Articles Posted in Maritime Personal Injury

A person can suffer injuries just about anywhere. However, if you suffer injuries while performing work, you may be entitled to (or restricted to) certain forms of recovery depending on where those injuries occur and your relationship with the location. For example, a person who is injured as a result of work they are performing may be limited to recovery under the Worker’s Compensation Act. The same is true for a person who is injured on the high seas.

When a seaman suffers personal injury or death while on a vessel, the Jones Act provides an expansive remedy for him. The Act mandates that “any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the court of his employment may, at his election, maintain an action for damages at law.” However, coverage under the Jones Act is dependent on one thing: whether or not the employee constitutes as a “seaman.” Unfortunately, because the Act does not directly define who qualifies as a “seaman,” it is often difficult to know whether you meet the requirements of a Jones Act seaman.

In order to qualify as a Jones Act seaman, one must show: (1) the employees duties contribute to the function of the vessel or to the accomplishment of its mission; and (2) there is a connection to a vessel in navigation that is substantial in terms of both duration and its nature.

Personal injury cases arise in many different shapes, sizes, and kinds. Whether it be a small injury from a simple car accident or life-altering damage from a plane crash, negligence may be found and recovery necessary. But not matter the type of case, all claims have one thing in common: a time limit for how long you can bring your case to court. When a plaintiff fails to bring their claim within this time period, the court will refuse to hear the case and a settlement cannot be made. So, how much time do you have to file your claim?

Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 3492, an action for personal injury, not relating to a faulty product, must be filed in court within one year of the date of the injury. This means as of the day your injuries or damages are sustained, the prescriptive period starts running. This rule applies to injuries arising from: (1) car accidents; (2) slip and falls; (3) pedestrian accidents; and (4) dog bites or attacks.

Not only should prescription be considered to ensure a claim may be filed, but waiting too long may raise other issues. As time passes, witnesses may be harder to find, videos and pictures of an accident may be lost, and other evidence may be destroyed. Additionally, filing sooner allows more time for settlement negotiations to be made.

On September 12, 2022, the Department of Interior announced a new proposed rule to ensure offshore oil and gas operations on the Outer Continental Shelf are conducted with the utmost safety and oversight standards. This proposed rule builds on reformed instituted by the Department since the Deepwater Horizon tragedy that killed 11 offshore workers and caused billions of dollars of damages.

Following the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement adopted several recommendations from multiple investigative teams to improve the overall safety of offshore energy operation. The BSEE Director Kevin M. Sligh Sr. says the proposed revisions “will protect workers’’ lives and the environment from the potentially devastating effects of blowouts and offshore oil spills.”

To further protect human lives and the environment, the Department is proposing revisions that would:

On Sunday, August 9, 2021, a party barge reportedly operated by a Lafayette resident hit a group of children on an inner tube on False River. The children ranged in age from 8 to 14. The boater(s) reportedly fled the scene of the accident. Investigators say that the driver of the boat went home and refused to take a sobriety test.  The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is investigating the incident.  Although there were no fatalities, one of the children was airlifted to a Baton Rouge hospital and may face prolonged recovery time.

Broussard, David & Moroux reminds boaters and spotters to be vigilant when operating a vessel and/or pulling a tube. Further, please take boater education safety courses offered for free at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries website: https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/boater-education.

The attorneys at Broussard, David & Moroux have the knowledge and experience necessary to handle boating and tubing incident cases and will fight to obtain fair compensation for the injuries of yourself or your loved ones. If you, or a loved one has suffered harm because of the fault of another, contact the attorneys at Broussard, David & Moroux to discuss your legal rights at (337) 233-2323 (local) or (888) 337-2323 (toll-free).

Late last month, a tank owned by Texas Petroleum exploded on Catfish Lake near Golden Meadow. The United States Coast Guard responded to a call by sending a helicopter and a locally stationed unit. Local Firefighters and state hazardous materials units also responded, successfully dousing the fire.

During an evacuation, one person was injured, suffering burns to his body. The person was transported to Terrebonne General Hospital where he was stabilized. Authorities established a three quarters of a mile perimeter around the explosion, but put out the fire before any residents were threatened.

