“I am glad and so very pleased...she made happen what no other attorney could do. So far she has proven her weight in gold.”
Jamal Sharples
Palmdale
✦ Board-Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law — State Bar of California ✦
Your workplace should be safe. When it’s not, we hold employers and insurers accountable.
By Eman Yazdchi, Esq. · Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law
Taft is a working town. The Midway-Sunset Oil Field that surrounds it has shaped every aspect of this community — its economy, its population, and unfortunately, the injuries its residents sustain on the job. When your workplace is a drilling rig, a refinery, a pumping station, or a pipeline corridor, the risk of serious injury is part of the daily reality.
A workplace injury lawyer helps you navigate the California workers' compensation system after you have been hurt on the job. Attorney Eman Yazdchi of Yazdchi Law P.C. is a Board-Certified Specialist in Workers' Compensation Law, and he represents injured workers across Kern County, including Taft and the surrounding oil field communities.
Oil field workplace injuries differ from injuries in office settings, retail, or even general construction. The forces involved are greater, the chemicals are more dangerous, and the medical issues that result are often complex and long-term.
Consider the typical workplace injury case in Taft. The injured worker may have been employed by a drilling contractor, working on a well pad owned by a major oil producer, using equipment supplied by a third vendor. Three different companies, three different insurance policies, and a tangle of legal questions about who is responsible for what.
California Labor Code §3600 establishes that workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer for workplace injuries — but it does not prevent claims against third parties whose negligence contributed to the injury. Identifying and pursuing these third-party claims is one of the most important things a workplace injury lawyer can do for Taft oil field workers.
Cal/OSHA regulations impose specific safety requirements on oil and gas operations, including well control procedures, hazard communication for toxic substances, confined space entry protocols, and lockout/tagout procedures for equipment servicing. When employers cut corners on safety and workers get hurt, those violations become powerful evidence in your workers' comp case — and may support additional claims.
A workplace injury lawyer can request Cal/OSHA investigation records, employer safety logs, and incident reports that strengthen your claim.
Confined space asphyxiation near-miss. A tank cleaner enters a storage vessel at a Taft facility without proper atmospheric testing. He collapses from oxygen deficiency and is pulled out by coworkers. He survives but suffers anoxic brain injury. The employer failed to follow confined space entry procedures required by Cal/OSHA — a violation that bolsters both the workers' comp claim and potential third-party liability.
Repetitive strain from pump operation. A pumper who has serviced wells across the Midway-Sunset field for 15 years develops severe bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and degenerative disc disease in his lumbar spine. His claim is a cumulative trauma injury under LC §3208.1, covering the entire period of injurious exposure. Determining the responsible employers across 15 years of employment requires careful investigation.
Chemical splash eye injury. A worker at an oil field service company in Taft is splashed with a corrosive chemical while mixing drilling fluids. He suffers permanent vision loss in one eye. His employer initially claims the worker was not wearing required PPE — a common defense. A workplace injury lawyer investigates whether the employer actually provided PPE and enforced its use.
Fall from a storage tank. A maintenance worker falls 25 feet from a catwalk on an oil storage tank west of Taft. He fractures his pelvis and both wrists. The tank was owned by one company, the catwalk was installed by another, and the worker was employed by a third. Sorting out workers' comp and third-party claims in this scenario requires legal experience specific to multi-employer oil field sites.
California law provides substantial protections for injured workers:
Yazdchi Law P.C. handles workplace injury cases at the Bakersfield WCAB for Taft and all of Kern County. Attorney Eman Yazdchi's board certification means he has demonstrated the highest level of professional competence in workers' compensation law as verified by the California State Bar.
For Taft workers, we offer:
Injured at work in Taft? Call (661) 273-1780
Tap to call →Workplace injuries in Taft's oil fields can be life-altering. Do not try to handle the insurance company alone, and do not accept a quick settlement without understanding the full value of your case. Contact Yazdchi Law P.C. for a free consultation with board-certified specialist Eman Yazdchi. Every day you wait is a day the insurance company uses to build its defense. Call now.
Ready to discuss your case? Schedule a free consultation.
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