ZEPROG!

Working on a floating offshore rig or platform for petroleum or gas extraction is widely seen as one of America’s riskiest lines of work. Not only do employees handle bulky and complex equipment, but they work on high waters where weather and water conditions can be perilous. And beyond that, neglectfulness by their employers can lead to a serious if not ill-fated accident on the job.

That’s the base of cases filed by 2 survivors and the family of one fallen employee who endured an ordeal in the Gulf of Mexico in early September. On Sept. 8, the liftboat or jack-up oil rig on which they’d been performing seismic tests started to go down in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche as Tropical Storm Nate roiled toward them. Escape was imperative.

Yet the workers weren’t moved from the liftboat promptly. While a « standby » watercraft was close by, it didn’t make an effort to rescue the men. So eventually the employees managed to get on a little life boat, which didn’t have any water or food and had insufficient capacity for all 10 human beings to be aboard. That implied several men had to stay in the water and hold on to the life boat, in shifts.

After three days floating at sea, the 10 men at last were rescued by search teams. However, in the end, four of the 10 maritime employees perished. One was lost at sea and later located. Two died at sea on the raft, and one other man passed away in a hospital onshore after the rescue.

Lawsuits are seeking redress from Geokinetics Inc. of Houston, Texas, which had commissioned the seismic studies; Mermaid Marine Australia Ltd., which was the owner of the backup vessel; and Trinity Liftboat Services of New Iberia, Louisiana, which owned and had control over the stricken liftboat.

When offshore workers, navy men, seafarers, marine employees or others who work on the water are injured or killed in a work accident, they or their survivors have special federal protections under longtime maritime law, the Jones Act. This law allows them to file a lawsuit against an employer for negligence and seek compensation for their medical costs, lost salaries, and pain and suffering.

Major energy companies and their affiliates have a moral and legal responsibility to provide their workers with good enough safety measures for protection. When this duty is not met, and when workers are hurt or get killed as a result, then the long-standing law called the Jones Act may be used.

Resource

Where can wounded marine or offshore workers get a Jones Act lawyer? One place to check out is the seasoned Gulf Coast law firm of Jim S. Adler & Associates. By checking out its Texas-JonesActLawyer.com web site or by calling 1-800-566-3434, victims can explore their prospects for a winning Jones Act lawsuit on their behalf.