Maritime Injury Blog

Injured offshore? Read the latest article by the attorney who "wrote the book" on Jones Act and maritime injury cases

Want to find the best attorney for your maritime injury or wrongful death case?

Click here to read the latest article from Board Certified Injury Attorney Brian Beckcom.

Deckhand who suffered back injury settles case against tug boat company

We are pleased to announce another substantial settlement for one of our firm's maritime clients.  Our client was an injured deckhand who hurt his back.  We got him a substantial confidential settlement in less than one year.

Click the link above to read more.

Blake Offshore pays substantial settlement to injured offshore worker weeks before trial

We are pleased to announce yet another terrific settlement for one of our Jones Act clients.

Our client was a long-time employee of Blake Offshore.  He was hurt when he fell in an open hole that was not properly marked off with caution tape (or any other kind of warning device).  He was severely injured.

In fact, our client was knocked unconscious for almost 5 minutes.  He ended up having the following injuries:

1.  Injuries to his head;

 

2.  Ringing in his ears, memory loss, blackouts;

3.  A neck injury;

4.  Herniated discs in his cervical spine;

5.  A shoulder injury (he tore his rotator cuff);

The company fired our client when the company doctor (who was completely and totally in the tank for Blake Offshore) literally said our client could return to work the same day he was injured!

Our client tried to do light duty work for Blake Offshore but Blake Offshore cancelled the light duty program after our client asked if he could try light duty! 

We filed a lawsuit under the Jones Act and maritime law.  Blake denied liability (they denied they were at fault).  They also denied our client was injured in the accident.

And they hired spies (private investigators) to spy on our client, his wife, his 2 year old boy, and his mother! 

A few weeks before trial, after we spent many thousands of dollars on the case, Blake Offshore agreed to pay our client a substantial settlement that will provide for him and his family for a long time to come.

Congratulations to our client and his family for his great settlement and for hanging in there during the case despite Blake Offshore's attempts to intimidate and scare him.

Injured Offshore? Helpful resources and articles

Do you have a Jones Act or maritime injury case?  The Jones Act and Maritime Attorneys at Vujasinovic & Beckcom, P.L.L.C. have successfully handled all types of maritime injury and Jones Act cases.

Before you talk to the company or any insurance adjusters, before you give a recorded statement, and before you choose the wrong attorney for your case, request a copy of Mr. Beckcom's book and read this list of helpful articles.

Interested in learning more about really happens in a maritime injury case?

Click here to request a copy of the "Insider's Guide to Winning Your Maritime Injury Case"

To learn more about our law firm and what we can do for you, please visit the following websites:

http://www.vbattorneys.com/

www.maritimeaccidentattorney.com

http://www.houstoninjuryaccidentlaw.com/

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  How much is my Jones Act, maritime injury, or offshore injury case worth?

3.  What is the Jones Act?

4.  How to wreck your Jones Act case

5.  Financial Insecurity and Wrongful Termination - Two Fears After a Maritime Injury

6.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

7.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

8.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

9.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

10.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

11.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

12.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

13.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

14.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

15. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

16. I was injured on a cruise ship - What are my legal rights?

About our law firm

Brian Beckcom handles Jones Act, maritime injury, and other offshore injury cases.  If you want to find out more about our law firm and the types of cases we handle, please visit our Maritime Injury Law practice area page on our main website.

Or, you can send a message to Mr. Beckcom by using the Contact form on this website.

Kinder-Morgan Tugboat Sinks In Houston Ship Channel

A Kinder-Morgan tugboat sank last night in the Houston Ship Channel.  The JR Nichols sank sometime last night with five crew members aboard it.  The JR Nichols, a 56-foot tug boat, is thought to have sank near the Sims Bayou turning Basin. 
The Coast Guard sent a helicopter and two boats last night to search for the five crew members.  Four members of the crew have been rescued but the last crew member has not been found. 
At this time, it is thought that the tugboat got caught in the wake of a bigger ship causing the JR Nichols to overturn.  An investigation is currently being conducted. 

Read Mr. Beckcom's latest article on giving recorded statements after an on-the-job accident

Mr. Beckcom has published a new article discussing whether you should give a recorded statement after suffering an offshore injury.

Click here to read Mr. Beckcom's article.

