After a battle between many families of deceased workers and insurance companies, at least one widow will get workers’ comp benefits after her husband died working in the oil-field in Colorado’s oil industry.

This case was one of nine that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed in their report on the dangers and potential for death for workers dealing with oil tanks. Jim Freemyer worked as a driver whose route included oil rounds. He was found dead hanging over the hatch of an oil tank.

Over the past few years there have been several deaths related to these fumes, and insurance companies have argued that the cause of death could not be traced back to work. They would not give families of the deceased workers’ comp benefits, saying that the workers probably died of natural causes. Mr. Freemyer had a history of illnesses like diabetes and heart disease and his insurance company originally denied his claim. Concerned industry professionals and safety experts say that the deaths were caused by these dense amounts of hydrocarbon chemicals coming from tanks.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, along with other groups, tested and evaluated the cases involving worker’s deaths and uncovered what they think is a serious problem with the tanks that hold all this oil. When workers open the tanks, the chemicals that are stored inside are released in a huge rushing plume. The chemicals are colorless but they can cause instant death.

Mr. Freemyer’s dependents appealed the original decision on his case. It was discovered that a monitor he wore showed low levels of oxygen coupled with high levels of dangerous chemicals. When he had become disoriented on the job a few weeks prior to his death he was given a gas mask, but the mask did not supply oxygen. A driver for his company had been found dead, hanging the same way Mr. Freemyer had just months earlier. The judge ruled in the family’s favor.

Safety experts say that the recommended protocols of “standing upwind” when opening the hatches is not enough to protect workers. The company Mr. Freemyer worked for said they are working to educate policyholders on the dangers that the fumes and the sites can create for workers.