Offshore Accidents: Legal Representation for Victims

Claims in Offshore Accidents

Many offshore accidents are catastrophic situations with multiple injured victims and fatalities. In 1920, the Jones Act or Merchant Marine Act was enacted to provide compensation to seamen injured while performing their duties. You may be entitled to compensation, if you have been injured on a rig or engaged in other activities on the water related to the oil or gas industry. It is critical that you have the legal support that understands all aspects of offshore injury claims. A Houston personal injury attorney from Kennedy Hodges, LLP has the experience and court record you can trust. There are many ways that offshore accidents can happen and these can include falling objects, cathead slips, cables snapping, and negligence in operation of equipment, explosions and others. These are high risk jobs at the best of times, and when something goes wrong, the innocent worker pays the price, in the most tragic case with their lives.

Under the Jones Act, there are qualifications to be met to be considered a seaman and these are: being assigned to a vessel that operates on a navigable waterway and having responsibilities that have contributed to the vessel's operation in a significant way over a prolonged period of time. The Jones Act was updated by the Supreme Court to include many other special function vessels such as floating drilling units. Fixed platforms are considered to be islands of Texas as designated so by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and employees who suffer offshore accidents on a fixed platform may be entitled to file a worker's compensation claim. There could be third party liability when it is established that an equipment malfunction or service provided by another firm contributed to the injury accident.

Offshore Accidents Involve Complicated Laws

The laws governing offshore accidents are complex, and you need to have an attorney with experience in these cases. At Kennedy Hodges, LLP our legal team can provide you with this level of experience and expertise. We are Board Certified Specialists in Personal Injury Trial Law and we have built a reputation for getting the maximum compensation possible for our clients. We take on offshore injury cases with a personal commitment to the injured and their families, and promise to provide the quality of legal counsel you deserve. Your case will be made a priority for our firm.

Contact a Houston personal injury lawyer for a free consultation about your case.