If you want to learn how to file a maritime injury lawsuit, you need to schedule a case consultation with a Louisiana maritime injury lawyer. Our team can help you find the evidence you need to prove that you have the right to pursue compensation for your losses. We can then make sure you file your accident report before your right to do so expires.
Our team has helped workplace accident survivors for over three decades. We can help you file a maritime injury lawsuit that accurately reflects the reality of your losses and prioritizes your right to a complete financial recovery.
Let’s discuss what the process looks like so you know what to expect as you recover.
Who Can File a Maritime Injury Lawsuit?
Our Louisiana personal injury lawyers know that today’s offshore employees have to jump through legal loopholes to distinguish between sailors, seamen, and other titles. Fortunately, we’re here to help you break those labels down, particularly if you’re interested in pursuing a maritime injury lawsuit.
According to the Jones Act, specific maritime workers have the right to file a maritime injury claim after a workplace accident. Workers who spend at least 30 percent of their workday on a seabound vessel operating in navigable water have the right to pursue a maritime injury lawsuit after a workplace injury. We can break down the basics of the Jones Act on your behalf.
If you don’t qualify to file a maritime injury lawsuit under the Jones Act, don’t panic. Our team can break down how you can file a maritime injury lawsuit under alternative acts, including the Death on the High Seas Act and the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
When Can You File a Maritime Injury Lawsuit?
So long as you qualify as a “seaman” and spend at least 30 percent of your workday on a vehicle in navigable waters, you can file a maritime injury claim.
Make sure you bring your request for support forward within the three years of actionable time allotted to you by the Jones Act, or else you may waive your right to compensation.
How to File a Maritime Injury Lawsuit
If you come to our Louisiana maritime injury lawyers and ask how we can file a maritime injury lawsuit on your behalf, you can expect us to:
Report Your Accident to a Supervisor
You have an obligation to let your employer know that you’ve been injured on the job if you intend to pursue compensation for your losses. We recommend creating a written document that concisely discusses your accident and what injuries you need a professional to assess.
Find Evidence of Accident Fault
You need to submit proof arguing that your maritime accident stemmed from avoidable negligence if you want to receive financial support based on your losses. Our team can help you gather the data needed to make your case even as you’re recovering from the immediate aftermath of your accident.
The proof we use to argue that your maritime accident stemmed from workplace negligence can include the following:
- Statements from your coworkers, shift supervisors, and other witnesses
- Medical reports from emergency responders, general practitioners, and specialists
- Estimates establishing the cost of your upcoming treatments/recovery plan
- Medical documents, including details about your reduced quality of life or worsened mental health
- Video footage or photos of marine vehicle negligence
- Reduced pay stubs or evidence of financial stress resulting from your accident
- Electronic data, including vehicles’ black boxes
Working with an experienced legal team ensures that you retain access to the data that can help you build a maritime injury lawsuit. If you try to tackle your recovery alone, insurance companies may deny you access to data that might otherwise help you build your case.
File Your Accident Report
If you want to qualify for financial support after a maritime accident, make sure you fill out an accident report going into detail about your circumstances. You want your report to include details about:
- The physical losses you sustained due to an accident
- The conditions that led to your accident
- What role negligence played in your accident
We recommend you have a maritime injury lawyer in Louisiana walk you through the process of filing your claim. You need to keep your language clear and your details concise. Insurance claims adjusters are eager to twist your words in their effort to deny you support.
Prompt You to Seek Essential Medical Attention
We encourage you to schedule an appointment with medical professionals after a maritime injury for multiple reasons, the least of which include concern for your health. If you intend to pursue a maritime injury lawsuit, you must pursue treatment, even for minor injuries. Your treatments will help provide the validity of your claim.
You get to choose what medical professionals and specialists you work with to fulfill this requirement. However, make sure you make it to each of your appointments, and avoid canceling when you can. Unfortunately, greedy insurance claims adjusters may argue that missing an appointment proves that you’re in good enough health not to need financial support.
Get in Touch With a Louisiana Maritime Injury Lawyer
You have a limited amount of time to file a maritime injury lawsuit forward in Louisiana’s admiralty court. According to the Jones Act’s statute of limitations, you have to file your claim within three years of a workplace injury or else lose the right to request loss-based damages.
We want you to take advantage of your right to financially recover from a serious offshore accident. That’s why our Louisiana maritime injury lawyers fight to make it as easy as possible for you to get the representation you deserve. You can book a case consultation with our staff free of charge before working with a contingency-based lawyer.
Let our team represent you in your fight for damages today.
