Maritime Accident Attorney in Lake Charles — Jones Act and Offshore Injuries

You went offshore on rotation the same way you have dozens of times. You came back different — or you did not come back at all the way your family expected.

What most injured maritime workers in Lake Charles do not know when they report an injury to their employer is that the company’s response is already scripted. The safety officer who takes the report is also building the incident file that will be used to contest your claim. The company doctor they send you to is employed to find you fit for duty. The maintenance and cure rate they offer you is almost always set below what the law actually requires.

I represent maritime workers in Lake Charles, on the Calcasieu Ship Channel, and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The Cameron LNG corridor, the offshore platforms serviced out of Port Fourchon, the supply boats running out of the Intracoastal Waterway — I know this industry and I know how employers in it respond when someone gets hurt.

The Jones Act exists because Congress understood that maritime workers face risks that ordinary employment law does not adequately address. I know how to use it.

What I Know About Maritime Injury Claims in Southwest Louisiana

Southwest Louisiana’s economy is built on water. The Calcasieu Ship Channel is one of the most active petrochemical shipping corridors in the United States. Cameron Parish is the center of the country’s LNG export industry. Thousands of workers in this region qualify as seamen under the Jones Act — and most of them do not know what rights that status gives them.

The first question in every maritime injury case I evaluate is whether the injured worker qualifies as a Jones Act seaman. That classification determines everything — what claims are available, what damages can be recovered, and how the case is pursued. I have spent seventeen years understanding how courts in the Western District of Louisiana and the Fifth Circuit apply the seaman status test.

Maintenance and cure is the most immediate right an injured seaman has. If your employer is not paying it, or is paying below the industry rate, I can act on that immediately.

If you haven’t already spoken to an attorney, you’re already behind. Contact Colonna Law Firm now.

Who Is Protected by the Jones Act?

The Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104) is a federal law that provides a negligence cause of action for seamen injured in the course of their employment. A seaman under the Jones Act is a worker who spends a significant portion of their work time on a vessel in navigation on navigable waters. Qualifying employees can include:

• Crew members on offshore drilling vessels and rigs
• Crew members on supply boats, crew boats, and vessels servicing Gulf of Mexico platforms
• Workers on dredges, barges, and marine construction vessels
• Tugboat and towboat crew members on the Calcasieu River and Intracoastal Waterway
• LNG tanker crew members operating out of Cameron Parish terminals

The Jones Act gives injured seamen the right to sue their employer for negligence and to seek maintenance and cure — the employer’s obligation to pay daily living expenses and medical costs while the seaman recovers, regardless of fault. Jones Act claims are more favorable than standard workers’ compensation because they allow recovery for pain and suffering and all other personal injury damages, not just wage replacement and medical benefits.

What Is the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA)?

Workers who are not seamen but who work on or adjacent to navigable waters — such as longshoremen, harbor workers, ship repairers, and marine terminal workers — may be covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act rather than the Jones Act or state workers’ compensation. The LHWCA provides federal workers’ compensation benefits, including medical treatment, wage replacement, and disability benefits. Unlike state workers’ compensation, the LHWCA is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and is governed by federal law.

Whether a maritime worker is covered by the Jones Act, the LHWCA, or state workers’ compensation depends on the specific nature of the worker’s job, the type of vessel or structure involved, and where the injury occurred. This classification is one of the most critical and fact-specific questions in maritime injury law, and getting it wrong can mean pursuing the wrong type of claim entirely.

What Are Common Maritime Injuries in Southwest Louisiana?

Maritime workers in the Lake Charles and Cameron Parish region face significant workplace hazards. Common injuries that give rise to maritime personal injury claims include:

• Falls on wet or slippery vessel decks — the most frequent source of maritime injuries
• Being struck by falling equipment or unsecured cargo
• Winch, crane, and rigging accidents
• Explosions and fires on offshore platforms or chemical transport vessels
• Exposure to toxic chemicals — including hydrogen sulfide (H2S), benzene, and other chemicals common in petrochemical operations
• Crush injuries from mooring lines, hatch covers, and heavy equipment
• Back and spinal injuries from repetitive heavy lifting without adequate safety protocols
• Traumatic brain injuries from equipment strikes or falls

What Is ‘Unseaworthiness’ in a Maritime Injury Claim?

General maritime law gives injured seamen a separate cause of action against vessel owners for unseaworthiness — the failure to maintain a vessel and its equipment in a reasonably safe condition. An unseaworthiness claim does not require proving that the vessel owner was negligent; it only requires showing that the vessel was in an unsafe condition that caused the injury. This can include defective equipment, unsafe working conditions, an unfit or incompetent crew, or a dangerous cargo situation. Unseaworthiness claims are often brought alongside Jones Act negligence claims to maximize recovery.

What Is Maintenance and Cure?

Maintenance and cure is one of the most important protections available to injured seamen under general maritime law. It is the vessel owner’s obligation to pay a daily living allowance (maintenance) and all necessary medical expenses (cure) to an injured seaman while the seaman recovers from an injury that occurred in the service of the vessel — regardless of who was at fault for the injury. If a vessel owner refuses to pay maintenance and cure, or pays an inadequate daily rate, the seaman may have a claim for additional damages including attorney fees. Disputes over maintenance and cure are common, and having an attorney to enforce these rights can make a significant difference in a maritime worker’s ability to focus on recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions