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Seamen face some of the most grueling work to be found anywhere in or around the United States. Granted, it’s relatively good pay but that also means the sting will be felt more if an offshore injury prevents a maritime worker or seaman from working. To cap it all off, it’s quite common to experience an offshore injury due to the difficult working conditions maritime workers face.
When this happens to you or your loved ones, you’ll want to hire an offshore injury lawyer to get you the best deal possible. If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place. However, aside from needing a great offshore injury lawyer, you’ll also need to understand some of the peculiarities of an offshore injury.
What Is An Offshore Injury?
The term “offshore injury” refers to a group of personal injuries that may befall a maritime worker while working offshore at sea (on an oil rig platform, cruise ship, tanker, dive boat, etc), on an inland waterway, or close to coastal waters. While working in these kinds of environments, it’s common to experience falls, be hit by moving objects, or sustain musculoskeletal injuries while handling heavy loads.
These fall injuries may be sustained on the head and may also lead to broken bones. It’s also possible to sustain burns and for there to be deaths. If you or your loved one has experienced anything like this, you no doubt want to know how you can get the funds to pay the medical bills.
Medical Care For An Offshore Injury: Who Foots The Bill?
If you sustained an offshore injury while on the job, you are entitled to fair compensation; this right is given to you by a number of laws which we’ll discuss more later. Hence, if you act appropriately, you won’t need to worry about medical bills during the recovery period.
That being said, if you want to have a good outcome, you need to file a claim with a skilled offshore injury lawyer like the ones we have. Our lawyers are personal injury lawyers with expertise and knowledge in offshore injury law.
Different laws cover different categories of personal injuries and which one applies to your case is something that can only be ascertained by an expert offshore injury lawyer. That being said, here’s a rundown of the most relevant laws.
The Jones Act
The Jones Act does several things, one of which is to protect maritime workers who have sustained injuries as a result of the negligence of their employers. It guarantees them a right to financial compensation to cover present and future medical expenses, to address pain and suffering experienced, and to replace wages lost due to the inability to work
The Admiralty Law
The Admiralty Law protects maritime workers and passengers on boats; it allows them to obtain “maintenance and cure” for an offshore injury. In this context, “maintenance” is one’s living expenses while a “cure” is one’s medical bills.
If this is getting a bit cumbersome, not to worry. Our crack team of offshore injury lawyers are ready to get to work helping you get fair compensation. Contact us asap.
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