Maritime Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Vujasinovic & Beckcom : Jones Act : Serving Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi

One of the interesting things about representing hundreds of offshore workers, Jones Act seamen, and maritime workers is that you get a unique perspective on how to most efficiently and effectively represent these workers.

You also learn the tricks and traps that insurance companies and the offshore companies will use to try to wreck the case.

I have seen injured offshore workers make a lot of really simply mistakes before they call me which can really hurt their case.

In fact, what happens in some cases is that the injured offshore worker will have already hired an attorney, and a mistake or complication will arise in the case, and then I will get a phone call from the injured worker's attorney.

By then, it may be too late to do anything.  Or it may be a matter of damage control.  Or it may be a problem that can be fixed.

But the number one mistake I see when representing and advising injured offshore workers, Jones Act seamen, and maritime workers is hiring the wrong attorney for their case.

Maritime law is complicated.  Most attorneys (probably 99% or more) have never handled and will never handle a maritime injury, Jones Act, or offshore injury case. 

What will happen is the injured worker will call some attorney who did their will or got them out of a traffic ticket or who was recommended by their uncle.  That attorney may have never handled a Jones Act case.  The attorney may not know the difference between maintenance and cure. 

But the injured worker will hire that attorney anyway. 

Taking advice from such an attorney can be a very bad idea, and in fact, can wreck your case (or reduce the amount of money you get).

The Internet makes it possible to do a lot of research on attorneys.  You can find a lot of basic background information about attorneys.  (But keep in mind, attorneys can say they handle Jones Act or maritime injury cases when they don't.)

Then, you should make list of who to call and get in contact with at least 3-4 different attorneys, and ask them probing questions to figure out whether they know what they are doing.

For more information about the process, if you are an injured offshore worker or family member, you can get a free copy of "The Insider's Guide to Winning Maritime Injury Claims." 

Want to know more about maritime injury cases? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry.  We are based in Houston, Texas.  We represent offshore workers all over the world.

To learn more about our law firm and what we can do for you, please visit the following websites:

www.vbattorneys.com

www.maritimeaccidentattorney.com

www.houstoninjuryaccidentlaw.com

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

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The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently released an opinion that helps to provide legal protection to Longshore and Harbor Worker's who are injured on the job.

The injured worker, Mark McLaurin, was working in Friede Goldman's shipyard as a scaffold carpenter on the CLYDE BOUDREAUX, a vessel owned by Noble Drilling.

Mr. McLaurin was injured during this work.

Mr. McLaurin sued Noble Drilling, claiming that Noble was negligent. 

The trial court threw out the case, claiming that the Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act barred state law claims against Noble.

The Fifth Circuit disagreed, holding the simply because the worker didn't have a 905(b) case against the vessel did not mean the worker was barred from bringing state law claims.

You can read the full opinion here.

Want to know more about maritime injury cases? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry. 

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

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As the price of oil increases, the demands for oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, both in shallow water and deeper water, will only increase.  So will the demand for oil workers willing to work in often harsh and remote locations in the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

Recently, in fact, there has been talk in the United States Congress about opening up more areas in the Gulf of Mexico for oil exploration and drilling purposes.

Unfortunately, the end result of more workers in the Gulf of Mexico, and more companies rushing to get oil out of remote and often dangerous places in the Gulf of Mexico is more injured workers and more workplace deaths.

As a law firm that represents workers injured in the Gulf of Mexico, we are often asked by the workers or other attorneys what law applies to these cases.

The answer, unfortunately, is not straightforward.  In fact, if a worker is injured or killed in the Gulf of Mexico, there could be four or five different laws that may apply to the case.  And the law may change depending on what the worker was doing at the time.

The worker may be entitled to recovery under the Jones Act.  Or the injured worker may be a Longshoreman entitled to recover under the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act.

Or, the injured worker may be entitled to a recover under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. 

In a wrongful death case, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOSHA) may govern the case.

The bottom line is that you need an experienced maritime attorney if you are injured in the Gulf of Mexico, because evaluating the right law and the right venue may make all the difference in the world in whether you obtain a fair, reasonable settlement, a small settlement, or even no settlement at all.

Have you been, or do you know, someone who has been hurt in the Gulf of Mexico? 

If so, we would be interested in hearing your experience with the legal system and whether your lawyer did a good job for you.

Want to know more about maritime injury cases? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry. 

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

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