Maritime Accidents: Texas & Worldwide

Our Houston Lawyers Will Litigate Maritime Accidents Worldwide

From the North Sea drilling platforms to the channels and bayous of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, injured maritime workers worldwide turn to the accident and injury attorneys of Stevenson & Murray. The law firm offers practical legal guidance and experienced legal representation in a full range of maritime accident cases, including:

• Jones Act claims on behalf of injured seamen. The Jones Act is a piece of federal law specifically designed to provide legal recourse to workers at sea. Since state-level workers’ compensation and personal injury laws may not apply where these injuries occur, the Jones Act provides an invaluable legal avenue for recovery for anyone injured while working onboard a seafaring vessel, including in international waters.
• Drilling rig, ship and platform injuries of all kinds. Offshore oil and gas drilling is inherently dangerous in many ways. When accidents happen in these work environments, victims are often left with expansive damages and long-term medical complications. Some may be unable to work in the future, and a maritime accident attorney is an ideal resource for anyone in this situation to consult.
• Maintenance and cure claims on behalf of injured maritime workers. “Maintenance” refers to the compensation an injured maritime worker needs to account for the income they cannot earn while recovering from an injury, and “cure” refers to the cost of the medical treatment they need to recover as fully as possible. The Jones Act and other maritime accident laws enable the victims of maritime work-related accidents to seek maintenance and cure for the damages they sustain while working.
• Sailors injured shoreside during work duties. If a sailor is injured while working onshore, they may still be covered by the Jones Act or other maritime work-related injury legislation. However, the qualification for filing these claims typically hinges on the amount of time the claimant spends working onshore versus the time they spend offshore. Your maritime accident attorney can assist you in clarifying the details regarding your eligibility to file any type of civil suit in response to an injury suffered while shoreside.
• Maritime exposure and illness, including chemical burns and diseases like cancer, leukemia and mesothelioma. When most people think of work-related maritime injuries, they imagine physically traumatic accidents. However, eligibility to file a Jones Act claim or other maritime injury claim extends to acquired illnesses as well. Many sailors and other maritime workers are exposed to harmful environmental conditions and substances that, over time, can lead to the development of life-changing and life-threatening illnesses. A maritime accident attorney can help their client gather the evidence needed to prove their medical condition resulted from work and not some other cause.
• Injured divers. Commercial diving, salvage diving, and any other type of maritime work involving professional diving is extremely dangerous for many reasons. If an injury occurs while diving, the victim could face a host of medical complications, some of which may involve permanent disabilities.
• Seaworthiness claims due to improper crewing or maintenance of all kinds of vessels. If your maritime injury occurred due to the unseaworthiness of the vessel on which you were injured, the captain of the vessel and/or the owner would be liable for your damages. Again, your maritime accident attorney can provide appropriate legal guidance, so you know the direction your seaworthiness claim is likely to take.
• Wrongful death claims due to drowning, capsizing, and other fatal maritime accidents that the Death on the High Seas Act covers. The family members of the deceased would have the right to file this type of claim in response to their loved one’s fatal injury. When you choose Stevenson & Murray to represent your wrongful death claim, you can expect compassionate and responsive counsel through every phase of your case.
• Offshore worker, deckhand and dredge operator injuries. Our firm has years of experience handling all types of maritime injury claims and can address the unique details of your case, even if you work in a highly specialized field.

When you must file any type of maritime accident claim, it is crucial to hire a maritime accident attorney with solid professional experience handling cases like yours. Stevenson & Murray has cultivated a strong professional reputation as a leading choice for maritime injury counsel and has succeeded in helping clients who work all over the world recover from these accidents. The sooner you secure our firm’s representation, the sooner we can begin working on your case.

The firm represents maritime accident victims and injured seamen working on the East Coast of the United States, the Gulf of Mexico and in oil fields and ports in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Mexico, Azerbaijan and Singapore. Our clients primarily work in or for the petrochemical industry. However, we have substantial experience in maritime accident cases involving international shipping and dredging work. Additionally, we also represent commercial fishermen injured on the job.

Maritime Lawyer FAQs

Q: Will I Obtain a Larger Settlement if I Hire an Attorney?

A: You are far more likely to maximize your compensation for any maritime injury case when you have experienced legal representation on your side. You may be able to assess immediately recognizable losses like the cost of your immediate medical treatment following the accident and lost income during your recovery, but a seasoned attorney can potentially help you reveal additional avenues of recovery that you did not know were available to you. Therefore, the sooner you secure reliable legal counsel, the more likely you are to maximize your recovery efforts.

Q: How Long Will My Maritime Injury Case Take to Resolve?

A: The timeline for your upcoming case depends on a few variables, largely the clarity of liability for your damages and the scope and severity of those damages. Your maritime accident attorney can provide an estimate of how long your case will take to resolve and identify any potential challenges you could face that may extend this timetable. If your case cannot be resolved through settlement negotiations and must proceed to litigation, it can take several months to conclude.

Q: Do Maritime Lawyers Go to Court?

A: Your maritime accident attorney can provide a full range of legal representation to suit the unique details of your case. Many maritime accident claims are resolved through insurance claims and/or private settlement negotiations. However, it is possible that your case may require litigation. Depending on how your accident happened, the scope of your damages, and whether the defendant is clearly liable for your injury, your attorney may instead move to file your suit in court directly.

Q: Do I Need to Hire a Maritime Accident Attorney in Texas?

A: There may not be any strict requirement to hire legal counsel for a maritime accident claim, but doing so will dramatically improve your chances of success with your recovery efforts. An experienced attorney will know how to uncover all your available channels of compensation, gather the evidence needed to prove liability for your damages, and prepare you for the proceedings ahead. Even after accounting for the cost of hiring them, your attorney can make a tremendous positive difference in the final outcome of your case.

Q: How Soon Should I Hire a Maritime Accident Attorney?

A: It is always best to secure legal representation as soon as possible after a maritime accident. The more time your attorney has to secure evidence on your behalf, the better your chances are of maximizing your total compensation for your damages. Once you have addressed any immediate medical concerns after your accident, you should reach out to an experienced maritime accident attorney you can trust as soon as possible.

Contact the Maritime Accident Lawyers at Stevenson & Murray

Do you make a living on the water and then suffered a serious or catastrophic injury on the job? If so, then the capable attorneys at the Houston, Texas, law firm of Stevenson & Murray can offer you the legal help you need to obtain real financial recovery.

We invite you to call our offices (866) 928-4851 or contact us by email for more information. You can also schedule a free, confidential consultation with a leading U.S. maritime accident and personal injury trial attorney.

Please continue reading for answers to your questions about personal injury and information about wrongful death cases.