In the aftermath of a maritime injury , proper documentation can have a significant impact on the outcome of any resulting claim. It can influence an injured worker’s ability to prove negligence under the Jones Act or that an injury qualifies under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act . It might influence the outcome of a claim of unseaworthiness and the perceived value of an injured ...
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A seaman is someone who does certain work on a vessel that's in navigable water. We'll further define each part of that statement, but it can first help to understand why someone would need to be considered a seaman, and why the definition has been hotly contested in court. If you work offshore and get hurt on the job, you cannot file a workers' compensation claim like employees on land can do in ...
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Commercial fishermen , offshore workers , and all seamen are at risk of experiencing one of the most devastating injuries: amputation. A hand, finger, foot, or another part of the body may be completely severed in a maritime accident or may be damaged to such an extent that it must be surgically amputated, causing significant physical and emotional trauma—not to mention impacting the worker’s ...
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One of the most dangerous challenges an offshore worker can face is cold exposure. While winter temperatures present the highest risk of cold-related injuries, seamen may battle with exposure in any season. On an offshore rig that may be dozens or hundreds of miles from shore, there is no escape from the water. Rain, seaspray, and the ocean itself can present a serious risk of cold exposure at any ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
There's no denying the importance of maritime workers in the global economy. Ships and other vessels transport over 90% of the world's goods, providing jobs for maritime workers in the U.S. and abroad. Of these industries, offshore oil exploration and extraction is among the most important. Teams work around the clock in shifts to make sure the demands for American oil are met. Shift work is ...
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The Biden Administration has proposed leasing more than 500,000 acres in the Gulf of Mexico to build an offshore wind farm about 24 miles off the coast of Galveston, Texas. Once completed, the project would span an area greater than the size of Houston and produce enough electricity to power 2.3 million homes. This focus on offshore wind aligns with President Biden’s 2021 commitment to ...
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COVID-19 has impacted every American’s life in some way. In March of 2020, when stay-at-home orders were issued, schools were closed, and non-essential businesses were forced to cease in-person operations, every person felt the impact in a different way. The same was true for offshore workers. Certain oil and gas workers involved in drilling and production operations were considered “essential ...
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When Hurricane Ida struck the Louisiana coast at the end of August 2021, it wasn’t just the people on land who were in trouble. The crews of offshore rigs and other maritime vessels in the storm’s path were also in danger, but not all were evacuated in time. Perhaps the biggest “near miss” of the 2021 hurricane season involved the Globetrotter II , a Noble -owned and Shell Oil -leased drillship ...
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Working offshore can be dangerous. Crew members can experience life-changing or fatal injuries in accidents on deck, after falling overboard , or in devastating blowouts , fires , or explosions . When these incidents occur, some workers quickly find that the companies they have put their lives on the line for are not interested in helping them recover. Instead, these workers experience pressure to ...
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On December 8, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on the Federal Government “to lead by example in order to achieve a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions economy-wide by no later than 2050.” One of the key parts of this will be harnessing the power of offshore wind. Biden’s plan calls for the United States to generate 30 gigawatts of ...
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After the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank in April 2010, killing 11 workers and spilling 4 million barrels of oil into the ocean, the entire world saw the terrible consequences of the offshore oil and gas industry’s questionable safety culture. That December, the United States filed a complaint in District Court against BP and other defendants for their role in the explosion and resulting ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
When people think of the Jones Act and the benefits it offers to maritime workers, they often think of crews on commercial fishing vessels , oil platforms , barges , and jack-up rigs . These may be the most well-known in the offshore industry, but there are other maritime workers who are at just as high of a risk of harm and who need the protection that the Jones Act and other applicable laws have ...
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Maritime workers have dangerous jobs. They work on vessels in the open sea, where access to emergency assistance is not always fast or guaranteed. One of the most prominent dangers they face, ironically, involves drilling for emergencies. Lifeboat drills in particular are notoriously hazardous for the workers who perform them. Crew members have been catastrophically injured and lost their lives ...
