Commercial Diving
Accidents

FACTORS INVOLVING COMMERCIAL DIVING INJURIES

If you have been injured as a commercial diver, contact our experienced Louisiana Commercial Diving Accident Lawyers to discuss your options.

Commercial diving accident cases are often extremely complex. Federal maritime law will govern most of these cases.

The legal status of the diver will be evaluated by our lawyers. The factors will include your location when you suffered your injury, the type of vessel or work platform you operated from, and your connection to that vessel.

All can determine your rights to compensation for your injuries.

UNDERSTANDING THE JONES ACT

The Jones Act entitles divers to recover monetary damages when showing that the injury is attributable to an unseaworthy vessel or negligence on the part of his or her employer, its agent or a fellow employee.

Often, a commercial diving injury could have been prevented if proper training, the work of the support crew and safe equipment were all correct while a professional diver performed his difficult work.

In many commercial diving injury cases, a point of contention will be if the diver qualifies as a Jones Act seaman or is classified as a longshore or harbor worker.

Jones Act coverage can rely on the location of your accident, your relationship with your employer – whether full-time, a contract worker or is an independent – the type of vessel or platform the dive originated from, and whether the companies or entities have acted negligently.

Many offshore commercial divers qualify for protection under the Jones Act, and may recover damages for past pain and suffering, past and future lost wages, medical expenses and lost earning potential.

THE JONES ACT & SEAWORTHINESS LAWS

The Jones Act and the unseaworthiness doctrine are laws created to provide full compensation to seamen, including commercial divers who have legal status as seamen.

The Jones Act gives working seamen the right to full damages for the negligence of the owner, the master or other crew members.

Negligence can include:

• Failure to adequately hire, train or staff the vessel.
• Not providing proper or adequate gear, protective clothing or equipment for the job.
• Failure to follow or enforce safety measures – including the removal of safety features on machines – improper maintenance of the ship and its equipment, and working in heavy weather.
• Under the Jones Act, if negligence is established, a commercial diver can recover all past and future wages that he loses as a result of his injury.

SUPPORTING YOUR CASE WITH EXPERT INVESTIGATIONS

In a commercial diving accident, it is our law firm’s experience through several decades that keeping all of the equipment involved is extremely important.

It is also important to pursue an early investigation and take statements from witnesses. We are committed to representing injured or killed commercial divers and helping their family members.

We will put together a team of experts to support your case and recover the damages that you and your loved ones deserve.

COMMERCIAL DIVERS IN THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY

Commercial divers in the oil and gas industry build and repair offshore platforms, underwater structures, pipelines and support drilling operations.

Divers use advanced equipment, and they need training and support for all of their operations. There is the possibility of fires, spills or burns from welding equipment, collisions with dive boats and jet sleds.

Crew members with insufficient training, air supply hoses that become tangled or cut, safety equipment that malfunctions, and improper planning increase the risk for commercial divers.

Not to mention the inherent risks for the diver in the underwater environment. The OSHA standards are detailed for commercial divers.

INJURY RISKS FOR COMMERCIAL DIVERS

Besides the equipment and construction conditions in which they work, commercial divers spend a lot of time underwater with the risks drowning, hypothermia, circulatory problems, and poor visibility.

Hazards for commercials divers while below the surface include decompression illness (DCI), arterial gas embolism, as well as vestibular pulmonary and non-pulmonary barotraumas.

Barotrauma occurs when the body is unable to equalize pressure within a gas-filled area, such as the lungs. Ambient pressure changes during ascent and descent during a dive, and the difference in pressure can result in damage to body tissues.

Decompression sickness (DCS), also referred to as “the bends” or Caisson Disease, can occur when inadequate decompression follows increased exposure to underwater pressure. The diver’s body absorbs nitrogen and other gases, which can form bubbles when pressure is reduced quickly.

Mild cases of DCS involve bubbles near the joints, and this can include a skin rash or marbling. More severe cases occur when the bubbles enter the bloodstream. DCS can be categorized as Type I or Type II.

CALL US FOR AN HONEST ASSESSMENT OF YOUR CASE

Type II DCS will typically involve the spinal cord or brain and affects neurological and pulmonary systems. Severe diving accidents require divers to enter a recompression treatment chamber.

If not treated properly, conditions such as an air embolism or decompression sickness can be fatal. We have also represented working divers and technical divers who have experienced injuries after improper gas mixtures.

Whether you are seeking compensation for your own injury as a commercial diver, or on behalf of a loved one after a wrongful death in commercial diving, the experienced Louisiana commercial diving accident lawyers with Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC can provide you with an honest assessment of your case.

Make the Wright Call. Call 337-291-HURT.

If you or a family member has been injured in a commercial diving accident, or for more information about the Jones Act, contact the Louisiana commercial diving accident lawyers for a free consultation at Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC by calling toll-free 1-800-375-6186 or locally at 337-291-HURT. Our lawyers handle diving accident cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you will never pay any legal fees unless we win compensation for you.

Our dedicated trial attorneys have helped commercial divers worldwide and across the Gulf Coast. We have also helped injured clients from communities throughout Louisiana, including in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, New Iberia and New Orleans.