Maritime and Offshore Injury Cases We Handle
Maritime work takes many forms, and two people working in the same industry can have completely different legal rights after an injury.
The vessel or structure involved, where the work occurred, and what the employee regularly does can affect whether a claim falls under the Jones Act, the LHWCA, OCSLA, general maritime law, or another legal framework.
The Jones Act is a federal law that gives qualifying seamen injured in the course of employment the right to bring a negligence claim against their employer.
This is fundamentally different from an ordinary workers' compensation claim.
Whether someone qualifies as a seaman is therefore an important threshold question. Working near the water or simply having a maritime job title does not automatically establish Jones Act status. The worker's connection to a vessel or identifiable fleet of vessels and the nature of the work performed must be considered.
Potential Jones Act cases can involve workers aboard:
Tugboats and towboats
Barges
Crew and supply vessels
Commercial fishing vessels
Dredges
Drillships
Certain movable offshore rigs
Other qualifying vessels
A Jones Act claim may arise from unsafe working procedures, inadequate training, insufficient staffing, defective equipment, slippery surfaces, unsafe lifting practices, failures involving vessel operations, or other employer negligence.
Because the legal rights available can depend heavily on seaman status, determining whether the injured worker qualifies under the Jones Act should happen before assuming the case is simply a workers' compensation claim.
Maintenance and Cure After a Maritime Injury
Maintenance and cure is a traditional protection available to qualifying seamen who become injured or ill while in the service of a vessel.
It is separate from a negligence claim.
Maintenance generally concerns reasonable living expenses while the seaman is recovering onshore. Cure concerns necessary medical treatment related to the injury or illness.
Unlike a Jones Act negligence claim, maintenance and cure does not ordinarily depend on first proving that the employer caused the injury through negligence.
This means an injured seaman can potentially have multiple rights arising from the same incident. A worker may have a claim for maintenance and cure while also pursuing other remedies when employer negligence or the condition of the vessel contributed to the injury.
Understanding those separate rights can be especially important when an employer or insurer treats an offshore injury as though only one type of compensation is available.
Unseaworthiness and Unsafe Vessels
A maritime injury may also involve the condition of the vessel itself.
Under general maritime law, vessel owners owe qualifying seamen a duty to provide a vessel that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose. An unseaworthiness claim is distinct from a Jones Act negligence claim.
An unsafe condition may involve:
Defective equipment
Unsafe decks or work areas
Inadequate or improper equipment
Unsafe methods of performing work
Insufficient or incompetent crew
Dangerous vessel conditions
The distinction matters because Jones Act negligence, maintenance and cure, and unseaworthiness are separate maritime concepts, even though more than one may arise from the same accident.
Determining which claims are available requires examining who employed the worker, who owned or operated the vessel, what caused the injury, and the worker's legal status.
Offshore and Oil Rig Accidents
Offshore oil and gas work presents some of the most complicated questions in injury law because the applicable rules can change depending on the structure where the accident occurred.
An injury aboard a vessel is not necessarily treated the same way as an injury on a fixed offshore platform.
Workers can be injured on or around:
Fixed production platforms
Jack-up rigs
Semi-submersible rigs
Drillships
Crew boats
Supply vessels
Liftboats
Barges
Pipelines
Other offshore facilities
Potential hazards include explosions and fires, falls from height, crane and lifting accidents, dropped objects, equipment failures, vessel collisions, transfers between vessels and platforms, chemical exposure, and failures involving heavy machinery.
For offshore workers, the classification of the structure and the worker can determine the law governing the claim.
How OCSLA Applies to Offshore Injuries
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, commonly called OCSLA, establishes a federal legal framework for operations involving natural resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.
The U.S. Department of Labor explains that OCSLA extends Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act benefits to qualifying employees working on the Outer Continental Shelf in the exploration and development of natural resources, including offshore oil drilling operations.
That distinction can be critical for someone injured on a fixed offshore platform.
A worker on a fixed platform may have a fundamentally different claim from a crew member working aboard a vessel nearby, even if both employees work in the same offshore field.
OCSLA can also incorporate the law of the adjacent state as federal law when appropriate and not inconsistent with federal law, adding another layer to determining which rules govern an offshore accident.
This is why the first question after an offshore injury should not simply be “Was I hurt at work?”
It should also include:
Where exactly were you working, what type of structure were you on, and what was your relationship to a vessel?
Dockworker, Longshore and Harbor Worker Injuries
Not every maritime worker qualifies as a Jones Act seaman.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides a federal workers' compensation system for qualifying maritime employees injured on navigable waters or certain adjoining areas.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, traditional maritime occupations covered by the Act can include longshore workers, ship repairers, shipbuilders, shipbreakers, and harbor construction workers working on navigable waters or adjoining areas such as piers, docks, terminals, and wharves used in maritime operations.
Benefits available under the LHWCA can include medical care, disability compensation, vocational rehabilitation in appropriate cases, and survivor benefits when a covered injury is fatal.
The distinction between the Jones Act and LHWCA matters because they are different legal systems.
A qualifying seaman may have a negligence action against an employer under the Jones Act. A covered longshore or harbor worker generally receives benefits through the LHWCA and may have additional claims against responsible third parties in certain circumstances.
The worker's actual duties and work location can therefore matter more than the job title printed on a paycheck.
