Houston Maritime Attorney is delighted to assist injured marine employees in obtaining compensation. Every profession comes with its own set of dangers, and the marine sector is no exception. Seamen, in fact, work in one of the most dangerous industries on the planet.
When seamen are on the boat, they are at risk for work-related injuries. The courts are aware of this. Furthermore, our Houston personal injury law company is always fighting for injured sailors.
Marine law gives injured maritime employees the right to seek the compensation they need for any work-related problems. Furthermore, these regulations serve as the foundation for all harms sustained by mariners.
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History of Maritime Law & Admiralty Law:
Admiralty law, commonly known as maritime law, regulates occurrences at sea as well as vessel behaviour. Many nations have their own laws governing sailors, passenger transportation, and marine business. Multilateral treaties, on the other hand, created a number of globally recognised areas of admiralty law.
These restrictions stretch back to ancient Greece since ships were one of the first modes of long-distance transportation. Eleanor of Aquitaine later introduced the notion of a lawful authority to the west, which regulated marine problems. She learnt about this notion when accompanying King Louis VII of France to the Mediterranean during the Second Crusade.
Because they ruled over marine problems as a different institution from common law courts, British admiralty courts established the phrase admiralty law. Because the United States’ court system was modelled after that of the United Kingdom, admiralty laws were quickly integrated once the Constitution was ratified.
When Should I Hire A Houston Maritime Attorney?
At our personal injury law office, our Houston Maritime Attorney assist injured dockworkers and seafarers in obtaining the compensation they need to heal. Serious injuries usually necessitate costly medical treatment. Above all, these injuries can have a long-term psychological, emotional, and financial impact on your life.
Accidents on “navigable waterways,” such as rivers, bays, oceans, ports, and docks, fall under this category. Our marine injury lawyers in Houston are well-versed in maritime law. We also understand the marine industry best practices and culture.
Maritime Law and Maritime Injury Cases:
Admiralty law exists to assist wounded mariners in recovering from work-related injuries. Without these restrictions, wounded sailors would be obliged to act on their own to alleviate whatever pain they may have suffered at work. When a marine worker is wounded, the vessel’s owner is responsible for compensating them for their losses. This is referred to as “maintenance and cure” by maritime lawyers.
Essentially, this means that the employer must cover the costs of the illness until the employee has fully recovered. This commitment is viewed by the courts as a duty that the owner owes to any worker aboard their vessel.
Furthermore, seafarers are entitled to full pay for the duration of the cruise during which they were ill or injured. Often, their job contract specifies the amount of unpaid pay they are entitled to.
Death On The High Seas Act:
Working in the commercial maritime industry is risky. A worker’s death can sometimes be caused by the negligence or wrongful conduct of an employer or coworker. If a loved one serving on a commercial vessel dies at least three nautical miles from a U.S. shoreline, the partner, parent, child, or any dependant relative may be entitled to equitable compensation for missed pay, burial expenses, and counselling fees under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA).
A marine attorney must establish carelessness on the side of the shipowner or a coworker in order for a claim to be successful. Even if the decedent played a role in his or her own death, recompense may still be appropriate.
Houston locals know they can rely on Cobos Law Firm for trustworthy, smart counsel when they need a qualified and competent marine injury lawyer.
The Merchant Marine Act (Jones Act):
If you work for a company on land and suffer a work-related injury, the state’s workers compensation rules apply. When you work off-shore, this is just not the case.
The Jones Act, often known as the Merchant Marine Act, is a federal legislation adopted in 1920 that governs maritime commerce between United States ports. However, a section of the Act allows marine workers to sue their employers for benefits for work-related injuries caused by their carelessness.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a captain or a mate, a deckhand, a chef, or a bartender. You may be eligible for compensation if you devote at least 30% of your working hours to the operation of a vessel while on navigable waters and experience injuries. This covers lost earnings, medical bills, and pain and suffering recompense.
Off-shore workers may be entitled to punitive damages in some cases if it can be established that the employer showed a purposeful and wanton disregard for their safety. A qualified Jones Act lawyer can build a compelling case for you and obtain you the money you deserve.
