On September 2, 2010, an oil rig owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. This blast, which stranded 13 crewmembers in the Gulf waters, came just months after the tragic April 20, 2010 explosion of the Deepwater Horizon that killed 11 workers and injured dozens more. With so many safety regulations in place, oil rig explosions should be rare occurrences. Unfortunately, when profit is the ultimate goal and enforcement of existing regulations ranges from lax to non-existent, it suddenly becomes all too clear why we continue to witness these horrible disasters.
Since 2001 there have been 858 fires, 69 deaths and nearly 1,500 injuries on rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico. These largely-avoidable incidents have taken a massive toll on offshore workers, their families and the environment itself. Fortunately, if you work onboard an offshore rig, or any other sea-going vessel, then you are most likely protected by the Jones Act.
The Jones Act is a federal law that helps to compensate injured seamen following an injury offshore. It allows an injured worker to recover damages for the negligence of a vessel’s owner, captain or crew. In order to be eligible to recover damages under the Jones Act, you must spend most of your time working on an offshore rig and you must contribute to that rig’s overall function.
The Jones Act can provide injured rig workers with:
- Wages through the end of their hitch;
- Travel expenses to get back home;
- Maintenance payments to cover costs of living; and
- Cure payments to cover necessary medical treatment costs until the injured worker reaches maximum medical improvement (MMI).
A finding that the rig was in disrepair, under-equipped or under-manned at the time of the incident can allow an injured seaman to bring an additional claim for unseaworthiness, arguing that, because of its condition, the rig should not have been at sea.
Unlike in ordinary negligence cases, the Jones Act imposes a high standard of care on the employers of offshore rig workers. Any breach of that elevated standard of care that results in a seaman being injured is usually enough to trigger the employer’s liability. While investigations are ongoing in the most recent rig explosion, it is clear that the earlier explosion of the Deepwater Horizon was entirely preventable and was the result of gross negligence on the part of the rig’s owner, Transocean, as well as its operator, BP.
In just the past 2 years, the rig explosion and Jones Act lawyers at Fitts Zehl LLP have recovered over $150 million in damages for workers injured along the Gulf Coast, including workers in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Virginia, have been interviewed on CNN and Good Morning America, and provided legal commentary to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Houston Chronicle, Forbes, Bloomberg, and The Dallas Morning News.
Our maritime trial lawyers refuse to settle a case until we're confident that our client is being fully compensated for his losses and damages, and we are always prepared to take a case to court.
If you or a loved one was injured in a rig explosion or offshore accident, contact the experienced oil rig explosion lawyers at Fitts Zehl today for a free, no-obligation consultation at 1-800-993-4887.
