better serve workers and individuals injured as a result of gas drilling and related activities, DLP is pleased to announce that personal injury Attorneys Tom Cummings and Joseph Price will attend a seminar on gas drilling litigation and related issues to be conducted at the University of Texas. Attorney Cummings handles major workers compensation cases throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania and is skilled at advising out of state residents on their rights if injured while working in Pennsylvania. Attorney Price handles major personal injury litigation and has tried cases against large corporate defendants.
It is believed that Attorney Cummings and Attorney Price are the first lawyers form Northeastern Pennsylvania to receive specialized traning in the handling of drilling accidents. Both Attorney Cummings and Attorney Price have been named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers by Philadelphia Magazine.

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.

In Pennsylvania, the Department of Labor and Industry monitors and administers the codes and regulations which affect the safety of our workforce. The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (”the BWC”) administers laws which assure that workers are insured against job-related injury, illness, or death. The Health and Safety Division of the BWC is responsible for enforcement of the health and safety regulations of the Workers’ Compensation Act.
The Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety is responsible for the administration and enforcement of various provisions and regulations including the Uniform Construction Code, the Fire and Panic Law, the Universal Accessibility Law, the General Safety Law, the Boiler Law, and the Elevator Law. Also included in the purview of the Bureau of Occupational and Industrial Safety is the enforcement of the provisions of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Law and the Flammable & Combustible Liquids Law.

With the burgeoning growth of the natural drilling industry in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale field, it’s important that the workers in this industry can be assured of a safe work environment. It’s also important that these workers are aware of the rights and remedies available to them in the event that they suffer a work injury. The team of lawyers at Dougherty, Leventhal & Price are ready to answer your questions on workplace safety and the workers’ compensation system. If you do suffer a work injury, contact us and we will be happy to represent you and guide you through the litigation of your workers’ compensation claim.