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Offshore Oil Work Increasing - Oil Rig Lawyer Cites Risk As the U.S.

oil and gas workers in the Gulf of Mexico prepare to suit up to meet the U.S. energy demands of the future, Jim Adler, a Jones Act expert and offsho re accident attorney, worries that offshore workers dont have enough information regarding a federal law meant to protect them. Houston, Texas - October 28th, 2011 - Drilling for oil is on the verge of a boom in the Gulf of Mexico. Scores of workers will soon be heading to offshore oil o r gas drilling rigs or platforms as the U.S. rushes to meet growing demand and r educe, if not end, its dependence on foreign oil. Jim Adler, a Jones Act expert and offshore accident attorney, worries that "offs hore workers dont have enough information about a federal law meant to protect th em." The Jones Act, originally passed in 1920 to protect maritime workers, was extend ed to protect offshore oil workers. that aspect of the law has not received much publicity. Adler fears that "the rush to drill offshore will leave scores of wo rkers families with no clear picture of what to do after a loved one is injured o r killed offshore." He also adds, "a floating oil rig or platform is an unforgiving environment." Th is September, 10 offshore workers doing a seismic study had to abandon a disable d liftboat or jack-up rig in the Gulf during a near-hurricane strength tropical storm. Only six survived. Drilling in the Gulf has its own set of dangers too. Among them are heavy machin ery that is constantly moving, extreme noise levels and lengthy shifts with hard physical labor that involves constant attention to detail. The lack of attention to detail could have caused the massive BP Deepwater Horiz on explosion that killed 11 offshore oil workers in April 2010. This year, the federal government began a criminal investigation into allegations that BP faile d to properly contact federal regulators about deviations in drilling margins, a c ondition that could have led to the disaster. Nevertheless, BP is now asking the federal government for permission to drill in the Gulf again, using what it calls enhanced safety standards to reduce the risk of offshore accident injury. The request has its skeptics, including an oil rig lawyer like Adler. Meanwhile, Shell Oil Company is reactivating five wells in the Gulf of Mexico an d plans another. ExxonMobil recently announced that it had made the biggest disc overy of oil reserves there in more than 10 years. And next spring, the federal government will open up bidding for oil leases in the Gulf again. Alder further adds, "more offshore drilling will mean more offshore accidents. A ll the more reason that workers and their families need to be aware of the Jones Act. In the hands of an experienced Jones Act claims attorney, this tough legal remedy readily paves the way for workers and their families to recover monetary damages for the danger they face offshore." About Jim S. Adler & Associates Jim S. Adler & Associates is Texas leading personal injury law firm, with offices in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Channelview. Founded by Jim The Texas Hammer Adler, the law firm handles a wide variety of injury cases, from traffic acciden ts to defective drugs to Jones Act maritime injuries. The Adler law firm has bee n helping injured Texans for more than 30 years and has a staff of more than 160 persons, including 15 attorneys. Its main website is http://www.JimAdler.com.

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