Texas has one of the largest maritime and industrial workforces in the United States. From the Houston Ship Channel and Port Houston to Galveston, Freeport, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Corpus Christi, and Brownsville, thousands of seamen, longshoremen, dockworkers, terminal employees, and offshore workers face serious hazards every day.
When a maritime worker is injured, however, determining which law applies can be complicated. Two of the most important federal statutes are the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA).
At Gilman & Allison, LLP, our Texas maritime injury attorneys represent injured maritime workers and their families in claims involving the Jones Act, LHWCA, vessel negligence, unseaworthiness, offshore accidents, and other claims arising under federal maritime law.
Texas Jones Act Lawyers for Injured Seamen
The Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 30104, provides important legal protections to qualifying seamen injured because of their employer’s negligence.
Unlike ordinary workers’ compensation, the Jones Act may allow an injured seaman to bring a negligence claim directly against his or her employer and seek damages associated with the injury.
A worker’s job title alone does not determine whether the Jones Act applies. Seaman status generally depends on the worker’s relationship to a vessel or identifiable fleet of vessels and whether that relationship is substantial in both its duration and nature.
Maritime workers who may potentially qualify as Jones Act seamen include:
- Deckhands;
- Captains and mates;
- Tugboat and towboat crew members;
- Tanker and cargo vessel crew;
- Dredge workers;
- Offshore vessel workers;
- Commercial fishing vessel crew;
- Certain barge workers; and
- Other employees who regularly contribute to the function or mission of a vessel.
Jones Act cases can arise from falls, defective equipment, unsafe work methods, inadequate training, insufficient crew, lifting accidents, line-handling incidents, collisions, allisions, fires, explosions, chemical exposures, and other dangerous conditions aboard vessels.
What Must an Injured Seaman Prove?
Jones Act negligence is different from an ordinary Texas negligence case. A seaman generally must establish that the employer’s negligence played a part in causing the injury.
Potential evidence of negligence can include an employer’s failure to provide appropriate equipment, training, supervision, staffing, procedures, maintenance, or a reasonably safe place to work.
An injured seaman may also have separate remedies under general maritime law, including claims involving unseaworthiness and rights to maintenance and cure, depending upon the circumstances.
Because these remedies overlap but are legally distinct, maritime injury cases should be evaluated under the entire body of applicable federal maritime law—not simply treated as ordinary workplace injury claims.
Texas Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act Lawyers
Not every maritime worker is a Jones Act seaman.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 901–950, provides a federal workers’ compensation system covering many maritime employees who work on or around navigable waters, docks, terminals, shipyards, and other maritime facilities.
Potential LHWCA-covered employees can include:
- Longshoremen;
- Stevedores;
- Cargo handlers;
- Ship repair workers;
- Shipbuilders;
- Shipbreakers;
- Terminal workers; and
- Other qualifying harbor workers.
Whether the LHWCA applies frequently depends upon the employee’s work and where the injury occurred. These are commonly referred to as the Act’s status and situs requirements.
LHWCA Benefits and Third-Party Vessel Claims
An injured longshore or harbor worker may be entitled to LHWCA benefits for qualifying medical treatment and disability.
But receiving LHWCA benefits does not necessarily mean that workers’ compensation is the only potential recovery.
One of the most important issues in serious longshore cases is whether another company or vessel owner contributed to the accident.
Under Section 905(b) of the LHWCA, an injured longshore worker may, in appropriate circumstances, pursue a negligence claim against a vessel.
These claims can involve issues such as dangerous vessel conditions, hazards turned over to a stevedore or contractor, active involvement by vessel personnel, and a vessel’s response to dangerous conditions arising during cargo operations.
That distinction can significantly affect an injured worker’s legal rights.
Jones Act vs. LHWCA: Which Law Covers Your Injury?
One of the first questions our maritime lawyers investigate is which federal maritime law applies to the worker.
A Jones Act seaman and an LHWCA-covered longshoreman can suffer similar injuries at the same port yet possess substantially different legal remedies.
For example, a crew member permanently assigned to a vessel may potentially qualify as a Jones Act seaman, while a longshoreman loading cargo aboard that same vessel may instead fall under the LHWCA.
Other workers present more difficult classification questions.
A worker may spend time aboard barges, tugs, dredges, workboats, offshore vessels, or other floating equipment without being formally called a “seaman.” In those cases, determining maritime status requires a careful analysis of the worker’s actual duties and connection to the vessel—not merely the employer’s chosen job title.
This is one reason injured maritime workers should speak with attorneys who regularly handle Jones Act, LHWCA, and general maritime law claims.
Maritime Injuries at Texas Ports and Along the Gulf Coast
Gilman & Allison, LLP represents maritime clients throughout Texas, including matters arising around:
Houston, Pasadena, Deer Park, Baytown, La Porte, Galveston, Texas City, Freeport, Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, Corpus Christi, Ingleside, Port Aransas, and Brownsville.
