Baton Rouge Maritime Accident Attorneys
Maritime and Offshore Accidents
Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast have always had a close connection to the maritime and offshore industries. Whether working on an oil rig, a shipping vessel, or a commercial fishing vessel, working on the water can be a dangerous profession, and injuries can occur quickly. Fortunately, maritime and offshore workers are protected by state and federal laws. If you or a loved one have been injured while working on the water, you should consult with an attorney experienced in maritime and admiralty claims. Some of the laws that may govern your claim include the Jones Act, the Longshore and Shore Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), general maritime law, or general negligence, depending on where the accident occurred.
The Jones Act
The Jones Act is a federal law that allows seamen injured in the course of their employment to sue their employer for personal injury damages. Seamen are not entitled to general workers’ compensation benefits under state or federal law. Because injured seamen cannot pursue workers’ compensation claims against their employers, they must seek compensation through the Jones Act and general maritime law.
To qualify as a seaman, you must spend more than 30% of your time working as a crew member or captain on a vessel “underway.” To be considered “underway,” the vessel must be in working order, afloat, in navigable waters, and capable of being moved. The vessel may be moored or docked, but it cannot be drydocked or out of the water. Oil platforms and casinos permanently attached to land are not considered underway. Navigable water includes waterways that lead to the ocean or cover more than one state. Rivers across the country are considered navigable waterways, as are lakes that cross state lines or connect to rivers. A landlocked lake that is located entirely within one state would not be considered a navigable waterway, meaning a worker’s claims would fall under that state’s general negligence laws and not the Jones Act.
The burden of proof for a plaintiff is lower under the Jones Act than for a general negligence claim. In a general negligence claim, the injured party must show that the other party’s action was the most probable cause of their injuries. Under the Jones Act, the injured party must show that the employer’s actions caused their injuries, but it does not have to be the most probable cause. An injured seaman can recover all of the usual damages available in a personal injury case, such as lost wages, loss of earning capacity, past and future medical expenses, pain, suffering, and mental anguish.
The statute of limitations for filing a Jones Act claim is three years from the date of the injury. Although the Jones Act is a federal law, lawsuits can be filed in state or federal court.
The Port and Coastal Workers’ Compensation Act
The LHWCA is a type of workers’ compensation coverage available to certain maritime employees. The Act covers shore workers, harbor workers, and most other workers on docks and in marine terminals or shipyards. It also provides coverage to civilian employees on military bases under a separate federal law called the Defense Base Act. For an employee to be eligible for benefits under the LHWCA, at least part of the employee’s work for the employer must be composed of “maritime” duties. This means that a significant portion of the employee’s work must have something to do with water or ocean transportation. This test is quite broad, and the LHWCA provides coverage to longshoremen and others involved in the loading and unloading of vessels, ship repairers, shipbuilders, truckers who transport containers off vessels, and mechanics who repair such trucks. The LHWCA specifically excludes certain recreational boatbuilders, recreational boat mechanics, general marine workers, fishermen, and workers covered by the Jones Act.
To qualify for coverage under the LHWCA, a maritime employee must work on, near, or adjacent to navigable waters. This includes eligible employees who work on or very near the water, such as those who work at least part of the time at docks, terminals, or other areas used by and in the loading, unloading, repair, dismantling, or construction of a vessel.
Injured employees are entitled to receive a percentage of their wages depending on the severity of their injuries. The wage benefits provided by the LHWCA are divided into four categories:
- temporary total disability
- temporary partial disability
- permanent total disability, and
- Permanent partial disability.
An injured employee is entitled to payment for all reasonable and necessary medical treatment and may also receive payment for mileage and other transportation expenses for travel to and from medical treatment.
The Death on the High Seas Act
When a mariner dies more than three nautical miles from the U.S. coast, DOHSA allows family members to file a claim for damages against the vessel owner. To proceed, the family member must prove that the negligence of an employer, vessel owner, or co-worker resulted in the wrongful death or that the vessel was unseaworthy. In addition to applying to cases involving vessels sailing more than three nautical miles from the U.S. coast, the law also applies to fatal aircraft accidents that occur beyond the 12-mile limit in international waters.
