Articles Posted in Offshore Injury

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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.

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On October 18, 2022, a crane mechanic was awarded over $144,000 in a Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act claim after his employer denied responsibility for over two years.

On September 16, 2019, D.L. fell while descending the stairs of a heliport to the platform at Ship Shoal 178, in the Gulf of Mexico. It is estimated that the crane mechanic fell about five to six steps, landing on his back. Due to this incident, D.L. suffered injuries to his neck, back, right shoulder, and both hips.

After the accident, D.L.’s employer placed him in a modified position until he was let go six months later.  The employer then denied D.L. was entitled to benefits based on its own doctor’s findings that all his symptoms were unrelated.  However, D.L.’s treating physicians related his symptoms and their recommended treatment to the on-the-job injury.

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The U.S. Coast Guard received a call at 6:35 P.M. on Wednesday from Westwind Helicopter Inc. personnel confirming a company helicopter crashed into the Gulf with three people aboard. The crash occurred 46 miles offshore near Morgan City.

The Coast Guard District Eight watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew and diverted an Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew to assist. The Jayhawk aircrew arrived and found two crewmembers hanging onto life rafts. These two crewmembers were hoisted from the water. The body of a deceased third crewmember was found in the fuselage of the submerged helicopter.

The two surviving crewmembers were transferred to University Medical Center New Orleans and were last reported to be in critical condition. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.

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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:

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The U.S. Coast Guard and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are calling for stronger safety measures aboard oil platforms after an explosion on a Lake Pontchartrain oil rig left multiple workers injured and one worker missing. Five workers sustained critical burns from the blast, while two others sustained trauma-related injuries. A search-and-rescue mission was sent out for the missing employee, whose body was recovered five days after the explosion. The explosion occurred on October 15th, two miles from Kenner and around twenty miles north of New Orleans in an incorporated area of Jefferson Parish.

According to the City of Kenner Government, the platform (used for the transfer of oil) ignited because of cleaning chemicals that were not sufficiently hosed off. The explosion could be heard from miles away and houses up to 10 blocks away “actually shook from the boom.” Many of the employees on the platform were rescued subsequent to the explosion as fires continued to burn on the platform.

The environmental impact of the explosion is yet to be determined. The Coast Guard will continue to test the surrounding waters to determine if large amounts of oil were deposited into Lake Pontchartrain. Many Kenner residents have gone to social media to voice their concerns about the potential future environmental impacts of the explosion. Lake Pontchartrain is part of a larger ecosystem called the Pontchartrain Basin, an area consisting of many rivers, bayous, and swamps that could potentially be impacted by oil from the explosion. South Louisiana citizens are fearful of a similar situation to the Deepwater Horizon disaster seven years ago.

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In an important maritime law decision protecting seaman all over the county, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Louisiana verdict secured for an injured maritime worker. Attorney Blake R. David (lead counsel) and J. Derek Aswell of Broussard, David & Moroux represented the plaintiff. Guidry v. Tanner Marine, 16-61 (La. App. 3rd Cir. 10/19/16), 206 So.3d 378, writ denied (La. 1/23/17) 209 So.3d 90; writ denied (U.S. 6/12/17) 2017 WL 1494663.

In Guidry v. Tanner Services, a St. Landry Parish trial court found Ernest Guidry to be a seaman under the Jones Act and awarded general and special damages of $3,885,911.69. A 16,000 pound vibrating hammer fell on Guidry causing the amputation of his four fingers, a crushed foot, herniated discs in his neck and back, concussion, depression, post-traumatic stress, and total and permanent disability. The verdict was upheld by the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, and the Supreme Court of the United States — the final judgment with judicial interest totaled over $4,280,000.00.

Defendant, Tanner Services, LLC, was awarded a contract to construct a bulkhead in Grand Isle, Louisiana beginning in January 2012. The Defendant used three barges and two tugboats to move the equipment, supplies, and store materials, as well as to act as “floating docks” or “work stations” for a crane and preparatory welding. The project also used floating mats described as a large piece of wood similar to a “raft.” Guidry spent the majority of his time on the floating raft. Previously, Guidry had been strictly a land-based shop welder for Tanner. The trial court found that he was reassigned to do maritime work, and that this reassignment changed his status to a Jones Act seaman who can recover for his catastrophic losses from his at-fault employer. The court also found that the raft was an appurtenance to the crane barge.

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