Workers in the marine industry
face one of the highest risks of work injury compared to other occupations.
Maritime law recognizes the risks faced by mariners and sailors. The law gives
them the right to claim significant compensation and benefits if they are
injured or suffer an occupational disease due to negligence on the part of
their employer or the ship's owning operator.
For more than 25 years, the Houston maritime injury attorneys of The Callahan
Law Firm have fought to secure maximum compensation for our clients who have
been injured. We understand the difficulties that injured accident victims face
when trying to get compensation from big corporations and their insurance
companies. That’s why we take a small firm approach. We limit the number of cases
we take on so that we can give you and your case the full attention and effort
you deserve.
We bring extensive knowledge and experience to every case we handle. Founding
attorney Michael S. Callahan has an engineering background and is
board-certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization. You can trust that we have the ability to handle even the most
complex offshore accident injury claims.
Learn more about the compensation and benefits you may be entitled to for your
injuries. Contact our firm today to set up a free initial case review with a
Houston maritime law firm.
Understanding Maritime Law
Maritime law is comprised of several different federal statutes. Those statutes
give people who are injured on sea vessels or in maritime facilities the right
to pursue compensation when their injuries are caused by the negligence of
employers or vessel/facility owners and operators.
Injuries on land – Injuries to maritime workers that occur at shore-based maritime facilities such as drydocks, cargo facilities and ports, are usually covered under the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
Injuries in navigable waters – Injuries to maritime workers that occur on the navigable waters of the United States are usually covered by the Jones Act. Injuries to workers on sea-based facilities, such as offshore drilling platforms, are usually covered by statutory extensions to the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. However, there are a number of exceptions to these rules that depend on the type of vessel the maritime worker was on at the time he was injured.
Injuries in the harbor – Depending on the exact
circumstances of the accident and the injured worker, the Jones Act or the
Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act may apply.
What Is the Jones Act?
The Jones Act, formally called The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, provides legal
protections and benefits under admiralty law to persons working as seamen
aboard vessels who are injured due to unseaworthiness of the vessel or other
acts of negligence that occur aboard a vessel in navigable waters. The Jones
Act was intended to ensure that maritime workers received compensation when
they suffered injuries or illnesses due to accidents or exposure on board the vessels
on which they served. However, unlike a workers’ compensation claim under Texas
law or the laws of other states, the Jones Act provides injured maritime
workers with a much broader array of benefits.
Your Rights Under the Jones Act
Traditional state workers’ compensation laws provide injured or ill workers
with medical care for their work-related injury or illness. Those workers get
disability benefits for permanent injuries and partial wage replacement if they
miss time from work.
The Jones Act gives injured maritime workers several other benefits not all of
which are available under state workers’ compensation laws. Jones Act benefits
can include:
- Medical care for work-related injuries and illnesses
- Living expenses during the period of recovery
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity due to permanent injuries
and disabilities
- Compensation for pain and suffering, physical impairment, and mental
anguish
Our Jones Act attorneys have handled many of these cases, and our Jones Act
lawyers are ready to help you. The Jones Act gives injured or ill maritime
workers the right to file a maritime or admiralty lawsuit to recover
compensation and benefits for injuries and illnesses that arise when working
aboard a vessel in navigable waters due to the negligence of the vessel’s
owner, operator, or another employee of the owner or operator.
Because the Jones Act requires vessel owners and operators to provide seaworthy
vessels, the statute effectively protects several important rights of maritime
workers:
- The right to a reasonably safe work environment
- The right to bring a lawsuit to recover compensation for
injuries and illnesses caused by someone’s negligence
- The right to compensation for medical care, costs of return
to shore, living expenses, and lost wages
- The right to lost compensation if one’s vessel is deemed
unseaworthy
- The right to punitive damages when one’s employer refuses payment of
benefits the maritime worker is entitled to
If you have a Jones Act case, contact our Jones Act injury attorneys today. What Is the Longshoremen & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act?
The Longshoremen & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides
workers’ compensation benefits to employees who work on loading, unloading,
crafting, and repairing maritime vessels. Maritime workers covered by the
statute include longshoremen, harbor workers, ship repairmen and shipbuilders.
The LHWCA also covers some workers aboard vessels in navigable waters. The
LHWCA obligates employers to compensate employees’ whose work-related injury or
illness requires medical treatment, causes them to miss work, or necessitates
vocational rehabilitation. The LHWCA also provides survivor benefits to the
families of maritime workers killed on the job.
Various federal statutes have further extended the scope of the LHWCA to other
kinds of workers, including private employees working on military bases or
other government property under contract to the government and offshore
drilling workers on the Outer Continental Shelf of the U.S.
Government employees and workers who are otherwise covered by state workers’
compensation laws are excluded from the scope of the LHWCA. Workers who
directly aid in the mission of a seagoing vessel are instead covered by the
Jones Act.
