Jones Act Injury Claims for Deckhands

Maritime Personal Injury Lawyers for Deckhands

Deckhands and crewmen who work on the decks of ships, tugs, and commercial fishing vessels are constantly at risk for serious personal injury. If you have been injured working on the deck of a ship, tug, or commercial fishing vessel, you are probably entitled to compensation under the Jones Act. Long hours, rough seas, slippery decks, heavy machinery, working with winches and cranes, handling cargo, working with fishing nets and gear, and working with lines under tension can lead to a career-ending injury if proper safety procedures are not followed. Defective equipment, negligence of fellow crewmen, improper training, and working in heavy weather are the most common causes of negligent injury to deckhands.

Beard Stacey & Jacobsen, LLP is recognized as one of the nation’s premier maritime personal injury firms. Our maritime law attorneys have handled thousands of Jones Act injury claims, recovering millions of dollars in compensation for clients. The attorneys at Beard Stacey & Jacobsen have handled over 50 maritime wrongful death cases, and have over 30 million dollar verdicts and settlements. Our Jones Act lawyers have represented deckhands and crewmen who have been injured aboard all types of ships, tugs, barges, and fishing vessels including members of the Inland Boatman’s Union and the Master Mates and Pilots Union. Our clients come from all four corners of the United States. Before choosing a lawyer to represent you, please consider the experience and the proven results of Beard Stacey & Jacobsen.

Our maritime injury law firm is well known for handling million dollar maritime personal injury and wrongful death claims. Noteworthy cases include the sinking of the Lee III in the Mississippi; and the sinkings of the Aleutian Enterprise and Arctic Rose in Alaska. We have handled hundreds of six figure accidents; representative million dollar cases for deckhands include:

Tug Boat Deckhand Brain Injury $3.5 million

Tug Boat Deckhand Arm Injury $1.5 million

Tug Boat Deckhand Hand Injury $2.1 million

Crab Boat Deckhand Hand Injury $1.9 million

Crab Boat Deckhand leg Injury $1.0 million

Crab Boat Deckhand Hand Injury $1.0 million

Crab Boat Deckhand Leg Injury $1.2 million

Ferry Boat Worker Leg Injuries $1.5 million

Oil Response Worker Wrongful Death $2.9 million

Ship Pilot Brain Injury $2.1 million

Deckhands and crewmen injured aboard ship are entitled to compensation under the Jones Act and the general maritime law. If you are injured as a result of your employer’s negligence or the unseaworthiness of the vessel, you will be entitled to compensation for past and future lost wages and pain and suffering damages. Your employer is responsible for paying all of your medical expenses (maintenance and cure benefits) related to your accident, whether they are at fault or not. You are entitled to choose a doctor of your choice to provide you treatment.

Because of the high physical demands of working as a deckhand on board a ship, tug, ferry, or commercial fishing vessel, injuries that leave a deckhand with a permanent disability or physical impairment may prohibit the crewman from returning to his usual employment aboard ship. There are no light duty jobs aboard ship. Deckhands need to be able to act quickly and decisively while working on deck. Injured crewmen should not be put back to work aboard ship if it will compromise their safety or the safety of their fellow crewmen. Working on the deck of a ship at sea is one of the most physically demanding jobs in the world. If you have been injured, the continued and constant stress of shipboard work on deck is going to continue to place high stress on injured joints, bones, and muscles, leading to possible aggravation of your injuries.

To limit the compensatory damages you are owed under the Jones Act, ship owners and their insurance companies attempt to rush crewmen back to work, ignoring the seaman’s physical limitations. They do this to try and limit the injured seaman’s claim for future lost wages. The employer’s insurance companies frequently try to send injured crewmen to doctors they hire who they know they will return even permanently injured crewmen back to work aboard vessels. It is critical that injured seamen obtain fair and impartial medical assessment to determine whether or not they are fit to return to duty. In most cases, the maritime attorneys of Beard Stacey & Jacobsen, use complex and thorough physical capacity testing by rehabilitation specialists in combination with your treating doctor’s assessment to determine whether or not it is safe for a crewman to return to work on deck.

From offices in Seattle and Anchorage, the attorneys of Beard Stacey and Jacobsen are available to represent seriously injured crewmen throughout the United States in association with local counsel. Our firm has handled cases in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Louisiana. Let the lawyers at Beard Stacey & Jacobsen put their maritime legal experience to work for you to get you the fair compensation you deserve. Call for a free initial consultation.

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Tug and Shipping Companies /Unions: IBU, Inland Boatman’s Union, Master Mates and Pilots Union, , Foss Maritime, Western Tow Boat Co., Brusco Tug & Barge, Samson Tug & Barge; Northland Services, Alaska Marine Lines, Bowhead, Coastal Transportation

Contact a Maritime Law Attorney
at Beard Stacey & Jacobsen