Offshore Accident Attorney and 3 strong reasons why you need one

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Offshore Accident Attorney and why you need one

When we are working offshore can be exciting, but it can also be dangerous. No matter how many safety precautions you take, accidents and injuries are common and sometimes fatal.

When workers work Offshore they can experience devastating injuries caused by dangerous conditions on offshore platforms, crew boats, jack-up rigs, and tankers, and in the ocean itself. Workers often aren’t sufficiently trained and work long hours with few breaks, making the risk of injury even higher.

When a serious injury occurs in an offshore accident, it can be emotionally and financially devastating for the victim. It can also be hard to determine where to start when it comes to recovering damages from personal injury or wrongful death.

Offshore-accidents

Common Causes of Offshore Accidents

Offshore and oilfield accidents are often preventable. They can happen during basket transfers, line handling, vessel collisions, and diving operations. Many accidents are the same as you would encounter in many workplaces, such as equipment failures and slip-and-falls. But working offshore is a more high-risk workplace environment, it may lead to injury, resulting from a fire or explosion.

Despite the big budgets associated with the oil industry, there is sometimes very little training and oversight on an oil rig. This type of employer negligence can result in an unsafe working environment that leads to under qualified employees performing dangerous tasks that they aren’t properly trained for, resulting in serious injury.

Offshore accidents commonly lead to head trauma, spinal injuries, severed limbs, and other serious injuries.
These injuries are often specifically caused by:

Oil rig injuries

We workers are working on oil rigs use complex and cumbersome equipment to drill and perform other tasks.
Many workers are not properly trained on how to use the needed equipment, which increases the risk of offshore accidents caused by human error. Deck accidents

The deck of an oil rig can be a chaotic environment where frenzied workers must constantly be on high alert. Workers are surrounded by trip hazards, fall hazards, electrical hazards, crush hazards, and pinch point hazards. They can easily be struck by heavy equipment, slip on wet surfaces, or fall when the sudden lurch of the vessel causes them to lose their balance.

Equipment failure

When equipment on an offshore vessel fails, it can result in many severe injuries. Workers can be burned or electrocuted, crushed, and even lose limbs. Operating machinery on an oil rig requires a high level of caution to prevent injuries from occurring.

Fires and explosions

Fires and explosions are some of the most deadly causes of offshore accidents. They can happen as the result of improperly stored fuel, poorly maintained pipelines, or collisions between vessels. When there’s a fire, workers may have to jump off the rig into the ocean — often from a height of at least 100 feet.

Even though workers are typically trained in the proper way to jump, the stress of the situation may result in a jump that leads to severe injury or drowning. Accidents caused by fire and injury can lead to life-altering injuries and even the loss of an entire vessel.

Injuries also commonly occur on tugboats and barges. Damages in an Offshore Accident Case
An offshore accident can be devastating to you and your family.

You may have injuries that require extensive and ongoing medical attention and rehabilitation, leading to medical bills that seem to keep piling up. Or a family may have experienced a fatal accident that has caused endless pain and suffering. When you have also lost your main source of income, it can feel like you’ll never find relief.

An offshore accident attorney can help you determine the number of damages you may be able to recover and negotiate on your behalf to make sure you get the best recovery possible.

Your offshore accident attorney will make sure you have all the needed medical records and documentation to prove tangible costs associated with your injury. They will also show how your loss of wages affects you financially, and make sure any third parties are held responsible for their negligence. An offshore accident lawyer is always ready to fight for your rights at any time.

The incident may occur on a ship of some sort, an offshore platform, on a dock, or a helicopter transporting crew from and to land. You must hire a Houston offshore accident lawyer that will thoroughly investigate the claim to determine who is liable and what laws apply.

Offshore-accident

Which law applies to an Offshore Accident?

There is a large body of state and federal law applying to offshore accident claims.

Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

Under 43 United States Code, section 1333, subsection (b) and (c), Congress extended the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act to cover employees other than “master members” of any crew or vessel who are working on the Outer Continental Shelf In the exploration and the development of natural resources.

This is what is known as the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. It is effectively worker’s compensation for certain marine workers and many dock workers that are not otherwise covered by the Jones Act.

Jones Act

The Jones Act provides certain protections to workers on sea vessels which includes jack-up rigs and oil rigs that are not attached to the ocean floor such as floating oil rigs and drillships.

Under the Jones Act, it covers employees can recover from pain and suffering, disability, medical expenses, and lost wages. The worker’s offshore injury lawyer must show that the damages suffered were caused by the negligence of the employer.

It is considered a “featherweight burden” because you must only tilt the scales of justice in your favor by a featherweight to win. This gives the injured worker and his offshore accident attorney a major advantage.

Some accidents covered by the Jones Act are:

1. Oil Rig Accident
2. Oil Tanker Ship Accident
3. Drillship Accident
4. Cruise Ship Accident
5. Riverboat Accident
6. Barge Accident
7. Shrimp Boat Accident
8. Tug Boat Accident
9. Offshore Injury and State Personal Injury Law

Offshore injuries that do not fall under the above laws may be covered by state personal injury law.

Statute of Limitations In Offshore Accidents

The Statute of limitations is a deadline by which your injury lawsuit/claim must be filed or you lose the right to bring it. Offshore injuries may fall under different Federal and State laws, the statute of limitations may also vary.
You should consult an offshore injury lawyer immediately to determine your rights and limitations.

How Offshore Accident Attorney Can Be of Help?

Offshore-Accident-Attorney-in-USA

When an offshore worker gets injured, the company or insurance company might try to evade paying the entitled settlement, at times, they might try to play a trick of offering you less and giving you a signed document where you won’t have to come back for more. This is where the best attorney comes in to save the day.

The offer might look enticing since you are a newbie, settling for it will be a huge mistake on your part. This is why fighting to get your settlement yourself is wrong. An Offshore accident attorney knows when to call the shots, he or she knows the law to use to support your claims, how to get the necessary evidence, file a claim, guide you not to miss out on the law limitations guiding your claim, etc.

In a scenario where it gets handy, an offshore accident attorney can represent you in court if it becomes a trial issue. This is why you shouldn’t settle for an ordinary offshore accident, but the best offshore accident attorney who has years of experience, a record of past successes of cases similar to yours, etc.

Finding a best Offshore accident attorney

Finding a Best Offshore Accident Attorney might look a bit tedious if you don’t know the way, but it is not as hard as it looks, only if you are ready to follow through with every process.

Accident-attorney

Tips to Guide you When Looking For The Best Offshore Accident Attorney

An attorney who is knowledgeable and has experience when it comes to legal conduct (Lawsuit),
An Attorney who knows everything about the federal, state, and international laws and pacts,
An attorney has sound judgment,
An attorney who knows both the maritime and court operation,
An attorney who is willing to go the miles for you irrespective of your location,
An attorney with a clean reputation, successful track record, and experience.

How To Find The Best Offshore Accident Attorney?

To find the best offshore accident attorney to represent you, you must be willing to put your hand, time, mouth, and leg to work. This is the only way to get the best.

Source: liveghmedia.com

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