Gulfport Maritime Accident Lawyer

Considering its prime location along the Gulf of Mexico, many of our local Gulfport residents and transplants from other areas come here to work in the maritime industry. These individuals work at the harbors, on oil rigs, on fishing boats, and in other roles.

Whatever your role, if you recently suffered an injury on the job on or near the Mississippi Gulf, there are many laws specific to the maritime industry that are much different from ones that apply to employees in other industries.

This can make it challenging to know what to do to secure compensation for medical care, lost wages, and any other benefits you may be entitled to. It doesn’t have to be hard to make sense of what you’re entitled to, though. A Gulfport maritime accident lawyer can help.

At our law firm, Owen, Owen & Smith, PLLC, our attorneys offer free consultations where you can discuss the details of your accident and what benefits you’re eligible to receive. So, let’s talk. Reach out to us by phone or through our convenient online contact form.

Some of the most common injuries suffered by maritime workers include:

• Repetitive stress injuries (also known as repetitive strain injuries)
• Crush injuries
• Burns, including chemical and thermal burn injuries
• Struck-by injuries
• Contusions (bruises)
• Compression injuries
• Lacerations (cuts)
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Crush injuries
• Broken bones
• Spinal cord injuries
• Blunt force trauma leading to internal bleeding and organ damage

There’s no shortage of ways in which maritime workers may get hurt. While some injuries are recoverable within a few days or weeks, others may leave you so seriously injured that you have lifelong impairments.

If you were seriously hurt on or near our waterways, get in touch with us at Owen, Owen & Smith, PLLC to discuss your case.

Maritime accidents are particularly complex and can occur in a variety of ways. Some of the most common causes of accident injuries in this area of work can include:

• Boating accidents: This can include a collision between two water vessels or a single boat colliding into an inanimate object such as a buoy, dock, boulder, etc.
• Explosions and fires: Anyone who works on an oil rig off the coast of Gulfport knows of the risk of a chemical reaction resulting in an explosion and resulting fire. The same goes for those who work in the engine room of a large ship, where inexperience or one mistake could also cause catastrophic consequences such.
• Slips and falls: Crewmembers who turn a blind eye to the dangers that excessive water on boat decks poses put their colleagues at risk of falling on this wet surface.
• Handling loads: Mississippi longshore workers see countless shipping containers come into and leave our ports daily, and they must use cranes and other heavy machinery to hoist on and off cargo ships’ decks. One misstep and a load can fall onto a dock worker, crushing them.
• Falls overboard: A potentially deadly incident like this can result from a captain ineffectively navigating choppy waters or a crewmembers’ poor navigational advice, for example.

When it comes to ways in which maritime workers in Gulfport suffer injuries, there is an endless number of situations. What do most of them share in common? There are three things:

• They can cause catastrophic injuries if they do not take a person’s life.
• Most of the circumstances that led to a victim suffering their injuries were completely preventable.
• There are laws in place that offer protection to injured maritime workers like you.

As mentioned above, there are many acts that afford rights to injured maritime workers. Some of the most notable of those laws include:

• The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA): This law protects traditionally employed maritime workers, such as shipbuilders and repairers, so long as the injuries they suffered happened within U.S. navigable waters or along harbors, docks, piers, and other places these boats may anchor to or approximate.
• The Defense Base Act (DBA): This law is closely associated with and affords many of the same protections the LHWCA does. The DBA specifically covers private sector workers on U.S. military bases both within this country and abroad.
• The Jones Act: Also referred to as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, this law affords seamen injured due to various factors, such as a fellow crewmember’s actions or a boat’s lack of seaworthiness, to file a claim for benefits.

The above are just a few of the many federal maritime laws that apply to cases in which workers and others become injured at sea or on the shore in Coastal Mississippi.

If you’ve been hurt, you don’t have to study all the different aspects of the different laws to see which act, if any, applies to your specific situation. You can instead tap into the knowledge of our Gulfport maritime accident lawyers. This means you can file a claim more quickly to receive any benefits you may be entitled to.

Maritime law is a practice area. Not every attorney in Gulfport understands this area of the law very well. We do at Owen, Owen & Smith, PLLC.

When you work with us, we take time to investigate and build a strong case. Why is this so important? It can mean all the difference as to whether you have a successful claim the first time around or it gets denied. It also can impact whether you document the full extent of losses and secure maximum compensation for them.

Also, we can help you prepare for speaking with a claims adjuster or an attorney for the defendant or some other party should the need arise. In most cases, we can handle that communication for you on your behalf. That includes when negotiating any settlement you may be eligible to receive.