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 ...
Continue Reading
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 ...
Continue Reading
2022 has been a year of firsts for autonomous cargo ships. In February, the Yara Birkeland , a fully electric and autonomous cargo ship, successfully completed its maiden voyage in Norway. In May, an autonomous freighter named the Suzaku traveled 491 miles around Tokyo Bay without human intervention, performing more than 100 collision avoidance maneuvers. In June, the Prism Courage became the ...
Continue Reading
The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season officially begins next week, but a low-pressure system that formed in the Gulf of Mexico on May 22 had officials monitoring the area for a potential tropical storm. While this particular area of low pressure is not expected to develop into anything more serious than some heavy rain across the southeastern United States, it serves as a reminder that hurricanes and ...
Continue Reading
Did you know that commercial fishing has a fatality rate that’s 29 times higher than the national average? This makes it one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. According to the Alaska Western States Division office of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the top three dangers to commercial fishermen are: Vessel Disasters Vessel disasters are the leading ...
Continue Reading
Working offshore has its risks, and one of the most common is presented by the equipment that must be used to lift and transfer cargo and personnel . Derricks , cranes , and other deck lifting equipment can pose serious hazards if it is improperly operated, poorly maintained, or defective in any way. In this blog, we will talk about these maritime accidents and what can be done to prevent them. ...
Continue Reading
Deck winches serve various purposes on a maritime vessel. They can be used for anchoring, towing, mooring, pulling, and lifting or lowering heavy objects like nets. Installed on the deck of a ship, an electric or hydraulic winch can do a considerable amount of work in a short amount of time. Winches must be properly operated and maintained, however, or serious accidents can occur. Seamen and rig ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
While Louisiana’s offshore industry is known thanks to the state’s oil industry, not every Louisianan offshore worker is on an oil rig. In fact, many residents of Louisiana are employed on one of the state’s many riverboat casinos. Louisiana is known for its riverboat casinos, which are old-fashioned paddlewheel boats like you might see in a Western movie or television show. Many of today's ...
Continue Reading
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 ...
Continue Reading
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 ...
Continue Reading
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 ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Understanding how your nationality or the flag of your vessel can affect your ability to file an injury claim starts with understanding the Jones Act and why it was created. Accidents can and often do happen to fishermen, oil rig workers, cruise ship crew members, and other offshore workers. Yet, for many years, injured offshore workers couldn’t recover the compensation that they needed to recover ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin’s offshore injury lawyers are fighting for the compensation that a platform worker from Morgan City, Louisiana deserves and needs. Our client suffered a stroke while working off the coast of Louisiana, but the operator of the platform failed to get him the medical attention that he needed in a timely manner. This delay in treatment caused the man to sustain serious disabilities that ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin Attorney Roland Christensen filed suit on behalf of a Jones Act seaman from Harris County, Texas. Our client was seriously injured after he slipped and fell on a slick surface while performing the duties of his job. His employer failed to provide a safe workplace, and our client is now suffering from injuries that should have never happened. Under the Jones Act, vessel owners are ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin filed suit on behalf of an injured seaman from Galveston County who worked with the same company for years. After sustaining a serious injury on the job, which required surgery, he was then pressured to return to work by the company. Pressuring employees to return to work before they’re fully recovered can make it even more likely for a worker to get injured in the future; just as ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Caj Boatright , Roland Christensen , and Alison Baimbridge are currently representing a seaman from Washington who was severely injured while working on a vessel near Galveston, TX. The man was serving as a trip pilot when he fell backward while climbing a set of stairs. He fell more than 15 feet to the floor of the vessel's second deck, causing injuries to ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Caj Boatright , Roland Christensen , and Alison Baimbridge recently filed a lawsuit against two major companies that operate offshore. Our lawyers filed this case on behalf of a Jones Act seaman for injuries he sustained while lifting extremely heavy canisters aboard a drilling ship. Vessel owners must protect their workers and ensure that they have the ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
In November of 2018, the Supreme Court heard arguments for a class action lawsuit involving asbestos-related injuries caused by bare-metal items. The lawsuit described “bare-metal” products as those that required asbestos to work but sold without asbestos. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Navy veterans who asserted that they developed cancer because of the asbestos they used on bare-metal ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin, LLP
Arnold & Itkin Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Kyle Findley , Kala Sellers , and Adam Lewis recently filed a lawsuit against an offshore drilling company on behalf of a young Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured aboard a drillship. Our client was working on the drillship when another worker kicked a pipe, causing it to roll onto our client’s leg, shattering it. Our client was forced to seek ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin, LLP
Arnold & Itkin filed suit in Dutchess County, New York on behalf of a Jones Act seaman injured on the Hudson River. The employer responsible for the work accident refused to provide our client access to the medical treatment he needs for his injuries. It is the employers’ responsibility to ensure that he receives the medical treatment and compensation he needs. Under the Jones Act, employers are ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Attorneys Kurt Arnold , Kyle Findley , Kala Sellers , and Adam Lewis filed suit today against an offshore drilling company on behalf of a Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured when he was attacked by a coworker. Our client was struck in the face with a pole by a co-worker who lost his temper without reason. To compound matters, the defendant company conducted an inadequate investigation ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin LLP Jones Act lawyers Kurt Arnold, Kala Sellers, and Adam Lewis recently filed suit on behalf of a Texas offshore worker who was injured on the job. While performing his duties as instructed, the client was crushed by a large metal tile. This incident caused severe injuries that needed spinal surgery and will require ongoing medical care. Offshore work is an inherently dangerous job ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Arnold & Itkin LLP filed a new lawsuit today on behalf of an offshore oil rig worker who was struck by a piece of wire rope while working aboard the Noble Clyde Bordeaux. He sustained serious injuries to his face, jaw, and other parts of his body. The young man required emergency surgery to address his injuries, which were caused by the Defendants’ conduct and the unseaworthy condition of the ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Often, those who are injured while working on a vessel are not certain if they are covered under the Jones Act. To determine whether or not your case is eligible for a Jones Act claim, it is important to understand how a "vessel" is defined under the law. What Is a Jones Act Vessel? When it was first passed in the 1920s, the Jones Act covered a limited number of vessels. These vessels included ...
Continue Reading
Posted By Arnold & Itkin LLP
Seafood is enjoyed by diners across the globe, offering nutrition and flavor. The way seafood is prepared is as varied as the species that live in the ocean. The most popular way we eat seafood is raw, baked, fried, or boiled. Per capita, humankind eats 20kg of fish per year. Worldwide, the aquaculture industry produced 74 million tons of seafood! Given how much seafood we consume, our oceanic ...
Continue Reading
