Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
If a newborn is having difficulty acclimating when he or she is born, they are placed in an incubator. An incubator is a place where ideal conditions promote the growth of an organism. The temperature, the space, even the sounds of the environment are monitored in an incubator so that a newborn has the best chance at developing normally. A technological incubator is the same, except the target of ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, or the Jones Act , was a federal statute implemented into American history 97 years ago. The Jones Act was created in response to American shipping issues during World War I. During World War I, America suffered from a lack of trading vessels as trade ships were used for the war effort and could not continue on their mercantile routes. To make America more prepared ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Around 2 a.m. this morning, a fire broke out on the Shell Enchilada Platform, which was located 100 miles south of the Vermillion Bay. The fire was first reported to Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders at 1:20 a.m. It has been reported that two workers were injured in the blaze and more than three dozen workers were evacuated off the rig. More than 45 people were aboard at the time of the ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
On October 20, a seaman was killed after the oil barge he was aboard exploded off the coast of Port Aransas. While picking up work from the Bouchard Transportation Company, the presumed-dead sailor set out for work on a company owned, operated, and managed vessel. Only a few hours after shipping off, he and another crew member were caught in the explosion and went missing. One of the missing crew ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Early Friday, a fuel barge exploded off the Port Aransas coast, leaving two missing. The explosion occurred around 4:30 a.m. while the barge was being pulled by a tug, according to a mayday message to Coast Guard watchstanders by the tug’s captain. Six crew members were reportedly pulled to safety. Crew Goes Missing After the Fire In the aftermath of the explosion, it was discovered that two of ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
As of last evening, the U.S. Coast Guard has ceased its search for the missing rig worker in Lake Pontchartrain. Their search was conducted over nearly 24 hours nonstop, utilizing 10 search missions covering 90 square miles. In a statement, the Coast Guard sent their thoughts and prayers to the family of Timothy Morrison, 44, who was left missing when a gas and oil storage rig exploded on Sunday ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Around 7 PM Sunday night, a rig exploded on Lake Pontchartrain in Jefferson Parish. Originally reported as an oil rig, the natural gas storage rig may have exploded due to the ignition of cleaning chemicals during routine maintenance work (according to officials). The explosion injured seven, leaving two workers in the burn unit at Baton Rouge. As of Monday afternoon, search and rescue efforts are ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Update: the rig was originally reported as an oil rig, but some sources report it is actually a natural gas storage rig. On Sunday night, an oil rig exploded in Lake Pontchartrain in St. Charles Parish, LA. According to the Kenner Police Department spokesman, rescue boats had been dispatched from the Kenner Boat Launch; the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office is assisting. He went on to say there ...
Continue Reading
This has not been a good year for the U.S. Navy—specifically the 7 th fleet, which is stationed in Japanese waters. There have been four collisions since January, two of them resulting in loss of life. That’s a staggering number when you consider that the average Navy vessel collides with anything only once every two years, if that. That includes minor brushes with buoys. It’s even rarer for two ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin LLP filed suit in East Baton Rouge Parish on behalf of an experienced seaman injured aboard an unseaworthy ship. Though the company that hired this seaman holds itself out as a company of values, its vessel maintenance proved otherwise as our client was hurt when poorly secured deck rigging fell on his head. Worse, the company’s chosen captain refused to return to port—despite the ...
Continue Reading
The maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP filed a Jones Act case against Harley Marine Gulf, LLC on behalf of a Kansas City man working as a tankerman on a tugboat. The incident occurred at Southwest Shipyards in Channelview, Texas. The seaman injured his back when he was ordered to move heavy equipment without the proper help. After causing severe injuries to his back, the company failed to ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin, LLP recently filed a case involving a man who was injured aboard a fixed oil production platform when he was instructed to lift a compressor weighing over 300 pounds without being provided proper safety equipment to complete the task. As a result of this negligent tasking, the man sustained injuries to his neck, back, and shoulders. It’s the supervisor’s job to ensure that everyone ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed a case involving a longshoreman who was struck by falling cargo and equipment at the Chalmette Midstream Buoys during a cargo unloading operation. The incident occurred when the main crane cable aboard the M/V Unison Power, a Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier failed. As a result of the incident, the man sustained injuries to his back, neck, groin, and other parts of ...
