Offshore workers perform essential work, delivering oil and gas to our nation. But offshore rig work remains dangerous, as the BP Transocean disaster showed. When your have received a serious injury while working on a rig, platform, mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU), or a jackup, contact an experienced maritime lawyer at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P. We have achieved success for injured workers with Jones Act claims involving some of the largest oil companies and their contractors.
The attorneys at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., focus our practice on helping injured maritime workers and rig workers who make a living offshore. If you have been injured in a platform accident, a rig accident or an MODU accident, it’s important to understand your legal options. You may be out of work for an extended time after a serious injury. You’ll need resources to provide for your family and pay your medical bills.
The law office of Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., can help whether you have a Jones Act Claim or you have lost a loved one in a wrongful death rig accident. 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 are available to answer your questions. We recognize that offshore workers don’t work from 9 to 5. We answer phone calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Louisiana Offshore Platform Accident Attorney
The Gulf of Mexico has nearly 4,000 offshore rigs and offshore platforms. The majority of the offshore platforms are in shallow water off the Louisiana coast. But with technology advances, oil companies now have the capability to drill deeper and work in deeper waters. McMoRan Exploration recently reported finding substantial natural gas reserves off the coast of Vermillion Parish that it believes can be produced from two wells at depths of more than 30,000 feet. Many companies are gradually moving farther offshore into the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico. Jackup rigs, MODUs and fixed platforms are used in shallow water oil exploration and production. Semi-submersible platforms that float on the water’s surface are used in deepwater. Offshore remains a hostile work environment, and offshore injuries are common. If you are injured while working on an offshore rig, platform or marine vessel, your employer may be liable if they didn’t provide adequate supervision and accident prevention.
There are many offshore contractors that provide specialty services to the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Mexico, including oil companies Shell, BP and offshore operators such as Transocean Ltd. Offshore contractors. 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. They employ many maritime workers, including deckhands, engineers, cooks, tankermen, roustabouts, roughnecks, derrick foremen and captains.
If you are an offshore worker and have been seriously injured in an accident on a rig, platform, mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU), or jackup, you may have legal rights to compensation under the federal maritime law. Many platform workers and their families have legal rights to seek compensation under the Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act. After a serious offshore injury, you may be facing substantial medical bills and time off work. It’s important to understand your rights to maintenance and cure and other benefits. A Jones Act lawyer at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., will review your offshore injury at no charge and provide legal advice about your right to compensation. Families of maritime workers who died in offshore accidents may be entitled to compensation as well.
Louisiana Platform Accident Lawyer
Offshore platforms are some of the largest moveable structures in the world. They may be large, but they are susceptible to corrosion, damage caused by dropped objects, extreme weather, and collisions with vessels. A lack of maintenance of a platform, MODU, jackup or offshore rig can lead to a serious accident. Owners of platforms, MODUs, jackup barges and offshore rigs are required to meet certain federal standards for equipment and safety practices and may be liable for preventable accidents caused by a disregard for maintenance or safety.
There are many ways that serious injuries may occur on offshore rigs and platforms. Deckhands and floor hands can suffer serious head injuries and traumatic brain injuries if a lift connection on a hoist or crane fails, causing a heavy load to fall. A worker may fall from heights on a rig and suffer grave injuries if railing or decking gives way due to corrosion or if the worker is not wearing fall protection. Roustabouts, roughnecks and toolpushers can suffer serious head injuries or fatal injuries due to pipe handling accidents or the uncontrolled movement of sections of heavy pipe on platforms, MODU’s and offshore rigs. Explosions caused by burps of natural gas can quickly engulf a platform or vessel and cause catastrophic burn injuries. A worker may be washed overboard if working on a rig stairs or boat landing in rough weather.
Offshore employers have a responsibility to provide a safe working environment for workers. Owners of marine vessels have a legal duty to provide a seaworthy vessel.
Offshore Injury Attorney For MODU and Platform Accidents
Among the types of offshore structures are:
- Offshore Rigs —Offshore rigs include two basic types of structures—those that can be moved from location to location and stationary structures that are fixed in position.
- MODUs—Mobile oil drilling units are used for offshore oil and gas exploration. They float on the surface of the water and may be moved from one location to another. The two basic kinds of MODUs are floating drilling rigs and bottom-supported drilling rigs
- Platform — An oil production platform may be a steel tower with legs anchored to the floor of the Gulf or a semi-submersible platform that floats above a drill site, allowing oil companies to reach oil at greater depths.
- MODU DPV — Dynamic positioning is a computer system that holds a vessel’s position and heading in the water through the use of propellers and thrusters. Mobile offshore drilling units that are dynamically positioned over oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico should be operated as vessels by a licensed captain. Most drillships are equipped with dynamic positioning to maintain position over a well.
- Jackups— As the name suggests, jack-up rigs or jackups are mobile drilling rigs that can be supported on legs once on location. These mobile oil drilling units are designed for use in shallow water of up to about 500 feet and have the ability to drill to depths of 15,000 to 25,000 feet. Jackups can be moved from place to place, then anchored in place by lowering the legs.
- Hercules Offshore owns the largest fleet of shallow water jackup rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, with 42 jackup rigs.
- Accidents are common on all types of offshore rigs, platforms, jackups and MODUs and vessels with dynamic positioning. If an employer fails to provide a formal training program about the hazards associated with a platform job, fails to have an equipment inspection program or doesn’t have adequate on-site supervision, the employer may be legally liable for a serious injury or death offshore.
Louisiana Maritime Law Firm Helps Workers Injured in Offshore Rig Accidents
If you are a deckhand, a roustabout or floor hand and you have been injured in a marine-related job, you may have legal rights to compensation under federal law. As a platform and rig workers, it’s important to talk to a personal injury attorney who understands maritime workers’ rights under the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act. A Louisiana offshore platform lawyer at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., can help you receive full compensation after a serious injury.
The maritime lawyers at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P., are licensed to practice in Louisiana (INACTIVE) and Texas. 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.