Your Rights Under the Longshoremen & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
If you are a worker covered by the LHWCA, you have the right to receive certain
types of benefits for a work-related injury or illness, including:
Reasonable and necessary medical
treatment
- Temporary partial wage replacement equal to two-thirds of
your average weekly wage while recovering from your injury or illness
- Disability benefits, the amount of which depends on the
scope of your disability and whether you have reached maximum medical
improvement for your disability
Vocational rehabilitation
A family of a covered worker killed on the job also has the right to receive
survivor benefits, including contribution toward funeral and burial expenses
and partial replacement of the worker’s wages.
What Is the Death on the High Seas Act?
A federal law, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) enables the families of
seamen killed in international waters to recover under a wrongful death claim.
The statute also allows recovery for families whose loved ones are killed in
air disasters that occur over the high seas.
In addition to protecting maritime workers on vessels on the high seas, DOHSA
also provides a right of action for the families of passengers on maritime vessels
who are killed while the vessel is past the three-mile territorial limit of the
U.S. coast.
Your Rights Under the Death on the High Seas Act
DOHSA allows you and your family to file a wrongful death suit against the
owner or operator of a sea vessel when your loved one dies due to the owner or
operator’s negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions while the vessel is
located in international waters. Examples of negligence might include failing
to conduct adequate safety inspections, failing to maintain sufficient
lifeboats or other safety equipment aboard, or failing to properly maintain the
vessel in a seaworthy condition and allowing unsafe conditions to persist for
those onboard.
Successfully proving negligence or recklessness will allow your family to
recover compensation for damages such as:
- The loss of your loved one’s economic contributions to your
family and household
- The loss of your loved one’s society, companionship, and
the value of their household work
- Your loved one’s funeral and burial expenses
- The cost of your loved one’s last injury or illness
- Conscious pain and suffering experienced by your loved one
prior to their death
Understanding the Limitation of Liability Act
Although the above maritime statutes and other admiralty laws impose liability
on the owners and operators of sea vessels and maritime facilities for work
injuries and occupational illnesses suffered by maritime workers and for
wrongful deaths that occur aboard their vessels, many vessel owners and
operators may turn to the Limitation of Liability Act to try to avoid financial
liability to injured workers or the families of deceased seamen and passengers.
The Limitation of Liability Act allows the owner-operator of a sea vessel to
limit its liability under the Jones Act, the LHWCA, DOHSA, or other maritime
law for injuries, illness or death caused by the unseaworthy condition of the
vessel if that unseaworthy condition occurred without the knowledge of the
owner or operator of the vessel. Specifically, the Act limits a vessel owner’s
liability to the value of the vessel and its “freight then pending” at the time
that a claimant’s loss occurred.
The Act was enacted in the mid-19th century, when ocean-based commerce
represented a far more dangerous proposition due to weather, piracy, commerce
raiding, and other hazards at sea that have largely been rendered obsolete in
modern times. Critics of the Act argue that the hazards no longer exist.
Injured maritime workers or the families of those killed aboard vessels in
international waters who may have a claim for compensation under maritime law
may have their lawsuits consolidated into one action if a vessel owner files
suit under the Act to limit its liability.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim After a Maritime Accident?
The time you have following a maritime accident to file a claim for
compensation depends on which
statute your claim arises under.
Jones Act – Three years from the
date of your injury to file a lawsuit
Longshore and
Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act – 30 days from the date of injury to provide
your employer with notice of your injury, and one year to file a formal claim
with the U.S. Department of Labor
Death on the High Seas Act – Three years from the date of
your family member’s death to file a lawsuit
If you fail to timely file your claim or lawsuit, you may be deemed ineligible
for benefits or compensation, and any formal claim you file will most likely be
dismissed by the agency or by the courts.
How Our Houston Maritime Attorneys Can Help You
Pursuing a maritime accident claim can often prove incredibly difficult. Vessel
owners and operators and maritime employers have many legal tools at their
disposal to limit the extent of their liability when seamen and workers are
harmed due to the employer’s or vessel owner’s negligence.
You need an experienced Houston maritime attorney from The Callahan Law Firm to
ensure that you have the best chance at recovering the financial compensation
you deserve. Our firm can help you with your maritime accident case by:
- Conducting a detailed, independent investigation into the
circumstances of your accident and securing important evidence and documents we
can use in your case.
- Identifying liable parties and potential sources of
compensation (such as insurance coverage).
- Working with expert witnesses who can help us build a
strong, persuasive case on your behalf.
- Filing timely claims on your behalf and aggressively
negotiating for a settlement or resolution that provides you with the full
compensation and benefits you deserve.
- Vigorously advocating your case in court if liable
employers or vessel owners refuse to agree to a settlement that gives you the
fair financial recovery you deserve.
Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a Houston maritime accident lawyer from The Callahan Law Firm today. You will learn more about your legal rights and how our firm can help you pursue the full and fair compensation that you deserve.
You pay nothing unless you win. Do not hesitate to contact our maritime injury law firm by phone or online now.