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What Our Clients Say

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
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
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

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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.

Diving Injuries - Are Diving Injuries Covered Under the Jones Act?

Diving Accident Law

At Vujasinovic & Beckcom, L.L.P., we handle diving accident and injury cases.

One of the first questions in these cases, particularly in commercial diving cases, is whether the Jones Act covers commercial divers.

In 1992, in Ashley v. Epic Divers, Inc., the dive company argued that one of its employees, a freelance diver, was not a Jones Act seaman. The Court agreed. The Court reasoned that the diver was assigned to different vessels owned by differet owners and was therefore not a Jones Act seaman.

Dive companies have used this ruling to argue that divers only get Longshore benefits under the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act.

In 1995, 1997, and 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of opinions that provided some additional guidance on the question "Who is a seaman?" In these opinions, the Court focuses on the nature of the worker's work, not on some arbitrary "snapshot" test.

Currently, most commercial divers who are injured offshore will be Jones Act seamen. But like in most maritime and Jones Act cases, when you hire a lawyer, you need to hire a dive accident lawyer, not a general practitioner, or you risk losing lots of legal rights.

Diving Accident & Injuries - Proving Negligence

Generally, diving companies are responsible for diving accidents & injuries if they are guilty of doing something that a reasonably prudent diving company would not do.

What this basically means is that diving companies must follow standard policies and procedures, Coast Guard regulations, etc.

Unfortunately, in too many cases, the diving company fails to follow standard procedures or cuts corners on safety, resulting in serious diving injuries or even death.

The following are some examples of situations where a dive accident occured as a result of company negligence:

-lmproper decompression tables
-improper use of decompression tables
-using experimental tables
-operating outside the dive table limits
-ascending too fast
-improper medical treatment
-using improper equipment
-not enough manpower
-operating unsafely
-violating company or Coast Guard policies, or having inadequte or inappropriate company policies.

Diving injuries and accidents can be very serious, even life threatening. If you have experience a diving accident or injury, you should seek experienced legal representation in the form of a diving accident lawyer.

To learn more about the Jones Act and maritime law, please visit the other posts on this website, or visit our dedicated maritime law website, www.themaritimelawyer.com.