Continue Reading
One fisherman has been killed and two others injured in a boating accident that occurred Friday night on Lake Baree in Louisiana. The Terrebonne Parish sheriff’s report said that six fisherman and their captain were on a charter trip when the 25-foot vessel struck an underwater wellhead around 11 pm. Upon impact, three of the men onboard were ejected from the boat. Two of them have been treated ...
Continue Reading
Offshore injury & maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of an injured Jones Act seaman. While performing his assigned tasks onboard a vessel, the client was assigned to perform a dangerous lifting task using defective equipment. As a result, the client suffered serious injuries to his neck and back. Our firm has often and loudly called for industrial employers ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Attorneys Kurt Arnold, Kyle Findley, Kala Sellers, and Adam Lewis filed a lawsuit today in East Baton Rouge Parish, LA against Crowley Marine Services, Inc. on behalf of a Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured aboard the ATB Legacy. Our client was required to perform job duties by himself, including the dangerous lifts that lead to his injuries. To compound matters, our client was not ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin LLP attorneys Kurt Arnold, Caj Boatright, Alison Baimbridge and Roland Christensen filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a client who was physically and sexually assaulted when working as a Jones Act seaman in the Gulf of Mexico. At the time of the incident, Arnold & Itkin LLP's client was proudly working onboard a vessel when she was repeatedly threatened and forced to perform sexual ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin recently filed suit on behalf of an Arkansas seaman severely injured by defective towing equipment. Like all employers, the people who are in charge of maintaining his vessel and ensuring a safe work site should be found responsible for his injuries. Defective equipment often doesn’t fail overnight—behind every failed piece of equipment is a history of neglected maintenance. Our ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin LLP offshore attorneys recently filed suit on behalf of a tankerman who was injured by an unsafe gangway at BOSTCO’s terminal at the Houston Ship Channel. The tankerman was descending a gangway to board a barge when the vertical support beam broke and made him fall. Our client injured his neck and suffered several herniated discs in the fall. His injuries were a direct result of ...
Continue Reading
This weekend, our firm reported on a vessel collision between the USS Fitzgerald and the ACX Crystal, a merchant vessel flying under the Philippine flag. The collision occurred around 1:30 am local time, so many of the sailors aboard the Fitzgerald were asleep at the time. Damage from the collision occurred in two berthing spaces, a machinery room, and a radio room. Tragically, 7 sailors were ...
Continue Reading
Yesterday afternoon at 1:30 pm ET (Saturday 2:30 am local time), the USS Fitzgerald collided with the ACX Crystal, a Philippine container ship traveling off the coat of Japan. The collision caused damage to the starboard (right) side of the ship below the waterline, which flooded the forward berthing compartments, a machinery room, and a radio room. Our firm is sad to report that, after being ...
Continue Reading
Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Kyle Findley , Kala Sellers , and Adam Lewis recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Jones Act seaman who worked for Coastal Dredging Company. Our client was injured while working aboard Coastal’s vessel, the CLEDUS , while being required to carry out high risk tasks. Specially, the client sustained injuries after striking a section of the vessel that was not properly ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin LLP attorneys Kurt Arnold, Caj Boatright, Alison Baimbridge and Roland Christensen filed a lawsuit in Harris County, Texas today on behalf of a client who was seriously injured when working as a Jones Act seamen. Unfortunately, Arnold & Itkin LLP’s client was recklessly injured when he was working on a vessel. At the time of the incident, Arnold & Itkin LLP’s client was performing ...
Continue Reading
Arnold & Itkin makes it our business to fight for people who have been abused by businesses and employers, people whose injuries demand justice and financial support. Our newest case is a Jones Act case on behalf of a woman who was subjected to unsafe working conditions and denied treatment by her employer—Norwegian Cruise Lines. Not only was she injured, but her requests for medical care were ...
Continue Reading
One of the most overlooked beneficiaries of a Jones Act claim is the family of the injured seaman. Families depend on the income provided by workers across all maritime industries—when injuries prevent men and women from making a living, families suffer. That’s what happened to our newest client when he was injured while working on a cargo vessel. Our newest client is a Jones Act seaman from ...
Continue Reading