Limitation Liability Act & Your Maritime Injury Lawyer:
The Limitation Liability Act prevents vessel owners from being forced to pay compensation for injuries or deaths that are more than the worth of their vessel. For a marine worker who has filed a claim, this might be terrible news.
The procedures for all claims are stopped whenever a vessel owner files a limitation of responsibility complaint. This suspension will persist until the hearings are consolidated into a single procedure in which individuals with competing claims may be forced to accept pro-rated settlements.
Furthermore, limiting liability claims do not allow for jury trials. Some personal injury lawsuits, thankfully, are excluded. Suits for salaries due to mariners, as well as maintenance and cure claims, are among them.
Jurisdiction And Maritime Law:
Maritime matters were originally handled by federal courts. Many claims involving marine injuries are now tried in state or federal courts. This option was introduced by the saving to suitors provision in Title 28 of the United States Code (28 U.S.C. 1333).
Any lawsuit involving marine property, on the other hand, is an exemption. These cases must be brought before a federal judge. The most crucial point to understand is that in a maritime matter, a state court must follow marine law rather than state law.
Features of Admiralty Law:
Admiralty law laid the groundwork for the legal principles that regulate the sea and maritime labour. These fundamental concepts serve as a foundation for our Houston maritime attorneys to assist you in holding negligent parties responsible. The following are examples of this:
- Seamen and creditors owing salaries have the power to file a Maritime Lien on a vessel, securing payment with a security interest.
- When rescuers retrieve property that has been lost at sea, they are entitled to a maritime salvage prize.
- Shipowners owe it to their crew and passengers to give reasonable care.
When a passenger is injured as a consequence of the shipowner carelessness, the passenger has the right to sue the shipowner.
What Does a Houston Maritime Injury Attorney?
Maritime labour is frequently perilous, and the injuries that sailors experience are sometimes not covered by state workers’ compensation legislation. A marine injury lawyer in Houston may defend seafarers in a variety of lawsuits, including barge and cargo ship collisions, commercial fishing collisions, shipyard collisions, drilling rig and oil platform collisions, wrongful death, and more.
When seeking for a marine injury lawyer in Houston, people know Cobos Law Firm as an industry leader in helping seafarers collect charges for injuries that have harmed their ability to work, along with medical bills, rehab fees, and agony and suffering.
When you engage with a Houston maritime injury lawyer from our company, our lawyer will fight for your rights and bring those who caused your injuries accountable.
A Houston maritime injury lawyer can assist you in recovering all of the costs associated with a maritime accident.
The Houston, Texas law firm represents clients in matters involving marine injuries. Andrew Texas attorney who defends people who have been injured or sickened at work.
Following a major accident, you may face a variety of expenses. These expenses have a direct effect on your life. That influence, on the other hand, may last for years. These initial consequences are frequently visible:
- Inability to work
- Expensive bills
- Pain and suffering
- Rehabilitation
When it comes to marine injuries, determining the long-term consequences might be difficult. Your Houston maritime lawyer fights for you to get important damages that will help you if you need lifelong medical care. Furthermore, it is difficult to predict the long-term consequences, so you must be prepared.
How a Jones Act Attorney Can Help You
The Jones Act compensates injured marine employees for lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering, as any skilled Houston maritime injury lawyer understands. However, determining compensation in each of these categories is not straightforward.
How can future increases, promotions, and perks be determined fairly? What medical expenses may an injury cause in the future? What is the monetary value of mental anguish?
You need an advocate if you suffer a work-related injury while working as a seaman in navigable seas. You’ll need the counsel and representation of a personal injury lawyer who is familiar with maritime law, particularly the Jones Act.
Houston maritime injury lawyer Specialists know how to fairly determine and present these unknowns in court so that you receive the most compensation you are entitled to.
For a free case review, contact some Houston personal injury law company now. Our marine attorneys are ready to fight for you when you need to hold individuals responsible.