Houma Offshore Accident Lawyers

Top Houma Offshore Injury Lawyers Focused on Helping You.

The Houma Offshore Injury Lawyers of Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards have extensive experience representing injured workers in the offshore oil industry, as well as commercial fishing crews. Our law firm has been in the heart of Louisiana’s oil industry since 1957, helping injured and disabled workers get the compensation they are entitled. We understand the difficult conditions and dangerous jobs that often come with offshore work and in the maritime industry – as well as the stress it puts families under when there is a serious injury. You can be confident we can help you.

Offshore workers who are injured in accidents may be entitled to compensation for the cost of medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages. There are many different types of offshore work, and therefore many different facets of maritime law that protect offshore workers, as well as those who work near navigable waters.

For those who work on crew boats, barges, jack up barges, tugboats, drilling ships, supply boats, dredges and other vessels, the Jones Act protects the rights of most injured maritime workers as seamen. Our Houma Jones Act lawyers have decades of experience with this federally recognized law. The Jones Act allows those who qualify as seamen who have been involved in accidents or become ill while working to recover compensation for their injuries.

The Jones Act also provides for injured seamen to bring claims of negligence against their employer, for medical expenses, lost wages and loss of earning capacity. A claim can also include non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. Seamen can also make a claim for maintenance and cure to provide for living expenses while they heal from an injury. Cure would include medical expenses and continues until maximum medical improvement is reached.

If the vessel is the cause of the seamen’s injury, instead of the employer or a crew member, the unseaworthiness doctrine could apply. Owners of a vessel – and those operating a vessel – have a legal duty to ensure it is safe, has equipment that is properly maintained and is staffed with a qualified crew.

Our Houma offshore injury lawyers will put our resources and experience to work for you if you have been injured on a vessel. We will protect your rights, and you can expect your employer will have a team of attorneys working to show the company was not negligent for your injury. You will have our team of Louisiana admiralty and maritime law attorneys on your side.

For those who don’t qualify as seamen but who work on docks, in shipyards, shipping terminals and ports near navigable waters, due to the dangerous nature of your work, you are covered by the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers Compensation Act.

While vessel crewmen are generally covered under the Jones Act, if you are working on a fixed offshore platform, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or OCSLA, covers injuries for the majority of offshore oil rig workers. Passed by Congress in 1953, the purpose of the OCSLA is to provide oil & gas workers on the Outer Continental Shelf with the benefits found under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

Injured in an Offshore Accident? Make the Wright Call.

Millions Recovered for Injured Louisiana Offshore Workers

An OCSLA claim can include compensation for medical costs, disability payments and rehabilitation costs for employees injured on the Outer Continental Shelf. The OCSLA also provides benefits to families of employees who were killed. Like the Longshore Act, claims for the OCSLA are administered by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

However, depending on the location of the accident, an offshore accident could fall under the jurisdiction of the nearest state. In the Gulf of Mexico, most rigs fall under state jurisdiction in Louisiana. These laws can be complex and demand serious, experienced lawyers. Our Houma offshore accident lawyers will protect your rights.

If you were injured in a maritime accident, you need to immediately seek legal representation. Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC offers a FREE consultation to evaluate your case. If you DO NOT recover damages, we DO NOT charge a fee.

Contact us today for a free consultation.