Drilling Injury

Thousands of new natural gas wells are being installed all across northeastern and western Pennsylvania and in other parts of the country as well.. The "Marcellus Shale," a deposit of natural gas stretching from New York down through Pennsylvania and into Maryland and West Virginia. It is believed that the extent of natural gas to be found in these limestone and shale formations could provide decades of relatively clean energy. The potential value of these natural gas deposits, according to industry and government estimates, runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Although the intense drilling "gold rush" brings the promise of jobs and tax revenues and abundant sources of energy, there are consequences and costs. Layser & Freiwald attorneys are experienced in handling the kinds of claims that arise in connection with these drilling operations, including auto and trucking accidents, industrial accidents, and toxic exposure claims involving human health and property damage.

A number of areas of particular concern, involving the boom in natural gas drilling, include the following:

 –       Motor vehicle and trucking accidents are on the rise in Pennsylvania and elsewhere where drilling companies are hurriedly placing new wells

–        There are serious environmental harms potentially associated with "hydrofracking" or "fracking," the process of bombarding the shale rock with large volumes of water and chemicals to "fracture" the deep-down rock to release the gas. These harms include:

• exposure to toxic chemicals in the fracking water or to the contaminated water that results from drilling operations
• property damage and health impact from contaminated drinking water or fracking spills
• downstream contamination from disposal of millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater, often containing radioactive materials that are released along with the natural gas

–         Worksite accidents involving explosions, industrial incidents and toxic exposures.