International maritime attorney Brian Beckcom discusses some of the considerations and questions if you are an Australian citizen who was injured abroad working for a U.S.-based offshore company.

One of the most complex areas of law involves the intersection of different legal systems, which is often called "choice of law." Choice of law analysis gets particularly complicated when multiple countries have an interest in the outcome of a particular case, or when international law may be involved.

In particularly serious injury cases, or cases involving the death of an employee, in our experience, the employer and any other responsible companies will "throw the book" at the employee or his spouse and try each and every "trick" in the book to frustrate, reduce, or eliminate legal rights.

We've discovered over our years of representing offshore workers that many U.S.-based companies will hire non-U.S. citizens to man their rigs and vessels, many times in thinly-veiled effort to reduce their tax or liability exposure. And all too often, they are successful in doing so.

We've had the pleasure and privilege of representing many foreign workers against U.S. companies, and in particular, we are currently representing a Australian offshore workers injured working for U.S.-based companies in foreign waters.

While these cases can be quite complex, handled properly, an Australian worker injured on a U.S. vessel can still recover proper compensation. But if the case isn't handled properly, the Australian worker or his family may be left with insufficient compensation, or no compenstation at all in extreme cases.

What Issues Make These Cases More Complex?

Simply put, everything.

Primarily, though, the difficulties an Australian worker or his family would face include the following:

1. What law applies?
2. Where will the case be heard?
3. Can I even bring the case in court?
4. How on earth do I find an attorney with enough knowledge to handle such a case?
5. How much will it cost me to hire such an attorney?

I'll try to answer each question below.

1. What law applies?

This is an incredibly complex questions and depends a lot on the employment contract, where the accident occurred, and a host of other factors.

In general, though, courts would first look to the law of the place where the accident occurred and give that law some consideration. However, for more reasons than I can possibly list here, the law that ultimately may apply could be different from the law where the accident occurred.

2. Where will the case be heard?

It could be heard just about anywhere with any connection to the case, or where the employment contract requires.

3. Can I even bring the case in court?

Maybe not. If you had an employment contract requiring arbitration, you may be forced into a private arbitration.

4. How do I find a lawyer for this type of case?

There aren't many who do this kind of work, which limits your options but also streamlines the interview process. My advice is to do plenty of Internet research and talk to other knowledgable professionals, and then interview attorneys who you believe have the proper qualifications and credentials. Of the qualfied candiates, choose the one you like and trust.

5. How much will an attorney cost me?

I don't know about all attorneys, or even most, but in our experience high-quality maritime attorneys typically charge a 1/3-40% contingency fee.