Offshore workers face significant risks and dangers on the job. If you have been injured on an offshore job site, you need an experienced offshore injury and accident lawyer to help you build your case and ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve. There are many maritime laws out there, and navigating them requires knowledge and experience that only these specialized lawyers have.
offshore workers vs seafarers
Offshore injuries or accidents can occur on offshore platforms and rigs as well as on ships at sea. Many maritime laws cover these different situations. Only an experienced maritime lawyer can help you decide which law covers you and your situation.
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
For example, if you work on a platform or rig, you do not qualify as a seaman, but are covered under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). This law acts like a type of federal workers’ compensation and was created to cover workers who do not qualify as seamen or port workers.
jones act
If you qualify as a seaman, meaning you spend a significant portion of your working time aboard a ship in navigation, you are covered under the Jones Act.
An accident on your vessel offshore that causes you to be injured entitles you to recover damages through this law.
Offshore accidents can occur on continental shelf platforms, permanent structures or moving vessels. In any case, you need an attorney versed in the laws that apply to offshore accidents to help you navigate the system.
Types of offshore accidents and injuries
Working abroad is dangerous, and there are many potential situations in which you could be injured or even killed.
For example, you may have been injured in an accident that cannot be attributed to anyone’s actions. You may have been caught in bad weather on your boat and fallen off a ladder that was in good condition.
An offshore injury lawyer can help you in any of these situations. Your attorney will help you determine how you can receive compensation, even if there was no negligence involved in the accident.
Actual accidents without any negligence are not that common. Unfortunately, in most cases of offshore accidents, precautions taken by the employer can prevent you from being injured.
For example, your employer is responsible for ensuring that the ship and all of its equipment are in good working order, safety equipment is available, and all employees are trained to do their jobs. If an employer is negligent in doing something that causes an accident, he is negligent.
If your accident occurred on a ship at sea or on an offshore structure, you are entitled to compensation. This is true if the accident was actually an accident or involved negligence.
In any case, you need an excellent attorney to help you decide what to do next and determine what laws your particular type of offshore accident falls under.
How can an offshore lawyer help you
In many situations when a maritime worker is injured on the job, the employer and insurance company try to deny any compensation or try to offer a very low settlement.
This is why you need a lawyer to help you if you have been injured in an offshore accident. Your employer may try to compensate you immediately and ask you to sign something that will prevent you from suing for more compensation later. Compromising for this is a mistake. Instead, turn to an attorney for help in getting what you deserve.
Fighting an employer backed by a big insurance company isn’t easy. You have many maritime laws to support your claims, but there are many ways you can go wrong when trying to collect what you are owed.
An attorney can help you decide which laws cover you, how to file a claim, and what mistakes to avoid, such as missing the statute of limitations for filing.
Simply filing a claim is usually not enough to get your compensation. Your employer will likely continue to fight that claim. A lawyer will also help you by representing you. Y
You may need to go to arbitration or even trial to win, and having an experienced offshore attorney there to represent your interests gives you the best chance of getting compensated in the end.
Finding an Experienced Offshore Maritime Lawyer
If you are injured off the coast, there are several things you need to do immediately:
File an accident report with your employer.
Seek medical treatment and keep records.
Find an excellent attorney to help you.
Finding the right attorney is one of the three important things you need to do to ensure you receive the compensation you need to pay all your medical bills, your lost and experience helping people like you get compensation from employers and insurance companies. Only by working with a lawyer like this will you ensure you have done your best to get the money you need and deserve.