America’s oil fields, including those of the Bakken Shale region of Montana and North Dakota, are helping the United States become more energy independent. They are also providing a good living for a lot of people. But the work can be dangerous, and sometimes deadly. The hazards were tragically brought to light once again recently in Texas, where a 43-year-old…Read More
The Bakken oil fields in eastern Montana and western North Dakota have meant a lot of high-paying jobs. But the work is dangerous, and oil field workers risk injury and death every day they are on the job. Recently a Montana man who suffered severe burns in an oil field accident recovered a multi-million dollar settlement for his injuries. The…Read More
Working in a factory can be a dangerous way to make a living. The proximity of workers to heavy machinery can lead to injuries and even death. Recently a 28-year-old woman was killed in an on-the-job accident at a sugar processing factory in Lovell, Wyoming. According to a news report, the woman died after falling into some industrial equipment at…Read More
The Bakken oil fields in Montana and North Dakota have provided substantial returns for oil companies. Unfortunately, sometimes safety takes a back seat to profits. In November of 2010 a Montana man, now 30 years old, suffered devastating injuries in a fire at a drilling rig. Recently, the man recovered a settlement worth at least $10 million. The man was…Read More
A semi truck driver suffered injuries in a crash allegedly caused by a drunken driver on Highway 314 recently. According to the Montana Highway Patrol, an automobile tried to pass the semi, which was pulling two trailers full of coal, on a curve. The car ran into a guardrail. The semi then either hit the car or crashed trying to…Read More
Those who work with heavy machinery in Montana know that there are risks involved. Tragically, those risks were fatal for a Butte man who died when an aerial lift overturned in that city recently. The 46-year-old man was an employee of a Butte rental company that owned the lift. He and another man were in the bucket of the lift…Read More
In Montana and other states that sit atop the Bakken oil fields, workplace injuries have been an unwanted byproduct of the oil boom. Worker inexperience is part of the problem. Statistics show that in the oil and gas industry, the greatest number of injury claims are filed by workers who have been on the job for less than a year.…Read More
The oil industry provides a lot of jobs in Montana. The industry is booming, which means steady paychecks for a lot of Montana workers, and steady profits for employers. Unfortunately, some employers attach more importance to profits than to the safety of their workers. Recently, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a Montana refinery for 3 violations: one…Read More
Recent estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey indicate that the Bakken Shale – the oil-rich geological formation that underlies much of North Dakota and reaches into Montana – contains far more oil than previously thought. The USGS now believes the Bakken contains twice as much oil, and three times as much natural gas, as their previous estimates. This means the…Read More
The oil fields of Montana’s Bakken Shale have led to many new jobs for the region. But critics of the oil and gas industry say that a culture of maximizing production and minimizing costs has led to unnecessary oil field accidents. The recent death of a 23-year-old roughneck from a crush injury illustrates the problem. The young man had gone…Read More