What Our Clients Say

Dear Mr. Beckcom:

I never got a chance to say thank you for the wonderful job you did on my daughter's case. She will be graduating in June from High School with cum laude status. She will be attending college at U.T. Austin and majoring in Communications. Thanks to your efforts her college education has been taken care of. Thank you again from both of us.

J. Perez

Houston, Texas
Mr. Beckcom fought diligently on my behalf against my former employer, without a retainer from me.....I was truly grateful to have Mr. Beckcom on my side and would recommend him to anyone without reservation."

A. Worley, Injured Cruise ship employee

New Mexico
I hired Brian Beckcom in 2009 for the injury case I had after I was hurt as a deckhand and within 11 months Brian had settled my case. He did such a fabulous job and I recommend using his firm for your maritime injury case.

J. McKeone, Deckhand

Livingston, Texas
Brian and his staff are courteous and professional, and they work diligently to make sure the client transitions through the process as easily and comfortably as possible.

Your sincere and satisfied client,

Steve T.

Houston, Texas
I was hurt on a boat offshore. Brian and his law firm worked hard on my case. The settlement he got for me will take care of my financial needs for the rest of my life. If you are looking for someone to take your interests at heart Brian and his law firm can give you the attention your case deserves.

Tim M.

Austin, Texas
I hired Brian after I was hurt on an offshore oil platform. I would recommend Brian and his law firm to anyone who needed a good injury lawyer, and especially any offshore worker. . ..

Jackie R

Houston, Texas
There are only a small number of attorneys who could handle such a complex case as mine, and Brian was at the top of the list. His response time is unsurpassed, replying within minutes to my initial enquiry. He has an instinctive understanding of the legal issues, and consummate people skills, an essential attribute in the negotiation phase of any litigation. Thanks to Brian the case was settled favorably within a year.

Steven S.,

Wales, U.K.
Brian, your book was a real eye-opener. If I had read your book sooner, I would have avoided a lot of costly mistakes.

Captain Jim Vickers
I was hurt on an offshore oil rig. I was unable to work or get proper medical care from the company. I was referred to Brian by another law firm because that firm knew Brian specialized in Jones Act cases. Brian settled my case in less than 12 months. The settlement will enable me to take care of my family financially for a long time. I would highly recommend Brian and his firm to any injured worker.

Freddy N.,

Lufkin, Texas

Disclaimer

We designed this website to provide information to consumers, injured people, and their families. Our goal is to level the playing field between consumers and insurance companies and expose the tricks, traps, and techniques they use to cheat injured people out of their legal rights. We also let consumers know about legal news, including verdicts and settlements and other interesting legal information.

But please understand that nothing on this website is meant to provide legal information about your specific case, create an attorney-client relationship, or imply that the results of your legal case will be the same as some other case.

Maritime Injury Blog

Maritime Injuries

11/17/2008
Brian Beckcom
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Should Exxon be forced to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages?

Right now the Supreme Court is arguing over whether or not Exxon should be forced to pay $2.5 billion in punitive damages, as approved by a federal appeals court. That’s the largest punitive damages award in American history, and would be in addition to the $3.4 billion in criminal fines, cleanup costs and compensation payments they’ve already paid.

The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska covered 3,000 square miles and is still affecting Alaskan fisheries today – 19 years later. One of the challenges from Exxon in this case is the finding that Exxon can be held liable for the ship captain’s actions. According to Exxon’s lead attorney, this ruiling goes against 200 years of maritime law, where an owner can be liable only for actions that it directed, ratified or participated in.

However, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disagrees, and has argued that Exxon is partially to blame for the accident, as company officials allowed the captain to work despite having been informed that he was an alcoholic and had been drinking. Other justices have sided with Exxon, including Anthony M. Kennedy , Antonin Scalia , and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

While the punitive damages awarded in this case are unusual for a maritime law case, the justices are limiting their review to questions of maritime law, and will not consider the constitutionality of the award.

What do you think? Should Exxon pay the additional $2.5 billion in punitive damages, or have they already paid enough? Leave us a comment and let us know.

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