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

Thousands of Galveston County maritime workers, including shipyard and offshore workers are in danger of injury during their daily commute to work. Due to a shortage of funds, county authorities stopped work on a repair project on Pelican Island Bridge, which is used daily by the workers.

The bridge over the Galveston ship channel suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Ike. It is stable, but maritime workers, as well as Texas A&M University staff and students who use the bridge daily are forced to drive at 10 mph to cross. Before the Ike damage, the speed limit along the bridge was 35 mph. The bridge underwent emergency repairs soon after Ike and was back to normal operations less than a week after the water receded. Galveston County Navigation District No.1 paid Texas Gulf Company $1.5 million to repair the bridge, but in early February the project was shut down due to shortage of funds. A local contractor Lamson Nguyen has agreed to take up the task of filling potholes on the bridge free of cost. However, the fact is that the 50-year-old bridge is in need of permanent repairs. The district has no funds available to continue the work and has requested $6 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition to the badly damaged bridge, the district needs an additional $3 million to repair a fender system, which protects Pelican Island Bridge from passing boats. If federal funds are not forthcoming, the district has indicated that tax rates may have to be increased in order to fund repairs.

As in many other states across the country, essential infrastructure projects are being slashed due to shortage of funds. The economic recession has led to budget deficits nationwide, and it's having a telling effect on citizen safety. Everyday, Pelican Island Bridge is used by maritime workers, including shipyard and offshore workers to commute to work. Although authorities have confirmed the bridge is passable and should not pose a risk to workers, repairs must be conducted soon so workers are safe and put to as little inconvenience as possible.

Maritime Injury Attorneys

People injured in maritime workplace accidents are eligible for benefits under maritime laws, including the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act. A maritime attorney can help you determine the laws under which you are eligible for compensation and file claims under these laws.

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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Maritime employees who work at the Port of Beaumont and the Port of Orange can look forward to better infrastructure and, in turn, to improved efficiency and safety as a result of substantial government funding for the ports released February 18.

The ports will receive $4 million each from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, as part of federal economic recovery efforts. The Port of Beaumont has released a statement confirming that it will use its share of funds for rail improvements on its Orange County property. The Port of Orange will invest the money in the development of cargo transportation infrastructure at its Sabine River property. These investments are expected to increase efficiency at both ports. For instance, with new infrastructure, cargo can be transferred directly from the Port of Orange to the Port of Houston. Currently, cargo from the Port of Orange has to go through Port Arthur or Port of Beaumont. New infrastructure will also add to the efficiency of cargo shipping operations from the industrial plants on Chemical Row. Port of Beaumont's investment of the federal funds is expected to create hundreds of jobs, in addition to increasing the capabilities of the port by at least 50%. The Orange County property will include deep access capabilities, as well as development of a new dock. The port will not depend solely on federal funds to finance these ambitious new infrastructure projects. According to Chris Fisher, Port of Beaumont's executive director, the total funding from the Economic Development Administration is $134 million and has been distributed to other Texas ports, as well as ports in Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New Mexico.

Anytime a port invests in infrastructure and other development projects thousands of maritime workers, longshoreman and port workers benefit. Updated infrastructure means enhanced safety for maritime workers and a markedly reduced risk of injuries and accidents.

Texas Maritime Attorneys

The maritime attorneys at Arnold & Itkin LLP have helped hundreds of injured maritime workers recover compensation for injuries sustained on the job.

If you have been injured in a maritime accident, contact a maritime lawyer at Arnold & Itkin LLP for a free evaluation of your case.

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Texas maritime lawyers Kurt Arnold & Mike Pierce filed a Jones Act case on behalf of a 25 year old injured seaman who was working for Noble Corporation.  The seaman was in the Bay of Campeche on an offshore drilling rig when his hand was crushed due to Noble negligence.  He lost three fingers and sustained injuries to the rest of his hand.  Arnold & Itkin LLP agreed to represent the seaman and filed the case in Cameron County, Texas requesting a trial by jury.

