Barge Injuries

Experienced Louisiana Barge Injury Attorneys Focused on Helping You.

The Louisiana barge injury lawyers of Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC have been helping maritime crew members in Louisiana and across the globe after they have suffered serious injuries since 1957. Whether inland or in the Gulf of Mexico, serving as crew on a barge is demanding, difficult work. With duties that include handling steel cables, ropes, and rigging as well as managing the heavy freight on the barges in difficult weather for long hours – it is a dangerous job with a high risk for catastrophes.

We know the uncertainty that comes for an injured worker after a barge injury. The medical bills, lost wages, pain from injuries, and fear of losing your employment can all come at once. The Louisiana barge injury lawyers of Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC are here to protect your rights. We will handle all negotiations with your employer and the insurance company, and our maritime trial attorneys always prepare for litigation to best represent our clients.

It is our experience that when a worker is injured, the employer will mobilize a team of attorneys to protect their interests. We are dedicated to protecting your interests, the injured worker, with all of our legal skill, resources and resolve. Our experienced Louisiana barge injury attorneys will obtain the compensation you are entitled.

Barge crew members who are injured because of negligence have a legal right to recover their losses and seek financial compensation through the Jones Act. This is a federal law that protects seamen, or those who work on vessels such as barges, ships, and boats. This law protects crew members and their families from negligence of maritime employers, operators, other workers, and unseaworthy vessels.

If you were injured on a barge or tugboat, you are entitled to receive medical treatment as well as a daily living stipend under “maintenance and cure.” These benefits continue until a qualified doctor finds the injured seaman has reached maximum medical improvement.

Families of seamen who die while working on a barge or tugboat are entitled to recover the loss of financial support and services the seaman would have provided his family. They would also be entitled to the value of the care, nurture, and guidance that the seaman would have provided his family, the loss of inheritance, and pre-death pain and suffering.

Common Injuries for Barge Workers

Head Injuries – Slippery surfaces on the barge can cause falls and traumatic brain injuries if crew members are not provided the proper safety equipment, such as hardhats.

Fractures – Barges are often stacked with heavy cargo, oil barrels, or chemicals, and when this cargo shifts in transit, crew members can suffer broken bones. Equipment and rigging can also fracture bones. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health finds a “high proportion” of upper extremity and lower extremity” injuries resulting in disability in maritime workers, including those on barges.

Crushed Limbs/Amputations – The steel lines and cables that hold cargo in place commonly can catch the hands of crewmembers. Barge workers are very susceptible to injuries with the lines that hold together tugboats, other barges and towboats, and malfunctioning equipment.

Back Injuries – Crush injuries to the spinal cord happen during barge collisions and slip and fall catastrophes. Barge crew members also suffer lower back injuries from lifting heavy machinery and cargo.

Wrongful Death – Crew members and workers can be killed by the negligence of barge operators or tugboat operators due to the use of malfunctioning equipment or if duties are not communicated clearly. Barges also have many enclosed and confined spaces that can cause death because of oxygen deficiency or because they contain toxic chemicals. These areas might be watertight and have little or no ventilation.

Louisiana Barge Worker Injury Lawyers

We are committed to protecting the rights of barge workers. This includes barges that have been adapted to the oil & gas industry as jack-up barges and function as drilling platforms in shallow waters. Maritime laws are complex, and the experienced maritime and admiralty lawyers of Domengeaux Wright Roy & Edwards LLC will fight to protect your rights.

If you were injured while working on a barge or on a dock loading a barge with cargo, you are entitled to seek compensation under U.S. maritime laws. We can help you with these complex laws. Our lawyers are highly experienced in these laws, compassionate about injury cases, and understand maritime work and the offshore industry. We handle all barge injury cases on a contingency fee basis, and we invite you to a *free consultation to learn more about the Jones Act and how we can help you get the benefits you deserve.

Call us toll-free 1-800-375-6186 or locally at 337-291-HURT. Our trial attorneys have helped maritime workers and injured clients from communities throughout Louisiana, including in Houma, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Port Fourchon, New Iberia, and New Orleans.