How Our Beaumont Maritime Lawyers Can Help
Maritime companies have access to more safety technology than in any period in history, but offshore workers still die at rates far exceeding mainland jobs. Why? In part because the work is more high-risk and demanding, but in truth, it's because companies refuse to pay to make employees safer. Companies realized it's "cheaper" to risk getting fined or cited by regulators than spend money on better safety compliance or fix outdated equipment.
Our Beaumont offshore accident lawyers have realized that the best way to make companies comply with safety is to hold them accountable whenever someone gets hurt. When injured workers take their employers or vessel owners to task for poor safety practices, it accomplishes two things: 1) it increases the penalty for unsafe policies by putting a verdict or a settlement on top of the fines, and 2) it ensures that the injured worker gets everything they need to provide for their families and recover from their injuries. Our Beaumont maritime death lawyers have also helped grieving families recover the compensation they need to move forward.
Beaumont Oil Rig Accident Attorneys
The drilling industry is seven times deadlier than the average U.S. industry. Offshore drilling is no exception. Arnold & Itkin has represented hundreds of oil rig workers injured in explosions, crushed by falling pipes, or families who lost loved ones in fatal accidents. In 2010, a third of the Deepwater Horizon crew knew they needed help to force their employer to give them real medical care—not just a cursory look-over from the company's doctor. They turned to our Beaumont maritime lawyers, and we didn't let them down. Through a series of sizable settlements, we made sure our clients got the medical care they needed while providing for their basic living needs.
Jones Act Claims in Beaumont
For centuries, offshore workers' rights were limited to maintenance and cure—an old legal principle that made shipowners and captains liable for the medical care and living expenses for any worker injured while aboard the ship. The United States recognized that workers needed more than medieval laws to protect them. That's why they created the 4 laws below, which now form the foundation of a maritime worker's rights after an accident.
Of these laws, the Jones Act is the most potent and vital for those injured offshore. The Jones Act gives seamen who have been injured by the negligence of their crew or captain the right to claim damages for lost wages, diminished future earnings, pain and suffering, living expenses, and medical care. We have filed hundreds of Jones Act claims in order to rebuild our clients' lives and get them back on their feet.
The Jones Act can help with damages such as:
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Physical pain, suffering, and disfigurement
- Medical care
- Mental anguish
- Cost of living during recovery
Some injuries are so serious that they last for the rest of a person's life. When injuries have a negative impact on a person's future, they're known as "catastrophic injuries." The Jones Act is useful for survivors with serious injuries because it can help them secure compensation for the complete costs of their accident—including the costs future care and pain and suffering.
Catastrophic injuries that the Jones Act can assist with include:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Spinal cord injuries/paralysis
- Amputation
- Burns
Maritime Worker’s Rights with the Jones Act
Maritime workers injured while aboard a vessel can seek compensation under the Jones Act. If your vessel was unseaworthy, unsafe, or your operator was negligent, you have the right to recover your present and ongoing losses. Families also have the right to bring forward a wrongful death action under the Jones Act if their loved one died at sea. Learn more about your rights by contacting Arnold & Itkin today.
Your rights as a seaman under the Jones Act include:
- The right to a safe work environment.
- The right to make a claim if injured by negligence.
- The right to maintenance and cure.
- The right to additional compensation if the vessel or crew is unseaworthy.
- The right to punitive damages if an employer refused payment of maintenance and cure
Claims Under the Jones Act
The Jones Act allows maritime workers to seek compensation for injuries caused by negligence from employers or vessel operators. Offshore workers can claim unseaworthiness if a vessel is not reasonably safe for the type of work required of the crew. If you believe an unseaworthy ship was the cause of your offshore accident, contact an attorney to know how to proceed. Arnold & Itkin attorneys can help you by filing a claim for the maximum amount of compensation possible.
Below are some of the factors that can contribute to a ship’s seaworthy condition, including:
- Improperly stowed cargo
- Not enough crewmembers/workers
- Lack of appropriate safety guards or rails
- Lack of fire extinguishers
- Lack of proper elevators
- Lack of sufficient food or supplies
- Untrained crew or captain
- Hazardous living or working conditions
LHWCA Lawyers Helping Workers in Beaumont & Beyond
The Longshore and Harbor Worker's Act (LHWCA) is a law that's meant to protect certain maritime workers from negligence much like the Jones Act does. The LHWCA can be used by workers injured on navigable waters within the United States as well as workers who support those efforts off the water such as shipbuilders.
Benefits of the LHWCA for Beaumont workers include:
- Past, current, and future medical expenses
- Compensation for rehabilitation and/or physical therapy, including vocational rehabilitation
- Payments for disease contraction caused by shipping, such as exposure to harmful chemicals
- Benefits distributed to the families of workers who were killed on the job, as per a wrongful death claim
- 2/3 of your normal weekly pay for the duration of your recovery time
If you've been injured while working as a harbor worker, shipbuilder, longshoreman, or any other type of maritime worker, call us today. Our Beaumont LHWCA lawyers can help you decide what options are best for your recovery.
Our Beaumont Boat Accident Lawyers Fight for Results
Sometimes, vessel crashes don't involve work. Instead, they involve recreational boats. While most Texas boaters are safe, the state has relaxed rules for how much experience it takes to operate a boat. In fact, individuals who rent boats in Texas can operate a vessel without training or certification! If you've been injured in a vessel collision or any other type of accident on the water, our Beaumont boat accident lawyers are ready to help you. Whether you've sustained injuries because of a reckless operator or are suffering because of an unsafe company, our team will fight to hold the people who should have prevented your accident accountable.
Get Help from a Beaumont Maritime Law Firm You Can Trust
Our Beaumont Jones Act attorneys have helped the survivors of offshore disasters as well as grieving families left behind by the death of a loved one at sea. Our firm represented more victims of the Deepwater Horizon explosion than any other law firm, helped the widows of the El Faro sinking get justice for their husbands' deaths, and secured the future for countless victims of negligence.
If you've been injured, the only way to know if you can regain financial stability is to call us for a free consultation. Here's how it works: you call (888) 493-1629 or contact us, and we'll schedule a time for you to meet with one of our Beaumont maritime lawyers for a free look at your situation. If we can help you hold your wrongdoer accountable, we'll cover the costs of the case from start to finish. Everything—from our fee to hiring an investigator to paying for some of your living expenses—will be advanced to the verdict or settlement. Our firm assumes the risk, so if your case doesn't result in an award, we'll still absorb the costs—no bill, no invoice, not a penny from you.
Every case begins here. Dial (888) 493-1629 or fill out our online form to start the process. We're here to help.