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Texas Offshore Port System (TOPS), an oil terminal and pipeline to be built of Texas coast, would be capable of handling nearly 20 percent of the nation's daily oil imports.  A 160 mile pipeline network connected to offshore pumping stations would enable tankers to unload crude about 36 miles off the coast of Freeport, Texas.  This would eliminate the requirement for the world's largest super tankers to offload crude to smaller vessels so it can be carried to refineries along the Houston Ship Channel. TOPS will be similar to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), which handles about 12 percent of the nation's crude imports. LOOP has been around since 1981 and is tied by pipeline to about half the nation's refining capacity, much of it along the Mississippi River from the New Orleans area north to Baton Rouge.

The Texas Offshore Port System, or TOPS, is a joint venture of Enterprise Products Partners LP and Teppco Partners LP, both based in Houston, and Oiltanking Holding Americas Inc., a subsidiary of Germany's privately held Marquard & Bahls AG.

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Tropical Storm Dolly in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to strengthen and could pose a serious threat to maritime activities along the Texas coast by midweek. The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane watch for the Texas coast from Brownsville northward to Port O'Connor. A tropical storm watch has been issued for the Texas coast from north of Port O'Connor to San Luis Pass.

MSNBC.com reports in Dolly drenches Yucatan, Texas could be next: Hurricane Watch issued for Texas coastline near Mexican border:

"Emergency officials across Texas are monitoring the storm's track and moving some resources toward the Corpus Christi area, NBC affiliate KPRC reported.

Shell evacuated about 125 personnel from some of its Gulf of Mexico West operations on Sunday, KPRC added. Another 60 people were expected to be evacuated on Monday.

The company said it does not expect Dolly to have an impact on its gulf production."

At 11:00 AM EDT today the center of Tropical Storm Dolly was located about 55 miles north-northeast of Progreso Mexico.  Dolly is moving toward the west-northwest near 18 mph. A gradual decrease in forward speed is forecast during the next couple of days with little change in the direction of motion.  On this track, Dolly will be approaching the coast of the western Gulf of Mexico by Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph with higher gusts. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 175 miles from the center. Strengthening is forecast and Dolly could become a hurricane by tomorrow.

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Texas seaman Ricci Anderson filed suit against Harvey Gulf International Marine and Diamond Offshore Drilling on July 14 in Jefferson County District Court.  Anderson was employed as a pilot with Sabine Pilots of Groves. 

On Oct. 21, 2007, Harvey Gulf was towing a semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Diamond Offshore. Anderson was called out to transfer onto the tugboat, the Harvey Thunder, to tow the drilling rig into the jetties.

"While in the process of transferring from the pilot boat onto the Harvey Thunder … the tugboat yawed and rocked causing plaintiff's arms to be jerked violently," the suit says. "Plaintiff was forced to grab onto handrails overhead - in the absence of a ladder, guide bar/guide rails and/or safety rod - to avoid falling between the vessels. As a result, plaintiff sustained severe injuries."

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In Texas, a seaman has filed a Jones Act lawsuit against Kirby Inland Marine for injuries he received more than two years ago while working aboard the vessel Creole Dee. The lawsuit alleged that "defendant was negligent and the vessel was unseaworthy."  According to the lawsuit, John R. McGee sustained severe and painful injuries to his left shoulder and other parts of his body

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The widow of a sailor who drowned during a boating accident has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the vessel.  The sailor, Roger Stone, was the safety officer aboard the SV Cynthia Woods during an offshore race.  He is credited with saving the lives of two Texas A&M student sailors at the cost of his own.

His widow, Linda Stone has filed a lawsuit against the designer, manufacturer and a company that repaired the racing yacht on which her husband died.  The civil complaint, filed by Linda Stone’s attorney, claims Cape Fear Yacht Works, boat designer Bruce Marek, Payco Inc. and Galveston Yacht Service are not cooperating with investigations into the accident. The lawsuit, filed in district court in Galveston County, also claims there are flaws in the boat’s design, manufacture and marketing.

