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Doyle Raizner Files Suit Against Florida Marine on Behalf of Injured Contractor
Doyle Raizner has filed a maritime personal injury lawsuit against Florida Marine on behalf of a contractor who was injured while unloading a barge belonging to the company. The plaintiff was an employee of Accutrans at the time of injury. Accutrans was contracted by Florida Marine.
The plaintiff fell into a hatch while walking the barge. The hatch did not have nonskid coating and resulted in a serious and debilitating injury. The hatch was slippery, unprotected, defective, and unfit for its intended purposes.
Florida Marine is responsible for the safety aboard its vessels and was negligent in ensuring the safety of all of those aboard. The company also exhibited gross negligence by recklessly and dangerously failing to carry out its safety obligations in violation of many US laws.
The plaintiff is asking for past and future medical treatment to be paid along with compensation for loss of earning capacity. Doyle Raizner stands behind their client in the fight against Florida Marine’s negligence and gross negligence.
BP Disaster Echoing in Latest Rig Explosion in The Gulf
The U.S. Coast Guard is reporting a fire this morning in the Gulf of Mexico south of Grand Isle off the Louisiana coast. Reports vary at this time but two deaths have been reported and as many as 11 workers airlifted to Baton Rouge. The platform is owned by Black Elk Energy of Houston.
Our thoughts are with the families of the platform workers.
Doyle Raizner Files Jones Act Suit Against Kirby Inland Marine
Doyle Raizner has filed a Jones Act suit against Kirby Marine on behalf of an injured seaman. The seaman was injured while on Kirby’s vessel offshore near the coast of Texas.
The case falls under the Jones Act and maritime law due to the employment of the injured party as a seaman permanently assigned to the vessel and/or fleets of vessels of his employers. The case is also brought under general maritime law for denial of maintenance and cure. Maintenance refers to the responsibility of a shipowner to provide medical care to an injured seaman until he has reached maximum medical care. Cure is the obligation of a shipowner to pay for medications and medical devices necessary to improve the injured seaman’s condition.
Kirby was negligent by failing to provide a safe working environment for their crew, which resulted in the dangerous conditions leading to the seaman’s injuries. Kirby’s vessel was unseaworthy due to the lack of non-skid surfacing on the vessel, which caused the seaman to fall down stairs.
Doyle Raizner stands with the injured seaman against Kirby to recover the maintenance and cure and other damages owed to the seaman.
Doyle Raizner Files Suit Against Helix Energy Solutions
Doyle Raizner has filed a Jones Act lawsuit against Helix Energy Solutions on behalf of a seaman who suffered a serious injury to his hand while working aboard a pipe-laying vessel in the Gulf of Mexico on February 17, 2010. Unfortunately, the vessel was not properly maintained by Helix, leading to unsafe working conditions. As a result, the seaman slipped and fell down a staircase, causing him to severely injure his left hand.
Doyle Raizner Files Maritime Lawsuit Against Hercules Offshore
On June 25, 2012, Doyle Raizner filed a maritime lawsuit on behalf of a Jones Act seaman who was seriously injured in the course of his job earlier this year. The seaman’s injury was the result of his employer’s failure to maintain safe working
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conditions on the jack-up rig that the seaman worked on in the Gulf of Mexico.
Doyle Raizner is proud to represent this Jones Act seaman, who suffered serious leg injuries in an accident that was entirely preventable, had his employer kept a safe work environment.
Gulf Oil Drilling Downturn Causes Exodus for Idle Rigs
In the aftermath of the BP oil rig explosion and spill, the Obama administration placed a moratorium on oil drilling. Since then, the moratorium may have officially been lifted, but the permitting process for rigs has grinded almost to a halt.
Ten oil rigs have left the Gulf of Mexico in recent months for distant oil fields in South America and Africa. Of the rigs still under contract to operate in the gulf, sixty percent are idle, according to the Financial Times. Idle tug boats, helicopters and other equipment involved in maritime cargo and personnel transfers cost their owners money every day. Others involved in the oyster and shrimp industries still await a positive outcome for claims arising from the BP oil spill.
