Texas Towboat and Tugboat Accident Lawyers
Towboats and tugboats are the backbone of the American maritime industry, moving barges carrying petroleum products, chemicals, construction materials, agricultural commodities, and countless other cargoes along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Houston Ship Channel, the Mississippi River system, and ports throughout Texas.
Unfortunately, these vessels also present serious hazards. Long hours, heavy equipment, changing weather conditions, and physically demanding work create an environment where a single mistake—or an employer’s negligence—can result in life-changing injuries.
If you were injured while working aboard a towboat or tugboat, you may have rights under the Jones Act, the doctrine of unseaworthiness, and the maritime obligation of maintenance and cure. Unlike traditional workers’ compensation, these maritime laws may allow injured seamen to recover compensation for lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, future earning capacity, and other damages.
At Gilman & Allison, LLP, our Texas maritime attorneys represent injured mariners throughout the Gulf Coast and understand the unique legal issues involved in Jones Act litigation.
Common Towboat and Tugboat Accidents
Working aboard a towing vessel requires constant coordination between crew members, vessel operators, and shoreside personnel. When proper safety procedures are ignored, serious accidents can occur.
Common incidents include:
- Line handling accidents
- Broken or parted tow wires
- Snapback injuries from mooring lines
- Crush injuries between barges
- Falls while transferring between vessels
- Gangway and ladder accidents
- Winch and capstan injuries
- Crane and lifting accidents
- Engine room injuries
- Slip and falls on wet decks
- Vessel collisions and allisions
- Fires and explosions
- Equipment failures
- Improperly maintained towing gear
- Unsafe fleeting operations
- Lock and dam accidents
Many of these accidents are preventable when vessel owners provide proper equipment, adequate training, competent crews, and safe operating procedures.
Who Can Bring a Jones Act Claim?
Many employees working aboard towboats and tugboats qualify as “seamen” under the Jones Act.
This may include:
- Deckhands
- Captains
- Pilots
- Tankermen
- Engineers
- Mates
- Relief captains
- Lead deckhands
- Cooks
- Inland river mariners
- Fleet boat personnel
- Push boat crew members
Determining whether you qualify as a Jones Act seaman depends upon the facts of your employment and your connection to a vessel or fleet of vessels.
Common Injuries Aboard Towboats and Tugboats
Towboat work often involves repetitive lifting, heavy machinery, moving barges, and hazardous weather conditions.
Our firm represents clients suffering injuries such as:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Back and spinal injuries
- Herniated discs
- Shoulder injuries
- Knee injuries
- Torn ligaments
- Broken bones
- Burns
- Crush injuries
- Amputations
- Hearing loss
- Neck injuries
- Hand injuries
- Fatal maritime accidents
- Wrongful death claims
Even injuries that initially appear minor can develop into permanent conditions affecting a mariner’s ability to continue working on the water.
Your Employer Owes You a Safe Place to Work
Maritime employers have legal duties that differ significantly from those applicable to land-based employers.
Depending on the circumstances, a vessel owner or employer may be liable for:
- Failing to maintain a seaworthy vessel
- Operating with an inadequate crew
- Providing defective equipment
- Failing to inspect towing equipment
- Improper training
- Unsafe line handling procedures
- Failure to enforce safety policies
- Improper vessel maintenance
- Dangerous deck conditions
- Failure to warn of known hazards
Even slight negligence by your employer may be sufficient to establish liability under the Jones Act.
Maintenance and Cure
Injured seamen are generally entitled to maintenance and cure regardless of who caused the accident.
Maintenance typically provides compensation for reasonable daily living expenses while recovering, while cure generally covers necessary medical treatment until maximum medical improvement is reached.
Employers who improperly deny these benefits may face additional legal exposure under maritime law.
Why Maritime Cases Require Maritime Lawyers
Towboat injury claims are governed by specialized federal maritime law—not ordinary Texas personal injury law.
Successfully handling these cases often requires experience with:
- Jones Act negligence claims
- Unseaworthiness
- Maintenance and cure
- Comparative fault
- Vessel inspections
- Coast Guard investigations
- Maritime regulations
- Expert testimony
- Federal and state admiralty practice
Choosing an attorney with experience handling maritime cases can make a significant difference in protecting your rights.
Speak With a Texas Towboat Accident Lawyer
If you were injured while working aboard a towboat, tugboat, push boat, fleet boat, or other towing vessel, do not assume your only option is workers’ compensation.
The maritime attorneys at Gilman & Allison, LLP represent injured seamen throughout Texas and the Gulf Coast. We understand the unique challenges faced by professional mariners and work to hold negligent employers and vessel owners accountable under the Jones Act and general maritime law.
If you have questions about your rights after a maritime injury, contact our office for a free consultation.