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.

Employer trick exposed: categorizing a Jones Act seaman as a "Longshore" claim. Why would an employer try to do this? If you are injured offshore, you need to know.

Offshore employers have tried to play this trick on our clients several times in the past. Here's how it goes down:

A Jones Act seaman is injured on the job. When this happens, the employer is legally responsible for paying the injured seaman maintenance and cure benefits, and is also liable for any damages caused by its negligence. The Jones Act is the maritime law that sets out these rules, and the employee may directly sue the employer if benefits and damages are not properly paid.

Offshore employers know that they usually have significant liability when they are sued under the Jones Act. Sometimes, in an effort to escape this liability that the law puts on them, employers try to classify an injured Jones Act seaman as having a "Longshore" claim. This is much different than a Jones Act claim. First, in a Longshore claim, the employee cannot directly sue the employer. Second, and most importantly, benefits availabled in a Longshore claim are typically much, much lower than the expected benefits in a Jones Act lawsuit.

That's why some employers try to do this: to minimize what they will have to pay an injured offshore worker. If an injured seaman does not have a qualified maritime lawyer representing him or her, this trick could very well cause permanent damage to the seaman's future.

This is not proper, and we have held employers accountable for this dirty tactic when they have tried it on our clients.