New Orleans, LA Offshore Workers’ Compensation Lawyer
The Longshoremen and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) is designed to provide coverage for injured maritime workers who are not able to pursue compensation under the Jones Act because they are not seaman. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, LHWCA provides work-related injury and occupational disease protection to approximately 500,000 maritime workers.
Longshoremen and Harbor Workers Compensation Act benefits are similar to state workers’ compensation benefits and include medical payments, rehab services, disability payments, and death benefits. The LHWCA is also no-fault, meaning that a maritime worker or his surviving family may collect these benefits regardless of whether the maritime employer was at fault for a given accident that led to injury or death.
Workers covered by the Longshoremen and Harbor Workers Compensation Act are generally those that build, service, load, and repair ships along with those responsible for driving trucks, operating forklifts, and handling cargo. The types of workers also include maritime workers that work aboard fixed offshore platforms as opposed to vessels.
Under the LHWCA, injured maritime workers are required to adhere to several important deadlines regarding the filing of forms, appealing of decisions, etc. It is always a good idea to report an injury to your employer immediately after it happened. It also wise to consult an attorney as soon as possible to make sure that you comply with the applicable deadlines.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured or killed as a result of a maritime accident, it is very important that you contact a highly skilled, Longshoreman and Harbor Workers Compensation Act lawyer immediately. HKGC is the best equipped law firm to handle your personal injury claim stemming from an offshore maritime accident. Learn about your legal rights from an experienced Louisiana offshore maritime injury lawyer by calling 504-581-4892 or by filling out our free, no obligation case review form.
Other Offshore-Maritime Accidents News
Offshore work is one of the most dangerous professions in the country, and workers and their families may not fully realize the risks until it’s too late.
Offshore accidents can cause irreversible injuries even if someone survives. If you or someone you know has been injured in an offshore accident, you may wonder if you should hire an offshore accident attorney.
One of the greatest risks of offshore injuries isn’t when workers are performing their duties – it’s when they are transported to offshore job sites. Reports show that most offshore worker fatalities occur during travel to and from work.
U.S. maritime law protects offshore workers on vessels flying an American flag, and legal recourse is available for injured workers or the families of those fatally injured. But what about employees on foreign-flagged ships, which lack American safety and liability requirements?
Understanding who qualifies as a seaman under the Jones Act is important because offshore workers are not covered by workers’ compensation. When an offshore accident happens, workers may be able to sue their employer for personal injuries under the Jones Act.
New Orleans, LA Maritime Injury Lawyer What you do (or don’t do) after you are injured in an offshore accident will ultimately determine whether or not you are treated fairly in your claim for compensation. [...]
