Lake Charles Maritime Attorney | Louisiana Jones Act Lawyer
If you are an offshore worker and have been injured in the Gulf of Mexico, the Calcasieu Ship Channel or the Port of Lake Charles, you have legal rights as a Jones Act seaman under federal law. An experienced Lake Charles, Louisiana, maritime lawyer at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., can make sure you receive full compensation provided by the Jones Act and general maritime law after a serious offshore injury or the wrongful death of a loved one.
The Jones Act attorneys at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., stand up for the men and women who make a living working on the water as deckhands, engineers, tankermen, cooks and crew. Our knowledgeable maritime lawyers are licensed to practice in Louisiana (INACTIVE) and Texas.
We represent clients across the Gulf Coast and inland waterways, including the Lake Charles area. If you have been injured in an offshore accident or lost a loved one in a wrongful death accident, we are ready to help. It’s important to make the right call when choosing an experienced Jones Act attorney to represent you.
Call 800-773-6770 or fill out the online contact form to receive a free initial consultation. Mr. Gordon or Mr. Elias will be glad to answer your questions. They answer the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Maritime Injury Lawyers in Lake Charles, LA
Lake Charles is located in Southwest Louisiana on the lake that gives the city its name, as well as on the Calcasieu River. Lake Charles is a center for petrochemical refining and for the seafood and fish oil industries. Many workers are employed in physically demanding marine-related jobs supporting the offshore oil and gas industry. The port of Lake Charles is one of the largest seaports in the U.S. based on annual tonnage, and the Calcasieu Ship Channel provides commercial ships and cargo vessels direct access to the Gulf of Mexico 34 miles downstream. When accidents occur aboard ship, an injured offshore worker deserves a maritime lawyer who will work hard to protect his legal rights and help him get back on his feet.
The Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, is 32 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, on the east bank of Calcasieu River. It encompasses the area along the Greater Calcasieu River from CC Buoy to the Central Crude Docks and across the Calcasieu River Waterway on the Intracoastal Waterway at the Choupique Cutoff between the Black Bayou Bridge and the Ellender Bridge. The port of Lake Charles is a deepwater port and the majority of the ships are large. A significant percentage of large deep draft vessels are poorly maintained, increasing the risk of a serious accident.
Nearly half of the maritime traffic involves vessels carrying petroleum products. The port handles about 4.5 million tons of petroleum products each year and a third of the tonnage that is exported as aid from the U.S. to third world countries. Much of the traffic is tugs and barges moving gasoline and oil products from the Conoco Philips Lake Charles refinery marine terminal near Westlake
Maritime Attorneys Focus on Increasing Ship Accidents in Lake Charles
A risk assessment by the U.S. Coast Guard noted a trend of increasing shipping traffic and increasing numbers of accidents in the port area involving tugboats, towboats, barges, supply boats and ships. Some accidents involve collisions with the ICW bridge. Other accidents involve offshore supply vessels, or OSVs, colliding offshore or workers injured during fleeting operations or bunkering service. A tankerman, mate or deckhand can sustain a serious back injury, head injury or fall injury during a bunkering operation or when connecting or disconnecting barges during fleeting operations.
If a vessel owner does not properly maintain a vessel and provide an adequately trained crew and safe working condition, a serious offshore accident is more likely. A Jones Act seaman or offshore maritime worker may suffer a back injury, a knee injury, a brain injury or loss of a limb. Offshore work requires strength and stamina. A seriously injured maritime worker or seaman may be unable to meet the demands of offshore work for months after an accident.
The sector-gated lock near Lake Charles is also fraught with hazards. The Calcasieu Lock is heavily used by commercial shippers and averages 6,550 lockages a year. Located approximately two miles east of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, the Calcasieu Lock is located at the intersection of the Calcasieu River and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. One boat may collide with another while locking through a lock. Smaller locks require the uncoupling and reconnecting of barges. Deckhands may fall overboard while uncoupling barges or be pinned between a vessel and a gate if a barge or towboat moves unexpectedly.
If you’ve been injured on a tugboat, tow boat, barge, supply boat or other vessel or lost a loved one in a fatal maritime accident, it’s a good idea to talk to an experienced Lake Charles maritime lawyer about your legal options. We may be able to help you with a Jones Act claim or wrongful death claim to hold those who caused the accident accountable.
Lake Charles Supply Boat Accident Attorney
There are many businesses located in the Lake Charles area that provide services to the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico, including oil companies such as Shell, BP and Conoco Phillips. Offshore contractors and offshore supply companies include Apache Corp., Atwood Oceanics, Deep Marine Technology, ENSCO, Helmerich and Payne, Inc., Pride International, Rowan Companies, Tesco Corp., Parker Drilling Co., Nabors Industries, Noble Drilling Co., Superior Energy Services, Inc., Harvey Gulf International Marine, Hornbeck Offshore Services in Covington, La., Jackson Offshore Operators, Laborde Marine, L.L.C., Diamond Offshore, Tidewater, Inc., and Otto Candies.
Offshore supply vessels ferry workers and cargo to platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
The OSV fleet near the Port of Lake Charles averages more than 30 vessels, and another 40 to 50 OSVs are based in Cameron. Deckhands, engineers, and captains on supply boats and offshore supply vessels can suffer serious injuries, including head injuries, from being struck by heavy equipment and in falls from the surface of a moving ship.
A Lake Charles, Louisiana, maritime injury lawyer can advise you if you’ve been seriously injured in a supply boat accident. We are committed to holding negligent OSV owners accountable if they endanger the safety and health of a Jones Act seaman by carelessness or lack of proper maintenance.
Call Lake Charles, Louisiana, Jones Act Lawyer
If you are a Louisiana offshore worker or maritime worker in Lake Charles, Cameron, and Moss Bluff and have been injured in a marine-related accident, you have legal rights as a Jones Act seaman or harbor and dock worker under federal law to claim compensation. An experienced Houma maritime lawyer at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., can make sure you receive full compensation after a serious offshore injury.
The experienced attorneys of Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., are knowledgeable maritime lawyers and are licensed to practice in Louisiana (INACTIVE) and Texas. If you have been injured in an offshore accident, it’s important to make the right call when choosing a Jones Act attorney to represent you. Call 800-773-6770 or fill out the online contact form to receive a free initial consultation. Mr. Gordon and Mr. Elias will be glad to answer your questions.
