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

We are pleased to announce that one of our clients, a commercial diver who works offshore, has obtained a settlement against his employer and a lift boat company following serious injuries he sustained while diving offshore.

Our client was employed by Seamar Divers and worked on a Montco Offshore lift boat.  According to their websites, Seamar Divers provides offshore commercial divers, subsea construction, and subsea fabrication services to the oil and gas industry.  Montco Offshore provides lift boats to the offshore industry.

Our client was hurt when the Seamar supervisor failed to monitor the dive properly, resulting in our client getting "the bends."  The Montco crane operator brought him up too quickly and dropped him too hard on the deck of the lift boat, resulting in severe orthopedic injuries.

After working on the case for less than a year, we were able to negotiate a settlement that takes care of all medical bills, expenses, attorney fees, and still leaves a substantial monetary recovery for our client to invest or spends how he wants.

Did you know commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act or maritime law?

Many commercial divers (and probably even a lot of lawyers) do not realize that commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act and general maritime law if they are injured offshore.

To learn more about commercial divers and their rights under the Jones Act, read the following article:

Are Diving Accidents Covered by the Jones Act?

Want to know more about offshore injury claims? 

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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The Jones Act was enacted in 1920.  The purpose of the Jones Act was to encourage U.S. maritime commerce, by, among other things, offering appropriate legal protections to injured seamen. 

Seamen are exposed every day to unique dangers and perils.  They must brave the open seas, work on dangerous offshore oil rigs, perform hard dredge work, master complicated maritime procedures and policies, watch out for their fellow workers, dive to great depths off of boats, ships, and rigs, work long hours, work in extreme weather conditions, and be away from their families for long periods of time.

All too often, the wages are not commensurate with the risks.  The sacrifices our maritime workers make every day to ensure that maritime commerce flows smoothly, that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere takes place, that ships and other vessels can make port, absolutely requires that the law recognize and protect them appropriately.

To take just one example:  When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged Gulf Coast oil production, and destroyed and disrupted the oil supply, our seamen and offshore workers came to the rescue, turning out in record numbers to get oil production back on line. 

It's not the executives in the fancy suits making millions of dollars a year who deserve our congratulations--although they often take all the credit.  The executives in the tall buildings didn't get the rigs repaired, the derricks fixed, the oil flowing.  No, it was the men and women of the offshore industry, the captains, pilots, roughnecks, deckhands, drillers, divers, toolpushers, ordinary and able bodied seamen, and other offshore laborers who braved the harsh conditions, spent time away from their families, and risked their health and safety to get oil production back on line in record time.  They didn't make millions of dollars a year to do the work--all too often, they were paid inadequately for the risks they took.   And they got no credit for what they did.  But they deserve the credit--their labor got oil production flowing.

Even in this age of so-called tort reform, where insurance companies and multi-billion dollar multi-national companies do everything they can to avoid responsibility to injured workers and their familes, most reasonable and fair-minded lawmakers recognize the amazing contributions made every day by offshore workers, Jones Act seamen, divers, dredge workers, captains, relief captains, tankermen, cooks, pilots, roustabouts, roughnecks, drillers, barge workers, and other offshore workers.

That's why the Jones Act is so important.  It is a formal and legal recognition of the contributions of offshore workers.  It shows that we appreciate their sacrifices, the risks they take every day, and what they contribute to our country's economic security.  It shows that the United States values the workers who make the money just as highly as we value the executives who hire and fire the workers and who never risk their health or safety on an offshore rig, boat, dredge barge, or other offshore vessel.

This entry, while not discussing any breaking legal news or cases, is made in an effort to congratulate the men and women who make the maritime industry work and to encourage all reasonable and fair-minded people, whether involved in the offshore industry or not, to congratulate the men and women who risk their lives to work offshore.

Everyone who has ever gone to sea to work offshore should be congratulated for what you do.   My firm is proud to stand by you in your moment of need, to represent you when necessary, and to call so many of you clients--and friends.

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