Maritime Lawyers in Lafayette, Fighting for Justice. No Matter What.
Louisianans are the backbone of the maritime industry. Men and women from Lafayette Parish and beyond devote their lives to offshore work, often performing backbreaking labor in hazardous conditions. Whether you handle specialty cargo at the Port of Lake Charles, commute to the Port of South Louisiana, work on a vessel on the Mississippi, or conduct maintenance on one of the many offshore oil rigs that dot the Gulf Coast, the work you do is absolutely vital—and Arnold & Itkin believes you should be protected.
Vessel owners, port authorities, and other maritime employers are required to make sure workers are safe. When they fail to do this, they're responsible for making things right. No worker should suffer physically and financially because of a preventable accident. When one happens, Arnold & Itkin steps in to demand the answers—and justice—workers and their families deserve.
Our law firm has a long history of fighting for injured offshore workers and their families. After the Deepwater Horizon explosion, we helped a third of the crew secure the compensation they needed. When the El Faro sank after sailing into a hurricane and 33 lives were lost, we were there to demand answers and help the grieving widows seek justice. Our Lafayette maritime attorneys understand the unique laws that govern offshore injuries, and we refuse to settle for less than our clients deserve.
Call our Lafayette maritime injury lawyers today at (888) 493-1629 for a free consultation. We're ready to listen to what happened to you or your loved one and help you decide what options are available for your recovery.
Types of Cases Our Lafayette Offshore Lawyers Handle
When employers overlook safety measures or allow work to be done in unsafe conditions, our Lafayette offshore injury attorneys are here to hold them accountable for their negligent actions. Regardless of whether you or a loved one works on an oil rig, commercial fishing vessel, or a barge, offshore work is demanding. Seamen have to contend with high-stakes work under tough conditions, including storms, hurricanes, heights, heavy equipment, and long, exhausting shifts. As a result, offshore workers have unique and specific rights regarding their health after an accident.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. Our maritime injury lawyers in Lafayette are prepared to handle all types of serious injury and wrongful death claims. If you or someone you love was harmed while working offshore, aboard a vessel, in a harbor or port, or in any other maritime setting, our firm can help.
What Laws Protect Maritime Workers in Lafayette?
For centuries, maritime law has governed how offshore workers are treated after accidents. However, these old laws haven't aged well with the maritime industry. Concepts such as maintenance and cure were crucial to helping workers get the medical care they needed. But, while traditional maritime laws helped workers with the immediate costs of an accident, they failed to account for the complete impact one has on a person.
In the past (and still today), maritime workers often found themselves dealing with lasting health problems and financial difficulty. Meanwhile, their negligent employers faced little repercussions and never had much incentive to increase the safety standards on their vessels or rigs.
To help combat this, the United States created a set of laws that help eligible employees who've been injured while working at sea or in the maritime industry. These laws make sure one thing is possible when a company fails to prevent an accident: accountability.
Some of the most important maritime laws in the United States include:
Each of these laws allow offshore workers or their families to seek compensation from ship owners who were either negligent or whose vessels were unseaworthy, resulting in injury or death. Our Lafayette maritime attorneys have represented countless Jones Act claims and other offshore injury claims, including nearly a third of the Deepwater Horizon crew in 2010 and the widows of the El Faro sinking in 2015. We’re committed to helping offshore workers get the money they need for medical care, lost wages, and other losses. No matter what.
How Are Maritime Injury Claims Different From Regular Work Injury Cases?
Getting help from an experienced maritime law firm is important. While any personal injury lawyer can take a maritime injury case, it's crucial to make sure you're getting help from one that understands general maritime law and the specific offshore laws of the United States that apply to your case.
Our Lafayette maritime attorneys have a history of getting the results that offshore workers deserve. We do this thanks to our understanding of the unique laws that govern offshore work, as well as our dedication to never backing down from a fight. While offshore companies often have significant resources, our maritime lawyers refuse to be intimidated by a challenge.
