You work in the Gulf because it's your job and our nation needs energy resources. You've always been ready to handle the physical demands of offshore work, but a serious accident can leave you out of work for months with serious injuries or disabilities. 40+ oil rig workers have died and 1,300+ have been injured in offshore accidents in the Gulf of Mexico in the last 5 years. Many involved crane accidents.
Crane accidents pose a particular risk to deckhands, roustabouts, and roughnecks who work as riggers or assist in crane operations on offshore platforms, supply boats, or work boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Maritime workers and offshore platform workers can suffer head injuries, brain damage, spinal injuries, back injuries, and permanent disabilities from crane accidents. If you or a loved one working offshore has suffered a serious injury in a crane accident, contact a knowledgeable maritime lawyer at Arnold & Itkin about your legal rights. We are committed to helping you obtain the compensation you need to recover from a serious offshore accident.
When a person works aboard an offshore job site, there are many different job titles and positions to fill to ensure that the plant or rig is operating correctly. As an important piece to the puzzle, a crane operator has many responsibilities on both onshore and offshore locations.
Many offshore drilling sites, oil rigs, and other types of offshore job sites can be extremely dangerous. With the serious responsibilities placed on crane operators, accidents can often occur in the most stressful situations. It is important to remember that your rights as a crane operator are protected under the Jones Act.
Crane accidents include the failure of the boom, cables, winches, ballring, and rigging hardware. The improper disassembly or assembly of mobile cranes causes some accidents. Many mobile crane accidents are caused by lack of proper crew training or lack of supervision. Others are caused by lack of maintenance. A poorly maintained crane can have a mechanical failure that can cause serious injury or death from a broken hoist line or dropped load.
In years of analyzing maritime incidents in the Gulf of Mexico, we have frequently found that accidents and injuries occur while offshore workers are performing routine tasks such as drilling, construction, lifting of pipe, and coil tubing operations. Frequently, an offshore company's neglect of maintenance, lack of formalized training about the hazards of the work, and lack of supervision contribute to preventable crane accidents and injuries. With some accidents, a short change crew may be on duty at the time with maritime workers handling unfamiliar roles.
Riggers who attach and unhook loads and assist with crane operations suffer the most injuries in crane accidents. Riggers can be roustabouts, roughnecks, or deckhands on a work or supply boat or a platform. A rigger can be struck on the head by a boom or a swinging load or be pinned between a dropped load and a deck if a corroded hoist wire fails on a crane. The crane operator and the rigger may not be trained to communicate properly to avoid accidents; this lack of training or supervision can contribute to the accidents.
Oil and gas exploration companies, energy production companies, and offshore contractors are required by law to provide written reports detailing all incidents involving fatalities, injuries that require evacuation of an injured worker, fire and explosions, crane accidents, material handling accidents, and loss of well control. These reports can be used by a skilled maritime lawyer to build a compelling case of negligence on the part of an offshore employer.
At our firm, we handle maritime law cases and Jones Act claims every day. We are aggressive advocates for injured offshore workers and their families in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and across the Gulf of Mexico. You want an aggressive Jones Act lawyer who will stand up for your legal rights at the negotiating table and in the courtroom. You want a maritime law firm with an established track record of obtaining substantial settlements and verdicts for clients. At Arnold & Itkin LLP, we have obtained billions of dollars. We know how to get results.
To schedule your initial case evaluation with a member of our team, please contact a crane accident attorney from our firm by calling us toll-free at (888) 346-5024.
Arnold & Itkin represented nearly a third of the crewmembers injured in the Deepwater Horizon explosion.
Because maritime law is so complex and so complicated, it is crucial that you work with an attorney who has an in-depth understanding of how it works and who has proven themselves in similar cases before.
