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

The maritime attorneys at Arnold & Itkin LLP are proud to represent a Louisiana maritime worker in a personal injury lawsuit against his employers for failure to provide proper medical treatment.

The seaman, David Charbonnet, filed the lawsuit under the Jones Act against his employers, Grand Oil and Gas, Laredo Offshore Services, and Laredo Offshore Constructors in January. Charbonnet was employed as a seaman on the vessel L/B Petite, a Class 150 lift boat used for work on offshore drilling rigs and platforms. In March of 2007, when he began experiencing stomach pains, Charbonnet requested that his employers provide medical care; his request was denied. At the time, the vessel was just off the Jefferson County shore. Lack of immediate medical attention intensified Charbonnet's symptoms and, as a result, the seaman suffered extreme “physical pain” and “mental anguish”. Charbonnet was later diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. The lawsuit claims that the illness resulted in physical impairment, discomfort, distress, and mental anguish. It also alleges that the employers were negligent in: their failure to provide immediate medical attention, their failure to supervise crew and train employees, and their failure to provide safety equipment and a safe workplace.

Maritime Injuries

Offshore workers who regularly work many miles from land and away from families have a right to expect timely medical attention, if necessary. Medical care can include access to a doctor, as well as, access to any medications necessary to treat an illness. Offshore workers work in an isolated environment, far from the general community; this can easily cause emotional suffering when one falls ill or suffers an injury. Any delay in providing medical care to these employees can extend their suffering and leave them permanently debilitated. Failure to provide immediate medical care can, therefore, be the basis for a claim against a company. A maritime lawyer can help in drafting such a claim. 

If you have been injured in a maritime accident, contact a maritime accident attorney at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free consultation.

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Attorneys Kurt Arnold, Jason Itkin, and Mike Pierce resolved a Jones Act Seaman injury case for $14 million just two days before going to trial. Arnold & Itkin LLP lawyers represented the seaman after he suffered a head injury on the Hercules 15 inland barge. The Hercules 15 was located in Lake Washington, Louisiana at the time of the incident. The seaman's injury occurred when Hercules employees tack welded a three foot pipe to the derrick and then forgot to remove it before starting drilling operations. The heavy pipe was jarred loose and hit the plaintiff in the head.

The case was filed in Galveston County Court in March 2008. The case was set for trial February 2, 2009. Hercules settled the entire case for $14 million on the eve of trial.

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In New Orleans, Louisiana, the Times-Picayune reported that an accident claimed the life of a deckhand aboard a barge that was headed for the Intracoastal Waterway.  26-year-old Christopher Oncale of Prarieville, Louisiana was killed when he was struck in the head by a fitting the barge had been tied to.  The crew tied the barge to a fitting of the Algiers Lock to keep the barge from moving in the canal.  The fitting broke and flew threw the air striking the deckhand in the head.

The accident underscores the hazardous nature of maritime work where even routine operations can hold substantial risk for crew.  The negligent acts of other crew members or the failure of employers to provide safe working conditions can lead to accidents with catastrophic consequences. The Jones Act and other maritime laws protect workers from these risks and provide remedies for workers who are injured as a result of them.  If you or anyone you know has been seriously injured in a maritime accident, or if you have questions about the Jones Act and other maritime laws, contact the Houston Jones Act & maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP.

 

 

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Houston, Texas maritime attorneys at Arnold & Itkin LLP are representing a welder from Louisiana in a lawsuit filed in Harris County Texas against Allseas USA, Inc.

The offshore worker was injured on August 15, 2007 while working as a welder on the vessel LORELAY.  The vessel was operating in the North Sea and was supposed to remain relatively stationary so the welder could do his work safely.  However, the vessel’s thrusters were not working properly so it was getting tossed around in rough seas.  This caused the welder to fall and sustain injuries to his back.

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Galveston County Daily News reported that a Louisiana welder was killed when he fell from an offshore oil rig platform where he was working in the Gulf of Mexico.  Church Point, Louisiana welder Thomas Broussard was killed Monday morning when he fell 100-feet from an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, four miles south of Galveston island.

At the time the story was published, OSHA was not yet investigating the fatal offshore accident because they had not yet received an official report of the worker's death.  Broussard worked for worked for Frank’s Casing Crew and Rental Tools, an engineering services company based in Louisiana.

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The Coast Guard medevaced a 52-year-old man from an oil rig platform approximately 40 miles east of Venice, Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico, this morning.

A watchstander from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call at 7:48 a.m. from a co-worker on the Viosca Knoll 900 oil rig reporting that a man had suffered from a heart attack.

Air Station New Orleans launched an HH-65C rescue helicopter crew to assist.  The helicopter crew hoisted and transported the man to Air Station New Orleans where he was met by an ambulance and transported to West Jefferson Hospital. The man is listed in stable condition.

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Lafayette, Louisiana's The Daily Advertiser reported that a tugboat carrying two barges struck and underwater gas pipeline causing a massive explosion that killed three seamen, severely burned another, and left three others missing.  The accident and explosion occurred in West Cote Blanche Bay near Cypremort Point, Louisiana.

The Daily Advertiser:

The tugboat, which belonged to Central Boat Rentals Inc. of Berwick and two barges, which belonged to Athena Construction of Morgan City, were carrying a tugboat driver, a crane operator and six crew hands, none of whom have been named.

Upon contact with the gas line, each of the vessels immediately were engulfed by flames. The tugboat and barge carrying the lumber detached and continued to burn as they drifted away. Crews on scene extinguished them first.

The other barge, roughly 1,000 or more yards away, remained over the gas line and burned for several hours before it was contained. Officials believe those missing may have remained on this barge in a hideaway below deck. It is unclear whether any of them could have survived the intense and prolonged heat.

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