Maritime Injuries

Maritime workers often sustain catastrophic injuries that affect their health for the remainder of their lives. Unfortunately, many of these injuries are caused by employer negligence.  Here are some of the most common types of injuries that offshore workers sustain:

Back Injury – An offshore worker may suffer from a back injury caused by heavy lifting and/or falls. Back injuries may lead to pain that progressively gets worse over time.  Even relatively minor back injuries can lead to a decrease range of motion.  Some back injuries are so severe that they require surgery and may prevent a maritime worker from working in the future

Brain Injury– A traumatic brain injury can be caused by an external force to the head.  Such injuries can lead to cognitive problems and can prevent an offshore worker from working in the future.  

Burn Injury – The heavy equipment used on offshore vessels require highly flammable fuel.  Working with this fuel in a captive environment such as an offshore vessel places maritime workers at an increased risk of sustaining severe burn injuries in fires or explosions.  

Compartment Syndrome – Compartment Syndrome can be caused by a variety of injuries, such as fractures or severe bruising of a muscle. When blood flow is cut off to muscles, nerves, and internal organs, serious injuries can occur. If compartment syndrome is not treated, amputation can be the only solution.

Crush Injury  – Crush injuries can occur when limbs get caught in moving machinery.  Crush injuries may also occur when heavy equipment falls on top of an offshore worker. A crush injury is essentially when any body part is placed under a great amount of pressure or force causing broken bones, bleeding, bruising, lacerations, tissue tear, etc.

Loss of Limb – An offshore worker may be at risk of losing a hand, foot, finger, or other body part as the result of various types of accidents. The body part may become caught in machinery and crushed. Severe burns caused by fires and explosions may also lead to the need for a surgical amputation.

Pleural Disease – Pleural disease has been defined as a “non-cancerous inflammatory condition characterized by the hardening and/or thickening of the tissue lining the lungs.” An offshore worker can easily contract a pleural disease after exposure to toxic materials.

Spine Injury – One of the most serious injuries that a maritime worker can sustain is a spinal cord injury. If the spine is seriously injured, the offshore worker may become partially or totally paralyzed.  Paraplegia or quadriplegia are conditions that may leave a maritime worker requiring medical care and assistance for the rest of his or her life. 

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed as a result of an offshore maritime accident, it is very important that you contact a highly skilled, offshore maritime injury lawyer immediately. Learn about your legal rights from an experienced offshore maritime injury attorney by filling out our free, no obligation Case Review Form located on this web site.