Imagine working on an oil drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico when defective equipment causes a serious injury. Now, you're faced with mounting medical bills, lost wages, and uncertainty about how to provide for your family. You know you may have legal rights under maritime law, but understanding what compensation you can recover feels overwhelming.
At Terry & Thweatt, our Houston offshore accident attorneys have helped many maritime workers secure the compensation they deserve after serious workplace injuries. We can help you understand your options for recovery and the types of damages available in offshore injury cases.
Recoverable Damages Under the Jones Act
The Jones Act provides important protections for seamen injured while working on vessels. Under this federal law, you may be entitled to several types of compensation.
Maintenance and Cure
Maintenance and cure benefits provide daily living expenses and medical care costs while you recover from your injuries. These benefits are available regardless of fault and begin immediately after your injury occurs. Our Houston offshore injury lawyers can help ensure you receive the full maintenance rate you deserve.
Lost Income
You may seek to recover lost wages from during your recovery period. This includes both past wages already lost and future wages you may lose due to ongoing disability or limitations. We work with economic experts to accurately calculate the full impact of lost earning capacity.
Ongoing Medical Expenses
Medical expenses cover all reasonable healthcare costs related to your injury, even if you have a preexisting health condition. This includes emergency treatment, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, medical equipment, and any future medical care you may need. Your employer must continue providing these benefits until you reach maximum medical improvement.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering damages acknowledge the physical pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish caused by your injuries. Unlike worker's compensation claims, the Jones Act allows recovery for these non-economic damages. The amount depends on factors like injury severity and impact on quality of life.
Loss of Enjoyment
Loss of enjoyment damages compensate you when injuries prevent participation in hobbies, family activities, and other aspects of life you previously enjoyed. For example, if you can no longer play sports with your children or pursue your favorite recreational activities, these damages help make up for that loss.
Possible Compensation Under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act
The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides different benefits for maritime workers who don't qualify as seamen under the Jones Act.
Medical Expenses
Medical benefits cover all reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to your work injury. This includes doctor visits, hospital stays, surgeries, prescriptions, physical therapy, and medical equipment. You have the right to choose your own treating physician.
Wage Replacement
Disability payments provide partial wage replacement while you are unable to work. The amount depends on whether your disability is temporary or permanent, partial or total. Payments are calculated as to two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to maximum limits.
Professional Retraining
Vocational rehabilitation services help you return to gainful employment if you cannot return to your previous position. This may include job training, education, resume assistance, and help finding new employment opportunities within your physical limitations.
Death Benefits
Death benefits are available to surviving family members if a maritime worker dies from job-related injuries. These benefits include reasonable funeral expenses up to $3,000 and ongoing payments to eligible dependents based on the worker's average weekly wage.
Filing Third-Party Offshore Injury Lawsuits
Maritime workers hurt while on the job offshore may have claims against parties other than their employer. These third-party offshore injury lawsuits can provide additional compensation beyond Jones Act or LHWCA benefits. Unlike workers' compensation-style benefits, third-party lawsuits allow recovery of full damages including pain and suffering.
Our Houston maritime attorneys carefully investigate every case to identify all potential sources of recovery. We work with maritime experts to establish liability and document the full extent of damages.
Other Contractors
Third-party offshore injury lawsuits often arise when other companies working at the same site contribute to an accident. Consider a situation where contractors improperly secured equipment that later fell and caused injuries. While receiving benefits from your employer, you could pursue additional damages from the negligent contractor.
Property Owners
Vessel owners may also be liable if unsafe conditions on their ship caused your injury. Even if you're covered by the LHWCA, you can still pursue claims against vessel owners for negligence. This might include failure to maintain safe walkways, inadequate lighting, or other hazardous conditions.
Rental Providers
Equipment rental companies sometimes share responsibility for maritime accidents. If they provide faulty equipment or fail to maintain it properly, they may be liable for resulting offshore injuries. This could include defective lifts, winches, or safety equipment.