The tank held crude oil before the oil was to be sent into the pipeline system. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

MORGAN CITY – As many as eight people were hurt in an explosion reported at a natural gas well in the Gulf of Mexico Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities said the incident was reported sometime before 3 o’clock after a well ignited. The victims reportedly suffered varying burn injuries in the explosion.

The patients were taken by boat to a dock in Morgan City. Helicopters were expected to land there to move those victims to a hospital.

Six of the nineteen people onboard a 129-foot commercial lift boat that capsized off the Louisiana coast Tuesday afternoon have been rescued so far. The vessel, the Seacor Power, had left port less than two hours before the accident and encountered rugged seas on its way out to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Coast Guard was on the scene within 30 minutes and several other good Samaritan vessels have been assisting the Coast Guard in the search and rescue operation.

Broussard, David & Moroux offers their thoughts and prayers to family and friends of the missing crewmembers in this difficult time and hope that all crewmembers are safely rescued.

An average of 16,500 car accidents occur daily across the United States. In the blink of an eye, a rear-end car accident can completely turn one’s life upside down by causing life-altering injuries. Such an event can leave one lost as to what to do next, scared as to the daunting recovery process that lies ahead, and confused as to where to even begin. Some insight into the expected process of legal settlements may aid you or a loved one in making important decisions following a tragic accident.

In Louisiana, a car accident resulting in an injury, death, or property damage resulting in over $500 requires the parties by law to contact the local police department. Following the accident, an injured party should seek legal assistance. This will significantly offset the post-accident burdens of both filing a claim with the negligent party’s insurance company and gathering  supporting evidence like medical examinations, photos, and witness testimony.

Further, an attorney can file suit against a negligent party, thereby holding that party liable for their actions. The lawsuit must be brought within 1 year of the date of the accident or else the claim is forever lost. Once the legal process begins, parties will work tirelessly to reach what is known as a settlement. A settlement resolves the dispute by dropping the claim before reaching trial in return for a monetary compensation. Settlement processes can last anywhere from a few months to a few years depending on the severity of the injuries and the accident. In the settlement process, the injured party seeks recompense for physical pain and suffering, repair or replacement of their car, medical expenses, mental anguish from the accident, lost wages, as well as other forms of damages.

ST. MARTINVILLE, LA – November 11, 2019

A Jones Act seaman was injured on January 29, 2016, when his coworker was piloting an Oceaneering survey vessel at high speeds while on his phone and slammed into a piling in the Empire Canal (Plaquemines Parish). The plaintiff was on the back deck of the vessel, an admittedly common practice at Oceaneering at the time, and he was slammed into the cab upon impact injuring his back.

Oceaneering contested liability arguing that the plaintiff should not have been on the back deck of the vessel while traveling at high speeds. Plaintiff successfully recovered under the Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims based on evidence that the pilot was on the phone, the crew was improperly trained, and that Oceaneering failed to have rules regarding phone use while operating vessels, having a lookout, or passengers working on the back deck while moving.

A Louisiana man is suing a Texas fishing captain following injuries suffered while working on the captain’s vessel. David Robling, the plaintiff, was working aboard the fishing boat, Red Bull, on February 20, 2019, when he suffered injuries resulting from the negligence and unseaworthiness of the ship-captain, Delbert E. Bull, Jr. The suit, filed in the Galveston County District Court, is in accord with the Jones Act, specifically 46 U.S.C. §30104, which protects seamen injured in the course of their employment and which affords them the right to legal action and a trial by jury against the ship’s owner.

According to Robling’s complaint, the ship’s captain, Bull, turned on the boat’s winch without warning the crew. As a result, the boards, nets, and tickler chains were thrown overboard. Without time to react, Robling found himself in the path of the chains, which wrapped around his chest and violently threw him to the deck of the boat. Unable to free himself, Robling was then struck by other falling equipment leading to injuries and mental anguish.

This is not Robling’s first legal encounter with Galveston’s maritime industry. In 2015, Robling filed a complaint against a shipping company after he tripped on equipment that the previous crew had left behind. The fall left Robling with serious and disabling injuries that could have been avoided had the ship’s owner or crew properly maintained the ship and its equipment or warned him of the existing hazards on deck.

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