The Rio Grande Valley Jones Act Lawyer
Were you or a loved one injured on an offshore oil rig or vessel near the Rio Grande Valley, TX? You may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more. An experienced Rio Grande Valley Jones Act lawyer at Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers can help you recover fair compensation for your injuries.
Our top-rated legal team has over 45 years of experience helping injured clients recover the money they deserve. Over the years, we’ve recovered millions of dollars for accident victims.
Jones Act claims can be complex. Don’t hesitate to contact our law firm located in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas at (713) 224-4878 to schedule a free consultation with a lawyer who can help.
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How Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With a Jones Act Claim in the Rio Grande Valley
Maritime laws are notoriously complex. While it seems unfair, if you’re injured as a sailor or seaman, you’ll have to navigate a complex legal process to recover compensation. Having an experienced Rio Grande Valley personal injury lawyer by your side can greatly improve your odds of success.
At Attorney Brian White & Associates, P.C., our lawyers have decades of experience handling complex injury claims. Our founding attorney is board-certified in personal injury trial law. Only 3% of all lawyers in Texas have achieved this certification.
We’ve also been recognized by the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates’ Forum and received the AVVO Client’s Choice Award.
When you hire our team, we will:
- Investigate to determine the cause of your accident
- Gather the evidence to prove who was responsible
- Identify and assess the value of the damages you’ve sustained
- Hire experts and specialists to strengthen your claim
- Determine whether the vessel was unseaworthy, which could allow you to seek additional compensation
- Handle all negotiations with the insurance companies and defense lawyers
You might be facing a long road to recovery. Our Rio Grande Valley personal injury attorneys will fight to help you get the money you need. All you have to do is contact our law offices to get started.
What is the Jones Act?
The Jones Act is also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. It was enacted to protect maritime and offshore workers who are injured on the job. Rather than claiming Texas state workers’ compensation benefits, injured maritime workers are entitled to seek compensation under the Jones Act.
The Jones Act applies to help injured sailors and seamen who work on any type of offshore vessel, including:
- Oil rigs
- Fishing boats
- Shrimp boats
- Floating cranes
- Jack-ups
- Drill ships
- Tugs and towboats
- Cargo ships
- Construction barges
- Dredges
- Chemical ships
- Research vessels
- And more
The vessel must be operational for you to recover damages. In other words, it can’t be drydocked.
However, you may be entitled to benefits even if the vessel is at port when you were hurt. You don’t have to be on the open water to file a claim. The Jones Act also protects workers injured on inland river vessels.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Accident Victims Under The Jones Act?
Maritime workers are entitled to several different types of damages if they’re injured on the job. Those damages are typically more extensive than the benefits provided by the Texas state workers’ compensation system, particularly if the employer was negligent.
Under the Jones Act, you are generally entitled to “maintenance and cure” expenses. These are expenses for medical treatment and daily living expenses up to a certain amount until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) or you return to work.
Maintenance and cure could cover expenses such as:
- Emergency treatment
- Prescriptions
- Surgery
- Hospital stays
- Medical devices
- Physical therapy
- Vocational or occupational therapy
- Mental health treatment and counseling
- Living expenses during recovery onshore
If you were injured because the vessel you were working on was unseaworthy, then you could be entitled to additional damages, for things such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring
- Disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Shock and humiliation
- Depression
- Anxiety
- PTSD
- Reduced earning capacity
- Loss of consortium
Your damages may be extensive, especially if you’ve suffered a permanent injury. Our lawyers can help you fight for the fair compensation you need to move forward.
To start protecting your rights, call Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free case review today.
What is My Rio Grande Valley Jones Act Case Worth?
Like any other personal injury case, it’s important to know how much your Jones Act case is worth.
The following factors will generally play a role in your case value:
- The cost of your medical care
- The length of your recovery
- How the injury will impact your ability to earn a living
- The injury’s impact on your quality of life, including your emotional wellbeing
- Whether you’ll suffer a permanent disability
Future costs can be difficult to estimate. Often, our accident lawyers will bring in experts in economics and other specialities. With their help, we can gain a full picture of how your work injuries will hurt your ability to earn a living in the future.
Your non-economic damages are also difficult to value. Your employer might try to downplay those losses and point to “calculators” and “multipliers” that can be used to estimate your losses. Our lawyers can help you determine the true value of your case. To learn more about how we can help, call our law firm for a free case evaluation today.
Our Jones Act Lawyers in the Rio Grande Valley Will Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Injuries
Working on an offshore vessel can be dangerous. Heavy loads, dangerous weather conditions and unseaworthy vessels all increase the risk of offshore accidents and injuries.
We often represent injured workers who have suffered:
- Broken bones
- Nerve damage
- Strains, sprains and other soft tissue damage
- Herniated discs
- Back injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Concussions
- Other head and neck injuries
- Crushing injuries
- Chest injuries and other organ damage
- Burns
- Amputation injuries
- Paralysis
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death of a loved one
Injuries sustained at sea can be particularly dangerous. Medical help might be hours away. If you or a loved one were injured, contact our lawyers for a free initial consultation today.
What Causes Most Maritime Accidents in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas?
Maritime accidents can happen for any number of reasons, including:
- Unseaworthy vessels
- Lack of proper safety equipment
- Negligent security
- Failure to maintain the vessel
- Failure to hire and train qualified workers
- Communication errors
- Slip and fall accidents
- Violence aboard the vessel
- Unsafe working conditions
- Defective work equipment
- And more
At Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers, our maritime lawyers in the Rio Grande Valley will fight to recover fair compensation for all of your injuries. To learn more about our team, just give us a quick call today.
How Do I Prove I’m Entitled to Compensation Under The Jones Act in the Rio Grande Valley?
Jones Act claims are different from workers’ compensation claims in the state of Texas. The Jones Act is a federal law. While workers’ comp is a no-fault system, injured maritime workers must generally prove fault to receive benefits.
You can only recover damages if your employer, fellow employee, captain, or owner was at least partly responsible for your injuries.
Negligence is a legal concept. It’s the same legal theory that applies in most car accident cases. Someone is negligent when they fail to exercise reasonable caution under the circumstances.
To prove negligence, you have to establish:
- The at-fault party’s duty of care
- A breach of duty occurred
- The breach caused your work accident
- You sustained damages, whether in the form of physical injuries, emotional suffering or financial losses
To recover damages as a sailor or seaman, you also have to prove that you qualify as a “seaman.”
That means you must prove:
- You work aboard a United States vessel or boat in navigation
- You spend at least 30% of your time on the vessel
- You contribute to a significant purpose of the vessel
Injured seaman actually have to file a lawsuit to recover damages under the Jones Act. Often, your employer will have an insurance policy to pay compensation when workers are hurt on the job.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Maritime Accident in the Rio Grande Valley?
In most cases, you must file a claim for benefits under the Jones Act within three years of the date of your injury. If you miss the deadline, you could lose your right to seek compensation entirely.
However, there are situations where you could have more or less time, such as if you don’t discover an injury or illness right away.
If you have questions about the timeline for taking legal action, call our lawyers for a free case review today.
Contact Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation With a The Rio Grande Valley Jones Act Lawyer
Jones Act claims in the Rio Grande Valley, Corpus Christi, and San Antonio can be complicated. Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers offers a free consultation with a Rio Grande Valley Jones Act lawyer, so don’t hesitate to reach out for legal advice.
