Offshore Injury Lawyer New Orleans, LA
Work at sea is difficult and dangerous, but a New Orleans, LA offshore injury attorney can help you get the financial help you need to stay afloat.
Compensation for your injuries isn’t free money. You’ll have to fight for it, and the professionals at Scott Vicknair are ready to walk you through the process and give you all the information you need for your legal battle. Read on to learn more about offshore injuries, and get in touch with us today for a free consultation.
Maritime Law for Maritime Accidents
Maritime law, also referred to as admiralty law, covers all matters of the sea – from shipping and leisure, to boat accidents and offshore injuries. On land, an injured employee may seek compensation through workers’ comp (or a civil suit if an employer was negligent). However, if an employee works at sea, he or she will have to go through an admiralty court to pursue financial damages.
An admiralty court means you’ll need the services of a specialized lawyer. Maritime lawyers – commonly known as admiralty lawyers – can help you navigate your case to get the compensation you deserve, whether you were injured on a ship, or lost wages due to an injury that occurred on the high seas. A New Orleans offshore injury attorney can walk you through the process, and inform you of your rights.
Know Your Rights as a Maritime Employee
Under the Jones Act of 1920, the federal government ensured the protection of maritime employees in the case of injury or sickness at sea. This protection extends to medical care and lost wages, and under federal law, employees have the right to request compensation from their maritime employers.
The Jones Act covers maritime employees in the event of injury, negligence or unseaworthiness. But what do these terms mean? Negligence can apply to any action or inaction that leads to someone else’s injury. It can take many forms, from failing to provide safety equipment to taking irresponsible and dangerous actions at the helm of a vessel.
It’s important to remember that unseaworthiness doesn’t necessarily mean a vessel doesn’t float well. An unseaworthy vessel can also be defined as a ship in which the crew is not provided with the right tools or training for the job. An unseaworthy vessel means a negligent employer and negligent employers can cause injuries.
Get in Touch with Scott Vicknair Today
When you’re injured on the job, you deserve compensation. And while on land, workers’ compensation provides an important safety net for injured employees, work at sea requires a bit of specialization. The safety net is still there, but it’s for an admiralty court to decide whether you deserve compensation, and how much you’re owed.
At Scott Vicknair, we’re ready to help you exercise your rights and fight for your much-needed financial assistance. An injury at sea can affect your future, stacking up debt and impacting your livelihood. Don’t let it overwhelm you. Reach out to Scott Vicknair today, and see how a New Orleans offshore injury attorney from our office can help.
Common Offshore Injuries
It’s considerably limitless as to what kind of injuries you may face on the water, which is why having a New Orleans, LA offshore injury lawyer is essential to properly evaluating your individual situation if you were involved in an accident. Whether for sport, work, or any other reason, being out at sea is treacherous and unpredictable. An experienced lawyer has likely already handled a wide variety of maritime cases, and they will be able to look at your case from just about every angle. Because maritime law is rather complicated, it’s easy to get undercompensated for any offshore injury you have faced. Scott Vicknair will make sure this does not happen to you should you work with our legal counsel. There are a number of offshore injuries listed below that are most common, and it’s important to be educated on these various situations.
Burns
The mishandling of equipment, human error, or a build-up of fumes can all easily lead to serious consequences. Unfortunately getting burned is incredibly common as an offshore worker. Burns are also often simply a form of negligence. It is incredibly frustrating to be unable to work for months after being seriously burned, and if your employer or someone else is at fault, you deserve the rightful amount of compensation to cover any financial or emotional costs.
Back Injuries
Maritime work is mostly arduous physical labor. When as a driller or a fisherman, there are countless scenarios for back injuries to occur. Ocean waves so often shake loose equipment anywhere on the ship, and this equipment will fall directly on top of someone. If another party is at fault for a back injury while you are working on a boat or ship, you should have a New Orleans offshore injury lawyer fight for your rights.
Head Injuries
Head injuries are a serious matter, and people may not be initially aware of just how long it can take to recover from a head or brain injury. Like any other bodily injury, head injuries can put someone out of work for months, and of course even longer. You should not have to suffer this financial penalty because of someone else’s negligence while out at sea. A New Orleans offshore injury lawyer will work to make sure you are fully compensated for any future work you cannot perform because of your injury.
Loss of Limbs
When you’re out at sea, we understand you are prematurely cautious, especially if you’re working. Unfortunately life-changing injuries, like losing a limb, are not uncommon. This particular offshore injury impacts the rest of your life no matter what. You deserve gracious compensation for the heavy financial damage, and emotional damage because the course of your life has changed.
Death
Every year, maritime workers die at sea due to negligence. One could argue that even going out to work on a boat or drill is a life risk each and every day. The inevitable rough surroundings of working offshore are mostly unavoidable, but sometimes a worker dies in an accident, and the accident may have been preventable. If this is the case, contacting an offshore injury attorney like Scott Vicknair immediately is the right step in order to give justice to the lifelong damage the accident has caused.
Common Offshore Accidents and Injuries
There are unfortunately countless ways an offshore injury can occur, and an experienced New Orleans, LA offshore injury lawyer will know how to handle your specific case no matter how the accident unfolded. If you were on a job site and suffered injury while on the clock due to someone else’s negligence, then you need a lawyer actively advocating on your behalf to receive your deserved compensation for both the physical and emotional damages you are facing. Here are a few of the more common offshore injuries that you should be aware of.
Offshore Rig Injuries
Working on an offshore drilling rig and searching for oil and gas is arduous and strenuous manual labor. It’s not acknowledged enough that it is a job that takes confidence and bravery and competence. However, though there is a lot of safety equipment and regulations put into place to protect workers, these protocols can still be mishandled, which will inevitably lead to a worker getting hurt. It is too common that an offshore rig injury can be traced back to human error.
On Deck Accidents
The open sea is rough and unpredictable, which is why boats and ships should have special safety equipment that keeps supplies from falling and remains intact. Yet, crew members are still injured by falling objects, and swinging cables, and will also even dangerously fall on wet stairs. These mishaps are likely due to the negligence of an employer or other crew members not doing their jobs correctly. Ships are required to provide a safe environment for their workers and you should not have to deal with a dangerous work environment this way.
Fires and Explosions
Fires and explosions may seem like they wouldn’t ever happen too often out at sea, but they do happen more than you would think. Explosions can occur for a variety of reasons on the ocean. Malfunctioning or overheated ventilation systems can escalate to a dangerous fire. Oil sprays from a poorly maintained pipeline easily can lead to an ignited spark. Fire and explosion injuries may be far more severe than other injuries, and you want to make sure you’ll be fully compensated. Working with a dedicated New Orleans offshore injury lawyer will ensure the best pathway to this compensation.
Equipment Malfunctions
Equipment failures are inevitable if you are working on the water. Employers may also not pay close attention if a piece of equipment is not performing to its best potential. Often instead of fixing or replacing the equipment, the employer will assume the repair is non-urgent. This scenario happens more often than you would think and is an easy cause for personal injury while on the job.
Inland Maritime Injuries
The Jones Act also applies to waterways across the Gulf Coast such as rivers, lakes, and more. You have the same rights as seamen at these inland locations and the same kind of offshore accidents can occur on inland waters. A New Orleans offshore injury lawyer will work tirelessly on your behalf in the event of an inland injury as well. Contact Scott Vicknair if you are someone in need of legal guidance for an offshore injury.
