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.

Commercial Diving Injuries due to Equipment Failure

Diving equipment used by commercial divers should be more rugged than non-professional diving equipment and also contain appropriate safety features. Commercial diving equipment that is not properly maintained, equipment that has aged beyond its useful life, or cheap knock-off equipment can contribute to serious diving injuries or death.

Sometimes poorly maintained equipment contributes to serious diving accidents because the diver panics when something goes wrong with his or her equipment. The diver then inadvertently makes a bad situation worse, leading to tragic injury or death. For example, if seal or straps on a helmet or face mask fails, a diver’s vision can be compromised, causing them to panic and inhale water through their nose or drop their regulator.

A similar problem can be encountered if the face mask or helmet is made from poor quality materials and breaks or shatters unexpectedly. Compromised vision can be a serious issue for a commercial diver, an issue that can contribute to a serious accident.

Examples of equipment maintenance issues

There are a number of ways that commercial diving equipment can fail due to the age of the equipment, questionable equipment quality or because of poor equipment maintenance:

Buoyancy compensators installed with wrong size inflator mechanism hose
Leaky buoyancy compensator
Defective buoyancy compensator power inflator
Improper use of dive computers (most are not intended for use by commercial divers)
Frozen or difficult to turn regulator knobs
Stripped port retainer screws
Leaky neck dams
Deteriorated helmets that don’t provide the full amount of breathing gas needed for hard work
Compressors with cracked fittings
Dry suits with damaged wrist and neck seals
Dry suit zipper failure
Worn hose connections
Damaged face mask, worn face mask straps
Failure of hot-water system for hot water suits
Scalding of diver when too-hot water used in hot water suit
Free flowing regulator due to poor maintenance
Failure of counterfeit diving helmets not manufactured to standard

If you were injured or someone you know killed because of a problem with commercial diving equipment, then you may deserve compensation. It is very important that you speak with an attorney who knows how to investigate and handle commercial diving accident cases, because many details can be missed by lawyers unfamiliar with these types of claims. Please contact the Houston law office of Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C to discuss your case with an experienced maritime law attorney.

Vujasinovic & Beckcom P.L.L.C

1001 Texas Avenue, Suite 1020

Houston, TX 77002

Phone: 713.224.7800

Fax: 713.224.7801