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Mooring operations are some of the most important jobs offshore crew members perform. They are also one of the most difficult and dangerous. If proper safety protocols are not followed, workers are at risk of suffering severe injuries that can even be fatal . What Is a Mooring Operation? A mooring operation describes the task of attaching a vessel to a stationary object. Mooring operations can ...
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The Gulf of Mexico is filled with lift boats, jack-up rigs , drilling rigs, and platforms . These vessels are all necessary for the retrieval of gas and oil from the region's rich mineral deposits. To transfer workers to and from their jobsites, many companies use personnel baskets or Billy Pugh baskets to get the job done. As any worker who has been involved in such transfers can tell you, these ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Roustabouts are maintenance workers who focus on making sure oil and gas rigs are running safely and as expected. They are essentially the “boots on the ground,” responsible for making sure oil wells are operating efficiently and constantly. As a result, a roustabout’s duties are often flexible and varied, ranging from sweeping the floors of the rig to handling dangerous chemicals. Some common ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
When workers sustain offshore injuries, defense attorneys often try to limit their ability to recover losses by asserting that they were injured before the accident. They argue that preexisting conditions can exasperate injuries caused by accidents and, as a result, mitigate or eliminate a company’s responsibility to provide compensation for them. Using pre-existing medical conditions as a defense ...
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Posted By Arnold and Itkin, LLP
When vessels are navigating inland waterways, there’s a set of right-of-way rules that they’re supposed to follow. These rules, commonly known as the Rules of the Road, dictate how vessels should behave when crossing paths. The term “rules of the road” is used because the process is similar to the way that cars behave at unmarked intersections. The Rules of the Road are published by the United ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
The American offshore industry is no stranger to aging vessels. Experts say that vessels are going to start retiring faster than the rate they can be replaced. Because of this, it’s fair to assume that many older vessels will be at sea for longer than they should be. Not only are aging ships an economic setback, but they also pose a risk to maritime workers. Offshore workers who are employed on ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Offshore oil and gas production is complex, involving many different players and facets. Essentially, the industry involves two main tasks: extracting the materials and transferring them to a refinery to be prepared for sale. These tasks involve two main types of different yet equally important equipment: vessels and platforms (also called rigs). Platforms are stationary structures while vessels ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Most people associate the Jones Act with hazardous conditions and accidents that injure seamen. For decades, the Jones Act has held employers accountable for failing to provide a safe work environment. While the Jones Act covers accidents like falls, explosions, toxic exposure, and other dangerous situations, many offshore workers don’t realize they might be able to recover damages after being ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
One of the easiest ways to keep ships and their crewmembers safe from hurricanes and strong tropical storms is by making sure they don’t have to be in them at all. This is where the Mariner’s 1-2-3 rule comes in. The Mariner’s 1-2-3 rule helps vessel navigators avoid encountering a dangerous storm because of a weather forecast error. It’s also known as the Danger Zone Rule, and the “1-2-3" part of ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
For centuries, injured seamen had one option after an injury at work: maintenance and cure . This maritime law requires no fault to be proven after an offshore accident for a worker to receive compensation. It only requires that a worker sustained their injuries on the vessel they're employed on or while performing the duties of their job. However, any payment an injured person receives for their ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Caj Boatright , Roland Christiansen , Joseph McGowin , and Claire Traver are currently representing a Texas man who was injured while working offshore. Our client fell over an unmarked hazard on the working surface of the vessel he was aboard, which resulted in severe injuries to his knee and wrist. His injuries could have easily been prevented if his ...
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Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Caj Boatright , Roland Christiansen , Joseph McGowin , and Claire Traver are currently representing a man injured while working offshore. Our client sustained serious injuries after he was struck in the face by a heavy cable that broke free as he was working. Offshore work takes place in one of the most dangerous settings possible. When employers fail to follow basic safety ...
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