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.

Frequently Asked Questions about Jones Act and Maritime Law

Below are some initial questions many clients have when they first contact Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C. The questions below may address many initial concerns you may have. If you don't find the answers here, you should contact us for answers to questions specific to your case. The consultation is free.

Maritime Injuries

Q: What is my offshore injury case worth and how quickly should I expect the company to settle my case?

A: One of the most commonly asked questions I get from our offshore client's is "What is my case worth, and when should I expect to settle it?"

There are a number of factors that determine what your case is worth, and how quickly it settles.

Offshore Injury Settlements - What Is An Offshore Injury Case Worth?

The settlement or jury verdict amount for an offshore injury case depends on large number of factors. First, the seriousness of the injury itself. For instance, is the injury something that will keep you out of work forever? For a year? For a month? Not at all? These questions must be answered by experts trained to evaluate such things, and obviously, the more serious the injury, the higher (in general) the settlement value.

Another factors is whether you have a Jones Act case, a General Maritime Law case, a Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act case, an Outer Continental Shelf Land's Act case, or some other kind of cases. In general, Jones Act cases are valued more highly because the law (in general) is better than most other laws. But this is not always true and depends on the facts of each individual case.

Another fact is where the injury happened and where you file it. Some places are better to file a lawsuit than others--some places tend to be more pro-business and anti-injured employee, while others are more pro-injured employee and less pro-business. Offshore injury claims have extremely complicated venue rules about where you can file your case--you MUST talk to an experienced offshore injury lawyer to make this determination.

There are a lot of other things to consider when determining the value of an offshore injury settlement or jury verdict, including:

--How good is your lawyer? How experienced? Can your lawyer actually win at trial? Does your lawyer have the resources to take on large offshore companies?
--How good is the defense lawyer? How experienced? Can the defense lawyer actually try a case?
--How clear is the "liability", or, to put it another way, how clear is it about who was at fault?
--Were any safety regulations violated? By whom? How serious were the violations?
--Has any employee been injured in the same way, or by the same equipment, before?
--Were there pre-accident warnings?

The list goes on and on. This is just a sample of the many things that an experienced offshore injury lawyer can help you evaluate.

When Will I Get My Settlement or My Court Date?

This completely depends on the Court you are in, how hard your lawyer fights for you, and how hard the company's lawyer tries to delay the case.

Generally, we try to settle cases or try them to a jury or judge within 1 year from the first interview with you. We do not try to "negotiate" before filing suit because it is almost always a waste of time. We file your lawsuit immediately and get a trial date as quick as we can--in our experience, that's really the only way to force a reasonable and fair settlement.

Conclusion

You must have your case evaluated by an experienced offshore injury lawyer to determine a fair and reasonable settlement or jury verdict range. You also need to make sure your lawyer will be willing to push your case to trial without unnecessary delay, and spend the time and money to win the case as quickly as possible.

After all, in many cases, it is you and your family's future on the line.

About the author

Brian Beckcom is a Board Certified Injury Trial Lawyer who handles serious offshore injury cases, dangerous products cases, truck accident cases, wrongful death cases, paralysis and burn cases, plane and helicopter crash cases, and other difficult and serious personal matters. He is based in Texas but handles cases nationally and internationally.

Mr. Beckcom has a history of winning offshore injury cases, including Jones Act cases, Longshore cases, Maritime Law Cases, Offshore Oil Rig cases, and other similar cases.

Mr. Beckcom has never lost an offshore injury case at trial.

Mr. Beckcom can be contacted directly through this website or though his dedicated offshore injury website, "The Maritime Lawyer," www.themaritimelawyer.com.