Read more about the lawsuit and circumstances surrounding it in two separate articles:

Wife of Man Killed in A&M Boat Accident Files Lawsuit - Houston Fox26
Hero sailor’s wife to sue over probe - Galveston County Daily News

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Houston Jones Act lawyers Arnold & Itkin LLP filed suit against the owners and operators of the Seban, a ship used off the coast of Texas in operations in the Gulf of Mexico.  Plaintiffs seek damages for the wrongful death of Mr. Jimenez, who was killed when the Seban caught fire.  The Seban was owned and operated by Otto Candies LLC and was being chartered by Oceangraphia, a Mexican offshore company which owns a substantial part of its fleet in Houston Texas.  After the ship caught fire, over 150 workers were left in the water stranded because the satellite services provided failed.  Unfortunately, Mr. Jimenez died as a result of the defendants' negligence and neglect.

 

 

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The National Waterways Foundation (NWF) has released a new study comparing selected societal, environmental, and the safety impacts of utilizing inland river barge transportation to highway and rail transportation. Titled "A Modal Comparison of Freight Transportation Effects on the General Public," the study was conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute's Center for Port and Waterways at Texas A&M University and was cost-shared with the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd).

Among its findings, the study determines that, after adjusting for the differences in quantity of cargo moved by each mode, for each member of the public injured in a barge accident, 125.2 are injured in rail accidents and 2171.5 are injured in truck accidents. For fatalities, the rates are 155 trucking fatalities and 22.7 rail fatalities for every barge related fatality.

An executive summary of the study can be found here on the National Waterways Foundation website.

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The Houston Chronicle reported today that Texas A&M deputy chancellor and general counsel, Jay Kimbrough, has promised a thorough investigation into what may have caused the keel to break off the sailing vessel CYNTHIA WOODS leading to its capsize and the death of one crew member.  The boat was donated to A&M by the school's biggest benefactor, George Marshall, and was built by a company that is owned by Mitchell's son, facts that Kimbrough assures will not influence the investigation.  The investigation, which is already underway, will include a search for and attempt to recover the boat's keel which lies somewhere beneath 80 to 120 feet of water at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, near Freeport, Texas.  The salvage company T & T Marine towed the vessel to shore and will be leading the search for its keel.

The challenge of locating and recovering the boat's keel merely hints at the complexity of investigating  maritime incidents.  Thorough investigation will require understanding not only the conditions and events immediately preceding the capsize, but also every potentially contributing factor leading up to it, beginning from the time the boat was originally constructed.  The loss of the boat's keel could be an indication of structural issues affecting not only the CYNTHIA WOODS, but other Cape Fear 38 sailboats as well.  Other factors that must be discovered and evaluated include the boat's maintenance history and sailing history, both of which may be documented in logs, service invoices, payment instruments, and other records.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured or killed in a maritime accident, and you require the expertise of experienced investigators to unravel the complexity and find answers, the Texas maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP can help.  Contact our Houston maritime law firm for a free initial consultation.

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The Houston Chronicle reported that seven boaters where rescued from an oil platform after their boat sank on Sunday.  The boaters were rescued by the Galveston, Texas Coast Guard after an offshore supply ship relayed a distressed call.  The rescued boaters included five adults and two children.  The rescued boaters are reported to be in good condition, their survival owing partly to the fact that all were wearing life vests.

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Galveston, Texas sailor Roger Stone died saving the lives of fellow crew when the Sailing Vessel CYNTHIA WOODS capsized south of Freeport, Texas.  Five sailors were rescued by the Coast Guard after floating in the Gulf of Mexico following the capsize of their boat 26 hours earlier.

Stone, who was the Safety Officer aboard the boat which was participating in the Regata de Amigos race from Galveston to Veracruz, reportedly noticed water entering the hull and forced other crew on to the deck immediately prior to the capsize.  Early indications are that the boat's keel fell off causing the boat to rapidly take on water, capsize and sink.