Transocean and Art Catering agree to settlement with injured cook

We are pleased to announce another settlement for one of our maritime clients.

Our client, a 55 year old cook, was employed by a company called Art Catering.  Art Catering contracts with offshore oil and gas companies, and operators, to provide catering and janitorial services.

Our client was injured when she slipped and fell on grease that had accumulated in the galley (kitchen) of an offshore jack-up rig owned and operated by Transocean, the largest offshore oil and gas drilling contractor.

Our client injured her head, back, and neck.  She needed surgery and was unable to work.  Art Catering and Transocean refused to help her.  We filed a case on her behalf under the Jones Act.

One month before the case was scheduled to go to Court, the companies offered to pay our client a substantial settlement.

The settlement will allow her to get the surgery she needs, will replace her lost wages, and provides compensation for her pain and suffering and mental anguish.

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Injured Offshore? Helpful resources and articles

Do you have a Jones Act or maritime injury case?  The Jones Act and Maritime Attorneys at Vujasinovic & Beckcom, P.L.L.C. have successfully handled all types of maritime injury and Jones Act cases.

Before you talk to the company or any insurance adjusters, before you give a recorded statement, and before you choose the wrong attorney for your case, request a copy of Mr. Beckcom's book and read this list of helpful articles.

Interested in learning more about really happens in a maritime injury case?

Click here to request a copy of the "Insider's Guide to Winning Your Maritime Injury Case"

To learn more about our law firm and what we can do for you, please visit the following websites:

http://www.vbattorneys.com/

www.maritimeaccidentattorney.com

http://www.houstoninjuryaccidentlaw.com/

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  How much is my Jones Act, maritime injury, or offshore injury case worth?

3.  What is the Jones Act?

4.  How to wreck your Jones Act case

5.  Financial Insecurity and Wrongful Termination - Two Fears After a Maritime Injury

6.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

7.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

8.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

9.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

10.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

11.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

12.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

13.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

14.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

15. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

16. I was injured on a cruise ship - What are my legal rights?

About our law firm

Brian Beckcom handles Jones Act, maritime injury, and other offshore injury cases.  If you want to find out more about our law firm and the types of cases we handle, please visit our Maritime Injury Law practice area page on our main website.

Or, you can send a message to Mr. Beckcom by using the Contact form on this website.

Exxon Valdez case - Punitive damages allowed under maritime law

The United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in the Exxon Valdez oil spill case.

Once again siding with big business over the rights of individuals and families, the Court sliced down the punitive damage award from $2.5 billion dollars to $500 million dollars.

Setting aside the fact that $500 million represents less than one day of profit for Exxon Mobil, and the fact that the Court basically just made up a number out of thin air, and the fact that the punitive damage award, while large, is a drop in the bucket for Exxon, the Court once again shows a disturbing lack of confidence in the ability of American citizens to serve on juries, listen to evidence, and reach decisions.

Essentially, 8 lawyers from Washington D.C., most of whom have never actually tried a lawsuit themselves, and none of whom has any real idea what the Valdez spill did to thousands of Alaskan families and citizens, have once again substituted their judgment for the jurors and judges who actually heard the evidence in the case and reached a decision. 

The silver lining

The silver lining in the case is that the justices, perhaps unwittingly, seem to have recognized that punitive damages are recoverable in maritime law. 

For decades, most lawyers who represent Jones Act seaman and injured maritime workers have been under the impression that punitive damages were most likely not available in these types of cases.

What this has meant, as a practical matter, is that maritime defendants could treat the injured workers as poorly as they wanted, be as unsafe as they wanted, and avoid any sort of responsibility or threat of punitive damages.

The Exxon Valdez case seems to take away that defense.  Which is very helpful for injured workers, and, surprisingly from this Court, not quite as helpful to big business and insurance companies.

What do you think about the Exxon Valdez case?  Did the Court get it right?  Or should the Court defer to the jurors who actually heard the evidence and rendered a verdict?

Want to know more about maritime injury cases? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry.  We are based in Houston, Texas.  We represent offshore workers all over the world.

To learn more about our law firm and what we can do for you, please visit the following websites:

www.vbattorneys.com

www.maritimeaccidentattorney.com

www.houstoninjuryaccidentlaw.com

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.