Houston Injury and Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Vujasinovic & Beckcom Law Firm : Workplace Injuries, Car Accidents, Insurance Claims : Harris County, Texas

We are pleased to announce that one of our clients, a commercial diver who works offshore, has obtained a settlement against his employer and a lift boat company following serious injuries he sustained while diving offshore.

Our client was employed by Seamar Divers and worked on a Montco Offshore lift boat.  According to their websites, Seamar Divers provides offshore commercial divers, subsea construction, and subsea fabrication services to the oil and gas industry.  Montco Offshore provides lift boats to the offshore industry.

Our client was hurt when the Seamar supervisor failed to monitor the dive properly, resulting in our client getting "the bends."  The Montco crane operator brought him up too quickly and dropped him too hard on the deck of the lift boat, resulting in severe orthopedic injuries.

After working on the case for less than a year, we were able to negotiate a settlement that takes care of all medical bills, expenses, attorney fees, and still leaves a substantial monetary recovery for our client to invest or spends how he wants.

Did you know commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act or maritime law?

Many commercial divers (and probably even a lot of lawyers) do not realize that commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act and general maritime law if they are injured offshore.

To learn more about commercial divers and their rights under the Jones Act, read the following article:

Are Diving Accidents Covered by the Jones Act?

Want to know more about offshore injury claims? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry. 

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

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An injured worker has sued Matteson Marine Service, his employer, under the Jones Act.

You can read more about the case, the allegations, and find other useful tips and resources by clicking on the link below:

Injured Worker Sues Matteson Marine Service.

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After an accident involving serious injury, or even wrongful death, especially in truck or car accidents, you can expect the insurance companies to be pounding on your door (not literally, of course!) and calling you all the time for a "statement." 

Be very careful about what you tell the insurance adjuster.    Especially if you don't have your own lawyer yet.

In fact, it is a good idea many times not to give a recorded statement at all.  Why?  Because the insurance adjuster may be asking you "trick" questions that will hurt your case later on. 

Even though the insurance adjuster may tell you he or she is just trying to "gather up some information" or "get enough information to settle your case," the reality is that most insurance adjusters in serious accident claims are there to try to "trick" you into saying things that will hurt your case.

One purpose of written, recorded, and sworn statements is to keep someone from "changing the story" later on.  The other purpose, of course, is to allow the insurance adjuster to twist your words into something you did not mean to be used against you at a later time. 

When an insurance company comes to you looking for a statement, a big reason is to try to trick you into saying things that will hurt your case.  The insurance adjuster are professionals at this sort of thing and have extensive training in taking statements from injured people. 

Do you want to know if the insurance company is trying to trick you? 

If you want to know if the insurance company is trying to trick you, ask them these questions and see what they say:

1.  Before you take my statements, will you admit liability and put it in writing, and have the insurance company sign the letter?

2.  Before you take my statement, will you promise to pay for all my medical care until I am 100% recovered, and will you put that promise in writing too?

3.  Before you take my statement, may I see a copy of your investigation file for this case?

4.  Before you take my statement, can I take a recorded or written statement from the person who hit my car?

5.  Before you take my statement, will you promise to settle my claim and send the settlement check within 30 days?

Most insurance adjuster will not answer these questions or follow-thru with the commitments in the questions.  That's because they are not really trying to help you or settle your case quickly or determine what's wrong with you so they can pay your claim.  They are trying to minimize what they owe you.

Don't fall victim to the insurance company traps. 

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A barge worker's widow recently filed a lawsuit against a barge company and a contracting company after her husband was killed. 

In the lawsuit, the widow claims that her deceased husband died when he slipped and fell on an icy barge.  The barge was empty.  The lawsuit claims that the barge company failed to provide the worker with a safe place to work.

About this case and maritime wrongful death claims

Under maritime law, the direct descendents of deceased workers may be able to bring claims for wrongful death.  Under most claims, the survivors must prove that the company did something "negligent" to cause the death or that the vessel was "unseaworthy" and that caused the subject accident or death.  The damages available differ depending on a lot of factors, but if the survivors were financially dependent on the deceased worker, they generally can collect damages for the loss of financial support.

The negligence standards differ depending on whether the case is a Jones Act case, a Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act case, a General Maritime Law case, or some other case.

Most of the time, only an experienced maritime and Jones Act lawyer will be able to tell you what law you can file under and what claims you can bring. 

Most important, don't trust the insurance company to tell you your rights.  Hire your own independent lawyer to advise you.

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An employee of Hoosier Marine has sued the company, claiming that he was injured when he fell from a 15-foot pile of cover tops on a barge. 

According to the lawsuit, Hoosier Marine was negligent in failing to adequately train the employee and also in failing to provide a safe place to work.

The case is filed under the Jones Act and general maritime law.

The Jones Act and general maritime law protect "seaman" against negligence, unseaworthiness, and other carelessness and recklessness of their employers and possibly others involved in offshore work. 

Unlike many state law legal claims, the Jones Act can be very favorable to injured seaman.

However, the Jones Act and general maritime law is very complicated.  Most lawyers have never handled and will never handle a Jones Act or offshore injury case.  So if you choose to pursue a Jones Act or general maritime law claim, choose your lawyer carefully.

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