The right to file a DOHSA claim belongs to the seaman’s surviving spouse, children, parents, or siblings. However, to be eligible to file a claim, the relative must have been financially dependent on the seaman. For example, young adults living alone would not be eligible to file a DOHSA claim, but a minor child still living at home could file a claim.
DOHSA only allows for the recovery of damages representing the financial support and contributions the deceased’s family would have received had the seaman not died. Recovery available under DOHSA is limited to funeral expenses, medical expenses, loss of inheritance, loss of support, loss of services, and parental support for children. The Act does not allow for recovery of pain and suffering prior to death, lost wages, mental pain and anguish, or loss of society. However, if the maritime worker is classified as a Jones Act seaman, the seaman’s estate may seek damages for pain and suffering prior to the deceased’s death under the Jones Act. When the deceased’s death was the result of a commercial airline accident, the family may also seek compensation for “loss of care, comfort, and companionship.”
The statute of limitations for filing a DOHSA claim is three years from the date of death. This period can be reduced by contract to one year if the deceased was traveling as a passenger on a cruise ship.
Law on Lands Outside the Continental Shelf
The Outer Continental Shelf consists of all submerged lands located beyond state lands and submerged waters (from 3 nautical miles offshore) under the jurisdiction and control of the United States. OCSLA extends to workers many of the same benefits and protections as the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, but specifically targets maritime employees working on the Outer Continental Shelf who are not covered by the Jones Act. OCSLA extends the Jones Act to various permanent and temporary extraterritorial installations, structures, or devices, including:
- Artificial islands
- Oil platforms
- Wind turbines
- Storage facilities
- Natural gas extraction equipment
- Floating socks
Oil rig workers, longshoremen, mechanics, harbor workers, and shipwrights are some of the occupations protected by OCSLA. An OCSLA claim can include compensation for medical costs, disability payments, and rehabilitation costs for workers injured in OCS. OCSLA also provides benefits to the families of employees who died while working in OCS. Injured OCS workers can claim these benefits regardless of who was at fault for the accident that caused their injuries.
Whether the lawsuit must be filed in state or federal court will depend on where the injury or illness occurred. If the injury or illness occurred while the worker was within the three-mile limit, the case will likely be heard in the state court of the state closest to where the accident occurred. If the injury or illness occurred outside the three-mile limit, the lawsuit must be filed in federal court. Exceptions include accidents or illnesses that occur in Texas, Florida, or Louisiana, whose waters extend beyond the three-mile limit.
General Maritime Law
Under general maritime law, an injured seaman is entitled to maintenance and cure. Maintenance includes the injured seaman’s room and board while recovering from an injury. Maintenance also includes expenses such as rent or mortgage, utilities, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and food, but not things like phone, internet, or car payments. Cure refers to medical expenses. The employer must pay the injured seaman maintenance and cure benefits until they reach a point of maximum medical improvement.
General Negligence Claims
If your claim does not fall under one of the specific statutes mentioned above, your claim likely falls under the general negligence law of the state in which you were injured. This would be the case with boating injury claims arising from non-commercial vessel accidents. You would need to prove that another person was negligent and that their actions caused your injuries. Recoverable damages would include pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and wrongful death claims, if applicable. You may also be able to pursue product liability claims under general negligence if you can prove that a boat, personal watercraft, or some component part was defective and caused your injuries.
Talk to an Experienced Maritime Injury Attorney
If you or a loved one has been injured while working on the water, you should speak with an experienced maritime attorney about your rights and claims. At the Baton Rouge law firm of Big River Trial Attorneys, we have been helping injury victims and their families for over 14 years. We have helped our clients recover millions of dollars and are ready to fight for you. Call our office today at 225-437-2733 to schedule a free consultation.