Offshore Storm Evacuations Present Injury Risks To Maritime Workers

With hurricane season soon upon us, it is a good time to remind ourselves of the severe risks placed upon offshore workers when they are required to evacuate vessels or rigs due to an impending tropical storm or hurricane.

Of course, this hazard often presents itself in the Gulf of Mexico, where we often brace ourselves from oncoming storms and hurricanes.

There is a lot of offshore activity in the Gulf of Mexico. When large storms or hurricanes push through, seamen who work on jack up rigs, platform rigs, lift boats, ships, or other vessels often must evacuate. By their very nature, evacuations are dangerous and often present significant and new hazards to maritime workers.

If you are an offshore worker and you are seriously injured during a storm or hurricane evacuation, you need to understand that there are certain laws in place to protect you and your family's future.

If you were assigned to work on a jack up rig, lift boat, or any type of moving vessel, the JONES ACT will very likely apply to you. There are very important and valuable benefits under the Jones Act that you will likely qualify for.

For example, you will be entitled to maintenance and cure, even if your injury was not caused by any fault of your employer. Further, if your company did something wrong during the evacuation to bring about your injury, then you have a claim against the company for negligence, for which you are entitled to various elements of damages, such as: medical bills, lost wages, offshore career loss, and pain & suffering. You can seek these damages also if the rig or vessel you evacuated from was unseaworthy, which in this context basically means it was not adequately equipped to allow you to safely evacuate from it.

After an offshore injury, the offshore companies often play various tricks on injured workers. They are able to do so because the companies know much more about an injured seaman's rights than the seaman knows. To educate yourself on some of the most common tricks, and how you can protect yourself from falling victim to them, visit our Company Tricks Exposed page.

If you decide to take steps to protect you and your family's legal rights following an offshore evacuation injury, you will most likely need to hire a qualified maritime injury lawyer. If you do your research and take your time, you will likely find the right lawyer for you.