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Four people were rescued from a disabled boat on Galveston Bay Tuesday.  The Houston-area boaters had to be rescued when their 16-foot Jon boat became disabled and was taking on water.  The Texas Coast Guard sent helicopter and rescue boat crews to rescue the boaters.

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The Miami Herald reports that more than 100 Fort Lauderdale homeowners and condo associations met recently to plan their attack on a proposed offshore gas pipeline project near Port Everglades, Florida.

The issue surrounds a plan by Suez Energy North America, based in Houston, Texas, to build two liquefied natural gas ports 10 miles off the coast of Port Everglades.

The $1 billion project, the Calypso Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater port, would allow special tankers to moor 10 miles offshore, convert liquefied gas into natural gas, and then pump the vaporized product through a buried underwater pipeline that connects into Port Everglades.

Residents and community activists argue that the deep-water project poses an unacceptable hazard to their communities in the case of an accident.

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A recreational boating accident on the Sabine Lake in Port Arthur, Texas claimed the lives of three people.  Overloading the small boat, estimated to be only 16 feet long, is believed to have contributed to the fatal accident in which waves capsized the boat.  Coast Guard officials report seeing more overcrowded small boats lately which can lead to more fatal accidents involving recreational boaters.

According to an article reported in the Beaumont Enterprise:

Jefferson County Deputy Chief Ron Hobbs, who oversees his department's marine units, said the fatal boat accident has prompted his department to step up their watch for overcrowded boats.

"It's much more common this time of year," he said, adding that boat overcrowding could become worse as the weather warms. "Mix that (overcrowding) with alcohol, and it'll get busy."

During the summer months in Texas and other gulf coast states increased recreational boating activity can lead to accidents involving capsize, collision, or other circumstances.  If you or a family member has been seriously injured in a boating accident and you have questions, contact the Houston, Texas maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP.

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The Jones Act lawyers of Arnold & Itkin LLP represent an injured seaman in a maritime lawsuit against Hercules Offshore, Inc. brought pursuant to the Jones Act.  The maritime worker was seriously injured while working as a floorhand on a Hercules drilling rig.  He was hit in the head with the rig’s Kelly because a brake was not properly working.  As a result of the defective brake, the seaman sustained crippling head, neck, and back injuries.   His case is pending in Galveston County, Texas.

 

 

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The maritime law firm of Arnold & Itkin LLP has filed suit on behalf of a contractor who was injured due to Motiva's inadequate safety practices at its Port Arthur, Texas refining facility. The plaintiff was a tank cleaner and was given inadequate equipment to protect him from the dangerous chemicals in the tanks.  The jobs were supervised by Motiva safety men who were aware of and condoned the unsafe practices.  Attorneys Mike Pierce and Kurt Arnold represent the plaintiff in his case filed in Jefferson County, Texas where the accident occurred.

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The maritime law firm of Arnold & Itkin LLP has filed suit in Harris County, Texas against Martin Midstream on behalf of a seaman.  The seaman was a long time employee of Martin Midstream.  He was working in Belize aboard the MARTIN ENDEAVOR when he was injured due to crew negligence and unseaworthiness of the vessel.  His wrist in his dominant hand was shattered and he was unable to return to work offshore.  Lawyers Kurt Arnold and Jeff Seely represent the plaintiff in the Texas state action.

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The Galveston County Daily News reported that crews were working to contain an oil spill that occurred about 140 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas.  The oil spill occurred when an offshore supply ship collided with the rig it was servicing.  The collision with the rig caused two gashes in the ship's hull. No seaman or workers on the rig were injured in the accident.

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Jones Act lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP represent an injured Jones Act seaman against Central Boats Rental.  The seaman was injured on the MR SID a day after being hired. Central Boats Rental did not train the seaman and he was injured during a winching operation.  He nearly lost his foot and required multiple surgeries to treat his injury.  The seaman's case was filed in Galveston County State Court in Texas within one day of retaining Arnold & Itkin LLP.

 

 

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