Texas maritime accidents frequently occur during:
- Cargo loading and unloading;
- Container and terminal operations;
- Mooring and unmooring;
- Towing operations;
- Vessel docking and undocking;
- Gangway and ladder transfers;
- Crane and winch operations;
- Line handling;
- Ship repair and maintenance;
- Tank cleaning;
- Offshore transportation;
- Barge operations; and
- Work aboard commercial vessels.
Serious maritime accidents can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, fractures, crush injuries, burns, amputations, chemical exposure injuries, orthopedic injuries, permanent disability, and death.
Houston Ship Channel and Port of Houston Maritime Injury Lawyers
The Houston Ship Channel presents a particularly complex maritime environment. Tankers, container ships, chemical carriers, tugboats, barges, harbor vessels, terminals, refineries, and petrochemical facilities operate in close proximity.
An accident in the Houston Ship Channel may therefore involve multiple potentially responsible entities, including vessel owners, operators, employers, terminal operators, stevedoring companies, contractors, equipment companies, and other third parties.
Our attorneys evaluate these incidents under the Jones Act, LHWCA, Section 905(b), general maritime law, and other applicable state and federal law to determine what claims may be available.
Common Jones Act and Longshore Injuries We Handle
Gilman & Allison, LLP handles maritime injury claims involving accidents such as:
Gangway and ladder accidents. Unsafe gangways, pilot ladders, accommodation ladders, and vessel access systems can cause devastating falls.
Slip, trip, and fall accidents. Oil, water, cargo debris, defective decking, inadequate lighting, and unsafe working surfaces can create serious hazards aboard vessels and terminals.
Crane and cargo accidents. Longshoremen and vessel crew members can suffer catastrophic injuries when cargo shifts, rigging fails, suspended loads fall, or crane operations are improperly conducted.
Mooring-line and line-handling injuries. Parted lines, snap-back zones, winches, capstans, and improper procedures can cause severe or fatal injuries.
Tugboat and barge accidents. Deckhands and other crew members face risks involving towing equipment, lines, slippery decks, heavy machinery, vessel movements, and falls overboard.
Fires, explosions, and chemical exposure. Tankers, terminals, refineries, chemical facilities, and industrial vessels may expose maritime workers to hazardous substances and catastrophic events.
Collisions and allisions. Vessel casualties may produce claims involving navigation, lookout, vessel handling, equipment failures, and compliance with maritime safety regulations.
Why Maritime Injury Cases Require Maritime Lawyers
Maritime injury litigation is governed by a specialized combination of federal statutes, general maritime law, regulations, contractual relationships, and decades of federal precedent.
A serious maritime case may require analysis of:
- Jones Act seaman status;
- LHWCA status and situs;
- Section 905(b) vessel negligence;
- Unseaworthiness;
- Maintenance and cure;
- Vessel ownership and operational control;
- Limitation of liability;
- Coast Guard regulations and investigations;
- Safety manuals and company procedures;
- Vessel logs and electronic data;
- Employment and vessel-assignment records; and
- Relationships among vessel owners, charterers, contractors, stevedores, and terminal operators.
Early investigation is particularly important because critical evidence may include vessel logs, photographs, surveillance footage, electronic navigation information, maintenance records, safety documents, witness statements, and equipment involved in the casualty.
Texas Maritime Lawyers at Gilman & Allison, LLP
Gilman & Allison, LLP is a Texas trial firm with substantial experience in maritime and admiralty matters. Our attorneys handle maritime disputes involving vessels, offshore operations, ports, terminals, cargo operations, commercial shipping, and serious personal injuries.
For an injured maritime worker, that experience matters. A lawyer evaluating the claim should understand not only personal injury litigation but also the maritime doctrines that determine who can be sued, what remedies are available, and which federal law governs the accident.
Whether the injury involves a seaman aboard a vessel, a longshoreman working cargo, a terminal employee, a harbor worker, or another maritime employee, our attorneys can evaluate the circumstances and determine the potential remedies available under federal maritime law.
Speak With a Texas Jones Act or Longshore Act Attorney
If you were injured while working aboard a vessel, at a Texas port or terminal, along the Houston Ship Channel, or elsewhere in the Texas maritime industry, contact Gilman & Allison, LLP for a consultation.
Our maritime attorneys represent injured workers in Jones Act, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, Section 905(b) vessel negligence, unseaworthiness, maintenance and cure, and general maritime law claims throughout Texas and the Gulf Coast.
Gilman & Allison, LLP — Texas Maritime & Admiralty Trial Attorneys
Call (713) 224-6622 to discuss a maritime injury claim.