Jones Act Maritime Lawyer : Houston Jones Act & Maritime Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Arnold & Itkin Law Firm : Offshore Injury, Maritime Law : Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida

Jones Act lawyers Kurt Arnold and Paul Skrabanek of Arnold and Itkin LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mario Gonzales, a seaman and long-term employee of Fugro who sustained injuries to his neck and back in a fall that occurred when he slipped on the stern of M/V Fugro Discovery. Several fellow crew members witnessed the fall and reported the accident. Gonzales now suffers chronic back pain and migraine headaches. The 230’ Fugro Discovery, built in 1997 for the Norwegian navy, is now used as a multi-role geophysical and hydrographical survey vessel. At the time of the accident, Fugro Discovery was conducting operations in the Bay of Campeche on behalf of PEMEX, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company. The lawsuit was filed in Houston, Texas.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Houston maritime lawyers Kurt Arnold and Paul Skrabanek of Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed suit on behalf of a maritime worker from Crowley, Texas, who was injured while boarding a vessel owned by Maritech Resources, Inc. The injury occurred when the plaintiff was exiting a Rotorcraft Leasing Co., L.L.C. helicopter and fell upon the vessel’s helideck. The victim sustained a number of injuries in the fall, including a closed head injury that left the worker unconscious for nearly 30 minutes. The injury was caused by the negligence of the defendant's employees, who carelessly left foreign substances on the helideck. The case is currently pending in Galveston County Court.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

The maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed suit in Galveston County, Texas, on behalf of an injured shrimp boat crew member who contracted a dangerous staph infection on his dominant hand. The injured seaman, a resident of Ft. Worth, Texas, contracted the infection while working offshore on a vessel owned by Trico Shrimp Company of Freeport, Texas, which is in Brazoria County.

In the United States, maritime law requires shipowners to provide maintenance and cure benefits to seamen who are injured in the course of their employment until they are either fit to return to duty or they reach a state of maximum medical improvement. The maintenance benefit covers basic room and board expenses, whereas the cure benefit provides for reasonable medical expenses needed to treat the injured seaman. Unfortunately, in this case Trico refused to pay any maintenance or cure.

Arnold & Itkin LLP is proud to help this seaman get the medical attention he deserves in the hope that he will be able to regain full use of his hand.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Jones Act lawyers Kurt Arnold and Paul Skrabanek of Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed suit against Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) and Cameron (NYSE: CAM) on behalf of a long-term Ensco employee who was injured onboard one of the company's offshore jack-up rigs. The employee, a Jones Act seaman from Deridder, La., sustained a neck injury while following the instructions of a Cameron man on the rig. The unfortunate situation was made worse when the seaman’s neck was reinjured due to Ensco’s negligence. A loyal employee of longstanding, the plaintiff resisted suing Ensco over the neck injury, but when the company terminated his maintenance and cure benefit despite clear recognition that the injury required neck surgery, he was left with little choice. In the Unites States, admiralty law dictates that it is every shipowner's duty to provide maintenance and cure to crew members who are injured while in service to their vessel.

The case is filed in Harris Country District Court, with the Honorable Patricia Hancock presiding.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Arnold & Itkin LLP recently filed a Jones Act claim against Tetra on behalf of a Gibson, Louisiana Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured on a derrick barge owned by the company. The injured seaman, employed by the company as a welder, herniated several discs in his neck when he was ordered to move heavy weightlifting equipment. Even though Tetra has refused to pay maintenance and cure benefits as required by admiralty law, Arnold & Itkin LLP's maritime lawyers are proud to stand by their client and help him through these difficult times. The accident occurred in Morgan City, Louisiana, and the case is pending in Galveston County, Texas.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link