Beaumont Maritime Lawyers

We've Won $15+ Billion for the Injured & Wronged

Beaumont has been home to a busy river port since the late 1800s, even before the boom brought on by the discovery of a major oil field in 1901. The Port of Beaumont has held strategic importance as a key military port; a transportation battalion is stationed there as well as vessels for the Department of Defense. During World War I, its shipyards operated around the clock. In World War II, its oil refining capabilities were critical in mobilizing Allied forces.

As of 2019, more than 67,000 people worked in and around the Port of Beaumont in some capacity, and the port’s overall revenue was approximately $24.5 billion that year. In 2022, Beaumont-Port Arthur was third in the United States for the amount of crude oil exported from its waters.

With all these maritime workers working around the port and on vessels in its waters, safety is crucial. Unfortunately, some companies try to save on costs, cutting corners wherever possible, which leads to inadequate safety measures. When this results in a worker getting injured, these same companies usually try to protect their bottom line by finding ways to undermine that worker’s bid for fair compensation. Arnold & Itkin fights for offshore workers because companies often use underhanded tactics to convince them to give up their right to better treatment or more recovery funds. Outside of maritime lawyers, few people know about these tactics and may be taken advantage of.

If you think your company is trying to keep you from getting the care and compensation you need, call (888) 346-5024 for a free review of your case by a Beaumont maritime lawyer. Our firm is here to help.

Offshore Injuries & Accidents Workers Face

Offshore work, whether it’s in a harbor, on a freight vessel, or on an oil rig, is dangerous when safety is lacking. The most dangerous job in America for years was commercial fishing, and working on a drilling rig is significantly more likely to get you hurt than the average U.S. job. That’s why the law holds vessel owners and managers responsible for the safety of the ship, and by making it their responsibility, lawmakers hope that offshore vessels will be held to a higher safety standard, preventing hundreds of injuries that incur steep costs for victims’ families and communities.

Without holding offshore companies accountable, workers are more likely to suffer from:

Many companies feel comfortable with relatively small citations and fines for unsafe rigs and ships, increasing the likelihood of workers suffering an offshore injury. When that happens, it’s up to injured workers to file claims against their companies to hold them accountable, and it’s up to maritime attorneys to seek a successful verdict or settlement.

For us, a successful result is one that:

• Provides for the seaman’s needs; and
• Deters the company from ignoring safety again, helping to ensure the safety of future workers.

Beaumont Oil Rig Accidents

Oil rig workers are some of the hardest-working people in the offshore industry. They live full-time on a rig for weeks at a time, typically working 12 hours a day, 6 months out of the year. The work can be fulfilling and pay well, so there’s never a lack of people looking to join a rotation. But, working on a drilling rig is 7 times more dangerous than the average job.

The Beaumont oil rig accident lawyers at Arnold & Itkin have helped hundreds of oil rig workers get the money they needed after getting injured, money to get medical care and provide for their families.

Serving the Deepwater Horizon Crew

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon, a BP-owned oil rig, was drilling in the Gulf of Mexico when a malfunctioning blowout preventer caused an explosion. The blast and subsequent fire killed 11 workers and injured seventeen. Over a third of the victims came to our oil rig explosion lawyers asking for help because they were being treated unfairly. Some of them had even been asked to sign papers before seeing a doctor. We helped them secure the funds needed to provide for their extensive injuries, as well as provide for their lost income and lost earning capacity.

Filing Jones Act Claims

Centuries of maritime law created a complex system where most legal principles were decided from cases that happened as far back as medieval times. While maintenance and cure is a strong principle that applies today, Congress also passed four laws—unique to the U.S.—to protect the offshore industry and its workers.

These laws are the:

• Jones Act
• Death on the High Seas Act
• Limitation of Liability Act
• Longshoreman & Harbor Workers Compensation Act

Of these four laws, the most powerful is the Jones Act. It stipulates that when a seaman is injured by negligence, they’re entitled to recover compensation for lost wages, lost earning ability, mental anguish, pain and suffering, living expenses, and medical care. Our Beaumont Jones Act lawyers have filed hundreds of these claims on behalf of injured seamen, helping them get everything they needed to put their lives back together.

Schedule a Free Review of Your Case Today: (888) 346-5024

If you were injured while working offshore, you need someone who is watching out for you. Your company is likely already on the defensive and is looking for ways to limit your recovery. If that sounds far-fetched, watch how they respond when you ask for financial help. A lot of these companies will have you sign paper after paper to ensure that you don’t actually ask for the amount you’re entitled to as a Jones Act seaman (or any other kind of offshore worker). Our Beaumont maritime lawyers make sure your company is unable to pull any tricks on you.

Call (888) 346-5024 or contact us online for a free review of your case.