Offshore Accident Lawyer
Working on an offshore oil rig exposes you to various occupational hazards. Offshore accidents can be especially devastating for victims, often causing fatal or life-altering injuries.
Common causes of offshore accidents include explosions, falls, structure collapses, and defective equipment. Workers who are injured while working on oil rigs or other offshore operations may seek compensation against their employers under the Jones Act. While injured maritime workers are entitled to certain employee benefits, they can also file lawsuits to recover economic and non-economic damages. Unfortunately, offshore accidents are often fatal, leaving victims’ survivors with considerable damages. The Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) governs maritime wrongful death lawsuits, which we can help survivors navigate following fatal offshore accidents. Both injury and wrongful death lawsuits for offshore accidents must be filed within three years, or they may be dismissed.
For a free evaluation of your case from Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind, call our offshore accident lawyers today at (305) 204-5369.
Common Offshore Accidents and Injuries
Offshore operations are expansive, including drilling for oil, constructing wind farms, and building the structures necessary to support oil rigs and other operations. Offshore maritime work is exceptionally dangerous, leading to some of the most serious accidents and injuries for workers in any industry.
According to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), there were 203 offshore injuries, 149 fires, 106 gas releases, and eight collisions in 2023. Accidents could happen for many reasons, such as equipment failure, slick decks, chemical exposure, extreme weather, and collapsing rigs.
When victims survive offshore accidents, they may do so with life-altering injuries. Explosions on oil rigs could cause burns over large portions of the body, requiring intensive care and considerable physical pain and emotional suffering. Victims who fall off rigs or structures during collapses or because of defective safety equipment might suffer traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries, both of which may be permanent.
Falling into the water from an offshore structure could lead to drowning deaths, and victims might sustain fatal crushing injuries, head injuries, or others during accidents.
Offshore operations must follow various Occupational Health and Safety Administration and BSEE regulations, and failing to do so could lead to disastrous accidents that injure many workers, like explosions or structure collapses. Workers might suffer other injuries that require compensation over the course of their employment, like repetitive motion injuries, fractures, and sprains.
Filing a Claim for an Offshore Accident
After an offshore accident, victims may file claims under the Jones Act, which entitles them to certain employee benefits after suffering workplace injuries. It also gives them the right to sue their employers for negligence, which Workers’ Compensation does not.
All “seaman,” meaning anyone whose job requires them to spend most of their time on a vessel, often including those who work on offshore oil rigs, are entitled to file maintenance and cure damages under the Jones Act. Regardless of the victim’s injury or their employer’s negligence, they can get compensation for all daily expenses and medical costs from an injury. “Maintenance” damages can cover workers’ lost wages until they can resume workplace duties, and “cure” damages cover their incurred medical costs.
Victims may also file negligence claims under the Jones Act, which requires them to show that the workplace was unsafe and that the employer’s negligence caused their injuries. Proving negligence can allow victims to recover additional compensation after an offshore accident, such as pain and suffering damages.
When victims die in offshore oil rig accidents or other maritime incidents, their survivors may get compensation by filing a claim under the Death on the High Seas Act. For this to happen, an accident must happen more than three nautical miles off the United States, which oil rigs must be to accommodate federal regulations. Victims’ personal representatives must be plaintiffs in DOHSA claims, but recovery is solely for a victim’s spouse, parents, children, or other dependent relatives, according to 46 U.S.C. § 30302.
To file a lawsuit for an offshore injury or death, plaintiffs must bring their claims within three years, according to § 30106. Otherwise, they may be barred from recovering compensatory damages of any kind.
Compensation for Victims of Offshore Accidents and Their Survivors
When offshore accidents happen due to an employer or third party’s negligence, such as an equipment or tool manufacturer, injured workers may seek compensatory damages for all losses, including non-economic damages. That said, survivors’ recoveries are limited in DOHSA claims.
Victims who suffer traumatic burn injuries, amputations, or brain injuries might face life-long consequences in offshore accidents, both economic and non-economic. Victims may never be able to return to work at a livable earning capacity, entitling them to substantial compensation for lost wages from a lawsuit. Generally speaking, the most significant damages victims incur are from hospital and medical expenses, as they may need physical therapy, several surgeries, and other intensive treatments over many years.
Remember, getting maintenance and cure damages under the Jones Act is akin to getting Workers’ Compensation because these benefits do not cover pain and suffering. However, filing a lawsuit can lead to non-economic damages. Even if employers do not violate safety guidelines and act negligently to cause an accident, a third party might be liable, requiring further investigation into the incident. Our offshore accident lawyers can confirm who is responsible for the accident and hold them accountable through a lawsuit, which we can file within three years, if not sooner. This can open the door to compensation for emotional distress, which is paramount for most offshore accident victims. Damages for survivors under the DOHSA are limited to monetary losses, like lost income, funeral and burial expenses, and medical damages, according to § 30303.
Call Our Lawyers for Help with Your Offshore Accident Case
Call Rivkind Margulies & Rivkind’s offshore accident lawyers for help with your case at (305) 204-5369.
