When Does a Crew Member Need a Maritime Lawyer?

When you are injured working on a vessel of any kind, your rights under the Jones Act and general maritime law are clear. You can claim maintenance, cure and lost wages for an injury you receive on the job. The Jones Act protects you in all cases.

But how do you know if you need a maritime lawyer? We would urge you to contact a legal expert any time you are injured, but here are some specific signs that you need a lawyer:

• Your injuries are serious and require a good deal of medical attention. Directly following an accident onboard, you cannot know what the future holds. You may require surgeries, an extended hospital stay and rehabilitation. For these reasons alone, you need to contact an experience maritime lawyer to protect your rights.
  
• You are contacted almost immediately by your employer’s insurance company and offered a settlement. This is the oldest trick in the book. Soon after your injury, you don’t yet know how serious your injuries are and whether or not you will need ongoing medical care. That is exactly when company insurance adjustor pops in to offer you less than you deserve and save the company money.
  
• You do not understand maritime law. The laws governing crew members are complicated and very different from general U.S. law. To full protect yourself, it is much better to hire a lawyer who specializes in maritime law and can take your case to the best possible result.
  
• You are asked for a recorded statement of your accident and injury story. Here is another trick insurance companies use. If they can get you to say the things they want to hear, it can really hurt your case. Never agree to this without consulting a maritime lawyer.
  
• You are afraid you will be blacklisted if you complain about the negligence causing your injury. By getting legal advice before trying to prove negligence, you will be protected from this very real fear. A good maritime lawyer can protect you not only now, but also in the future.
  
• Your bills are piling up and you do not have any way to pay them. If you have waited a while before consulting legal advice, you may well be facing huge amounts of medical costs. Don’t wait any longer to get help.
  
• You are injured overseas and are not sure of your rights. Depending on what company you work for, what flag is displayed on your vessel and what your vessel’s mission is, you may well be protected by maritime law. There is only one way to find out. How? You guessed it. Contact a lawyer.
  

No matter how scary contacting a maritime lawyer may seem at first, your rights as a crew member are fully protected. So when one or more of the conditions listed above happen to you, your best bet is to involve a maritime lawyer.

 

Vujasinovic & Beckcom, located in Houston, are the very best lawyers for crew members who work on a ship anywhere in the world. Although our firm is located in Texas, we represent clients throughout the United States and around the world. Give us a call toll-free today at 877-724-7800 to see what we can do for you.