Our Lafayette Offshore Lawyers Help After Boat Accidents
With so much commercial activity taking place in the Gulf—international and domestic trade, oil transportation, fishing, and more—boat accidents are a serious risk. As a maritime law firm that's based on the Gulf Coast, we help with any accidents involving all types of vessels.
Crews have to contend with other vessels, accidents aboard their own vessel, and even natural disasters. It’s under these conditions that our clients have suffered catastrophic injuries of all kinds, robbing them of their lives or livelihoods.
If you think you may have a case, reach out to our Lafayette maritime accident attorneys today to learn how we can help. We offer free consultations and do not charge any attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Offshore Explosions: One of the Most Devastating Types of Maritime Accidents
While there are plenty of life-changing accidents that never get reported in the news, sometimes there are incidents so devastating that they affect entire communities. Often, these accidents involve explosions due to the relationship the maritime industry has with oil and gas exploration. Our offshore explosion attorneys have experience working on accidents that are so significant that they make national headlines.
In fact, we represented more than a third of the crew of the Deepwater Horizon after the oil rig exploded and triggered one of the worst offshore disasters in United States history. Our maritime explosion attorneys fought to make sure the crew was treated right and that they weren't forced to take the blame for an accident they didn't cause.
Offshore explosions are particularly devastating for the toll they take on workers and their families. Survivors of these accidents often have severe injuries that will change the rest of their lives. If a person survives an explosion with no physical injuries, they are likely to still have emotional trauma that can be just as life-altering. When offshore explosions kill workers, their families are left with a list of emotional challenges and financial uncertainties.
Other Types of Offshore Accidents
While offshore explosions often make headlines, they're certainly not the only type of accident that offshore workers experience. Working in the maritime industry means facing many types of hazards at once. Adverse weather, dangerous seas, and inadequately maintained vessels mean that workers face the risk of injury if they aren't protected by their employers.
Common types of accidents our Lafayette offshore attorneys help with include:
Our Lafayette Offshore Injury Attorneys Have a History of Results
BP. ExxonMobil. Transocean. TOTE Maritime. We’ve won against giant corporations because we’re not afraid of a fight. We pour every resource we have into holding negligent companies accountable, showing them that no person’s life is expendable. As a result, companies find that it’s better to offer our clients fair compensation upfront, rather than take us on in court. Our past victories include cases from the Deepwater Horizon explosion, the sinking of the El Faro, and countless others.
Our law firm is known for fighting until clients are treated right, and we're just a call away. Dial (888) 493-1629 today to speak with a Lafayette offshore injury attorney at no cost.
Your employer may have tried to pressure you into seeing the company doctor after your accident. They may have even had you sign a document saying you’re well enough to go back to work. However, it’s your right as a seaman to seek a second opinion and get medical care from any practitioner you want. Your health comes first, which is why you should focus on getting care from the doctor, facility, or specialist you want. If you’re unsure about your medical rights following an offshore accident, speak with our Lafayette maritime lawyers as soon as possible. We offer free consultations at no risk to you.
What Is My Offshore Injury Case Worth?
It depends on the line of work you’re in, the circumstances of your injury, and the extent of your harm. Some workers might be entitled to file under the Jones Act, while other workers may need to seek other avenues of recovery. Arnold & Itkin pursues every possible recovery option on each client’s behalf, maximizing their potential award and offering them peace of mind. We’ll seek to recover the full value of your medical expenses, occupational therapy, diminished future earnings, ongoing treatment, lost wages and benefits, emotional and physical suffering.
How Much Does Hiring a Lafayette Maritime Lawyer Cost?
Turning to help from our top-rated offshore injury firm means no financial risk for you. We handle all costs associated with a case and only collect a fee if we win results for you! We do this to make the process less stressful and because it shows our clients that we’re as invested in getting results as they need us to be!