Some commentators are pointing the finger at the Department of the Interior for mismanagement of the permitting process. Both shallow-water and deepwater permits are tracking well below historical levels.
Oil Rigs Relocating
The lack of drilling activity in the Gulf has caused many oil rigs to leave for greener pastures – rigs are leaving in record numbers for oil fields in South America and Africa. Consequently, U.S. workers on these rigs are also leaving for these foreign waters in an attempt to earn the paycheck their families desperately need.
Tragically, some of the U.S. workers leaving for South America and Africa will be injured on the high seas while drilling for oil. Fortunately though, working outside of U.S. waters does not leave a rig worker without remedies. The Jones Act may allow an American oil rig worker to hold his employer liable for injuries the worker sustains because of the employers negligence.
Generally, injured workers may make claims for personal injury, which can include compensation for lost wages and medical bills. Moreover, the family of a deceased rig worker can bring a wrongful death claim in the unfortunate event that a loved one is killed while working
Doyle Raizner Launches Maritime Injury iPhone App
Doyle Raizner has lauched its first iPhone app, a Maritime Injury Law Center aimed at providing resources and easy access to emergency tools in the event of an offshore injury.
The app is available now for free at the Apple iTunes Store.
The Maritime Injury Law Center App features include:
- Offshore injury report form to capture details of an accident
- Photo and audio capture to submit with the form
- Access to Doyle Raizner video and social media
- Ability to easily contact our attorneys from your iPhone
Agreement Reached in Maritime Injury Case Originating on the Jillian Morrison
Doyle Raizner LLP is proud to announce that a settlement in two Jones Act claims was reached with Chet Morrison on behalf of two seamen who were injured in March 2008 when the Jillian Morrison exploded off of the coast of Louisiana. As a result, the seamen suffered from spinal injuries and post traumatic stress disorder. The agreement, which involves a confidential sum of money, recognizes that Chet Morrison failed to take proper precaution in the storage of explosive gas aboard the vessel.
Both cases were pending in Harris County District Court. One was before the Honorable Bill Burke in the 189th District Court, and the other was before the Honorable Sharon McCally in the 334th District Court.
Mariner-Energy’s Vermilion Oil rig 380 exploded off the coast of Louisiana
The Mariner Energy-owned Vermilion Oil rig 380 exploded today about 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Crew rescue efforts are presently underway by the Coast Guard.
The full consequences of the explosion are yet to be known, including the impacts on the lives of the 13 crew members aboard who will be faced with picking up the pieces after an enormous trauma.
The Value of Experienced Counsel Following Maritime Disasters
The recent explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, an offshore drilling platform owned and operated by Houston-based company Transocean, has left 11 oil rig workers missing and several more injured. As the families of those 11 workers continue to wait, the chances of rescue workers finding survivors are dwindling.
The injuries sustained in oil rig explosions can be horrible– and often fatal. At this point, responsibility becomes very important. Family members want to know what happened and why; their best asset in the search for answers is help from attorneys with experience in handling civil cases stemming from these offshore catastrophes.
The Search for Answers
Unfortunately, many oil rig explosions are preventable and investigation in civil suits reveals that they are usually caused by human error or administrative oversight.
This was the case in the explosion of the Piper Alpha, the deadliest oil rig explosion in history. Miscommunication, poor safety processes and inadequate fire walls contributed to the explosions and ensuing fire, which killed more than 160 men aboard the rig. This is a case with which Jeff Raizner is intimately familiar, having served as an attorney for victim lawsuits following the Piper Alpha tragedy.
In 2008 six crewmembers aboard the Jillian Morrison were injured in an explosion that took place while the vessel was anchored off the coast of Louisiana. The Jillian Morrison is a dive support vessel, and the crewmembers had been working on a pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico . Doyle Raizner currently represents several of those who were injured in the blast.
Transocean is no stranger to lawsuits, having been sued in the past by several victims of oil rig accidents. Transocean’s location in Houston means that they are no stranger to Doyle Raizner, either: Maritime attorneys at the firm have worked on behalf of several of these victims, as well as others injured by oil rig operator negligence and other preventable mistakes.