Can an Injured Maritime Worker Sue Someone Other Than an Employer?
Potentially.
Maritime and offshore operations frequently involve multiple companies working alongside one another. The injured worker's employer may be only one of several businesses involved in the operation.
Depending on what caused the accident, responsibility may involve:
Vessel owners or operators
Contractors
Subcontractors
Equipment manufacturers
Maintenance companies
Third-party crews
Property or facility operators
Other companies whose negligence contributed to the injury
The LHWCA also expressly preserves certain claims against vessels when vessel negligence causes injury to a covered worker.
Identifying third-party responsibility can matter because a compensation claim and a negligence claim against another responsible company may provide different remedies.
Cruise Ship Accidents
Cruise ship injury claims fall under maritime law, but they are different from claims brought by people who work offshore.
Passengers can be injured because of falls, unsafe walking surfaces, inadequate maintenance, defective equipment, incidents during excursions, or other dangerous conditions aboard or connected to a cruise.
Cruise lines can also impose contractual requirements through the passenger ticket, including notice provisions, filing deadlines, and forum-selection clauses that may affect where and when a claim can be brought.
For that reason, the passenger ticket and booking documents can be important evidence after a cruise-related injury.
The fact that a cruise departed from or returned to Louisiana does not necessarily mean ordinary Louisiana personal injury rules control the claim.
What Law Applies to a Louisiana Maritime Injury?
This is one of the most important questions on the entire page because there is no single law covering every person who works offshore or around Louisiana waterways.
A simplified way to understand the major categories is:
Jones Act — May apply to qualifying seamen with a sufficient employment connection to a vessel or fleet of vessels.
General Maritime Law — Can provide additional maritime rights and remedies, including maintenance and cure and, in appropriate circumstances, claims involving an unseaworthy vessel.
Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act — Can cover qualifying longshoremen, shipyard workers, harbor workers, and other maritime employees who are not members of a vessel's crew.
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act — Extends LHWCA benefits to qualifying workers involved in natural-resource operations on the Outer Continental Shelf and creates additional rules for offshore operations.
Louisiana Law — May apply to aspects of some cases depending on where the accident occurred and the applicable federal framework.
The correct classification can affect who can be sued, what benefits are available, what damages may be recovered, where a case can be filed, and which deadlines apply.
What Compensation May Be Available After a Maritime Injury?
There is no single category of “maritime compensation.”
What an injured worker may recover depends first on which law applies.
Depending on the claim, compensation or benefits may involve:
Medical treatment
Maintenance and cure
Past lost wages
Future loss of earning capacity
Disability benefits
Physical pain and suffering
Mental and emotional suffering
Rehabilitation
Vocational rehabilitation
Scarring or disfigurement
Other damages available under the applicable maritime law
Death benefits or other remedies when an accident is fatal
For example, the Jones Act creates a negligence action against an employer for qualifying seamen, while the LHWCA operates as a federal compensation system for covered maritime employees.
That is why estimating the value of a maritime injury without first determining the worker's legal status can be misleading.
How Long Do You Have to File a Maritime Injury Claim?
There is not one universal deadline for maritime injuries.
Different laws impose different requirements.
Jones Act personal injury actions are generally subject to a three-year federal limitations period under 46 U.S.C. § 30106. That is different from Louisiana's general two-year prescriptive period for many state-law personal injury claims.
LHWCA claims have their own notice and filing requirements. The Act generally requires written notice of an injury within 30 days, subject to statutory rules and exceptions, and contains separate provisions governing the filing of compensation claims.
Cruise passenger claims may also be affected by contractual notice and filing requirements contained in the passenger ticket.
The important point is simple:
Do not assume Louisiana's ordinary personal injury deadline applies to an offshore or maritime accident.
The applicable deadline depends on the law governing the particular claim.
What to Do After an Offshore or Maritime Injury
What happens immediately after an offshore accident can affect both medical treatment and the evidence available later.
If possible:
Report the injury. Follow appropriate reporting procedures and make sure the incident is documented.
Get medical treatment. Do not minimize symptoms simply because you are offshore or concerned about missing work.
Be accurate about how the accident happened. Incident reports can become important evidence later.
Identify witnesses. Crew assignments change and workers may leave a vessel or jobsite quickly.
Preserve photographs and video when possible. Equipment, decks, work areas, vessels, and other conditions may change after the accident.
Keep employment and medical records. Pay information, work schedules, medical documentation, and communications concerning the injury may become relevant.
Do not assume the company has correctly classified your claim. Whether you are a seaman, longshore worker, offshore platform worker, or another type of employee can change your legal rights.
Consider legal advice before giving detailed recorded statements or signing documents concerning the accident.
Maritime employers and their insurers may begin investigating an incident immediately. Preserving the injured worker's own information early can be important.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Maritime and Offshore Injuries
Injured Offshore or While Working on the Water?
The law governing a maritime injury can depend on details that may seem minor at first: whether a structure qualifies as a vessel, where the accident happened, what work you regularly performed, and which companies were involved.
Those details can determine the benefits, claims, damages, and deadlines that apply.
Hair Shunnarah represents injured maritime and offshore workers throughout Louisiana. We can evaluate the circumstances of your injury and determine which laws and potential claims apply.
Free consultation. No attorney fee unless we win your case.