Houston Maritime Injury Lawyer
This data came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
If you experience an offshore accident while on the job, and that accident causes an injury, you’ll need a maritime injury lawyer. An offshore injury lawyer is versed in maritime law, including the Jones Act, and can best defend your rights. Mario Madrid is a Houston Maritime Injury Lawyer that can help you in your time of need from a maritime injury.
Revolutionary History of Maritime Law
They functioned outside of regular courts. Admiralty courts had no trial by jury. Thus, the British used them to uphold the reviled Stamp Act, making them catalysts in the American Revolution.
Several prominent American lawyers of the American Revolution were admiralty (maritime) lawyers. You may have heard of two of them, John Adams and Alexander Hamilton.
The Jones Act
It allows them to collect for disfigurement as well as past and future pain and suffering and past and future mental anguish.
Also, the act provides compensation for living expenses, called “maintenance.” The act labels medical expenses as “cure.”
Definition of Seaman
It has to be operative, afloat, able to move, and on navigable waters.
Wrongful Death
Either act enables dependent survivors of anyone who died more than three miles offshore to sue for their loved one’s lost wages. They have the right to sue even if their loved one did not qualify as a seaman under the Jones Act.
If the worker or seaman died within three nautical miles of the shore, another law (or laws) might apply.
Maritime Laws
Other maritime laws exist to help them should they incur injuries on the job. For example, maritime laws protect pilots, longshoremen, and platform workers through other factors.
Some of these are the status of the worker and where his or her injury took place. The entities involved also affect the potential rights of the injured worker.
For those who work on fixed platforms, the Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act, Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, and applicable state laws apply.
Finding a Maritime Injury Lawyer
Different from Worker’s Compensation
Unlike a worker’s compensation claim, the Jones Act allows you to sue a company for negligence. It also gives you up to three years from the date of the offshore accident to file your lawsuit.
As a seaman, you are entitled to a range of damages. Those include lost wages past and future, loss of earnings, loss of affection and love, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and legal fees
An experienced offshore injury lawyer can determine whether a maritime worker is a Jones Act seaman. Sometimes workers other than crewmembers of barges, dive boats, and drillships, etc. can be deemed seamen under certain circumstances.
If you’ve been hurt on the water or near it, contact a maritime injury lawyer. You may have more rights than you think, and indeed more rights than your employer may be telling you.
National Offshore Accident Lawyer
You may or may not find local accident attorneys with this skill set. In your search for an offshore accident attorney, consider both local and national law firms.
Considerations for Choosing A Maritime Attorney
If you have had a consultation, did the attorney seem interested in the facts of your case? They should ask questions, as well as listen to and answer yours.
It’s also important to ask how they will be compensated, so there are no surprise legal fees later on. Many firms work on a contingency fee basis. You pay only when and if you receive compensation for your injury claim.
Call Today
If you have any questions about finding a maritime injury lawyer, please contact us.