Guiding Injured Maritime Workers Through Federal & State Law
The Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico built New Orleans, and they still put thousands of people to work every day. Deckhands, riggers, tankermen, longshoremen, and offshore crews keep the region's ports, vessels, and rigs running, often in conditions that leave little room for error. When a piece of equipment fails or a supervisor cuts a corner, the person on the water usually pays the price.
Maritime injury cases don't follow the same rules as a typical workplace accident claim. They fall under a mix of federal maritime law, admiralty doctrine, and specialized statutes that most general practice firms rarely touch. At Frischhertz & Impastato, our attorneys bring 85+ years of combined experience to these cases and handle them on a contingency fee basis, so you owe nothing unless we recover compensation.
Why Maritime Cases Follow a Different Set of Rules
Land-based workers who are hurt on the job typically file for workers' compensation and move on. Maritime workers have other options, and often better ones, because federal law recognizes how dangerous life aboard a vessel can be.
Depending on a worker's job and where the injury happened, a claim might arise under:
General maritime law doctrines, like unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, for certain offshore platform workers
Sorting out which framework applies, and sometimes more than one applies at once, takes a firm that works these cases regularly. Getting the classification wrong can cost a worker benefits they're entitled to receive.
The Jones Act: Negligence Claims for Seamen
A "seaman" under the Jones Act is generally someone who spends a substantial part of their work duties aboard a vessel in navigation and contributes to its function or mission. Tugboat crews, offshore supply vessel workers, and many rig hands can qualify, even if their job title doesn't sound like a traditional sailor's role.
Unlike standard workers' compensation, a Jones Act claim allows an injured seaman to pursue damages from an employer for negligence, including pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and future medical needs. The bar for proving negligence is intentionally lower than in an ordinary personal injury case in order to reflect how much control an employer has over conditions aboard a vessel.
Coverage for Longshoremen & Harbor Workers
Not everyone hurt on the water is a seaman, and the LHWCA fills that gap for people who load and unload vessels, work in shipyards, or handle cargo along New Orleans' docks and terminals. This federal program provides medical care and wage replacement benefits similar to workers' compensation, but with its own claims process, deadlines, and disputes over average weekly wage calculations.
In some cases, an injured longshore worker may also have a separate claim against a vessel owner under Section 905(b) of the LHWCA if the vessel's negligence contributed to the accident. That claim runs alongside, not instead of, standard LHWCA benefits.
Common Causes of Maritime & Offshore Accidents
Our attorneys have represented workers hurt in a wide range of maritime incidents, including but not limited to:
Collisions between vessels or with fixed structures
Failure to properly train or supervise crew members
Exposure to toxic chemicals or fumes in enclosed spaces
Many of these incidents trace back to an employer or vessel owner prioritizing schedules over safety, a pattern our team has seen repeatedly across the Gulf's oil and shipping industries.
Other Options for Maritime Workers
Two doctrines unique to maritime law often come into play alongside a Jones Act claim:
Maintenance and cure requires a vessel owner to pay for an injured seaman's basic living expenses and medical treatment until they reach maximum medical improvement, regardless of who caused the injury.
Unseaworthiness allows a claim when a vessel, its equipment, or its crew were not reasonably fit for their intended use, even without proving the employer was negligent in the traditional sense.
These claims can run separately from a Jones Act negligence claim, and pursuing all available options often makes the difference in the total value of a case.
Our Team Prepares Every Maritime Case for Trial
When a client hires Frischhertz & Impastato, they gain a full team, not a single attorney working alone. Our New Orleans maritime lawyers come from varied backgrounds and combine that range of perspective on every maritime case we handle. We prepare each case as though it will go before a jury, because vessel owners, offshore operators, and their insurers rarely offer a fair settlement to a firm they don't believe is ready for court.
Our firm has taken on large offshore operators, shipping companies, and insurance carriers on behalf of injured maritime workers, and we've recovered over $700 million for clients to date. We work on a contingency fee basis on every maritime case, so there's no upfront cost to get started.
Deadlines & Fault Rules That Apply to Maritime Claims
Maritime injury cases are generally governed by federal maritime law, rather than Louisiana's state negligence rules, and the deadlines can vary depending on which claim applies. For example, a Jones Act claim typically must be filed within three years of the injury, while an LHWCA claim carries its own, shorter filing requirements. Waiting to speak with a maritime law attorney in New Orleans can put benefits or a lawsuit at risk, so we recommend reaching out as soon as possible after an accident to confirm which deadline applies to a specific situation.
Discuss Your Maritime Injury Case with an Attorney Today
Maritime and offshore accidents often leave workers facing serious injuries, missed paychecks, and confusion over which benefits they're owed. Sorting through Jones Act, LHWCA, and general maritime law claims isn't something anyone should try to manage alone while recovering from an injury.
If you were hurt working on a vessel, rig, or dock, an experienced New Orleans maritime injury attorney at Frischhertz & Impastato can help sort out which claims apply.
Courts generally look at whether a worker spends a significant portion of their time aboard a vessel in navigation and contributes to the vessel's work or mission. Job title alone doesn't decide the question, and many offshore workers qualify even without holding a traditional "seaman" role.
Yes. Maintenance and cure benefits are generally owed regardless of fault and can run at the same time as a Jones Act negligence claim or an unseaworthiness claim.
Workers injured on fixed or floating platforms may have claims under the Jones Act, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, or general maritime law, depending on the type of structure and the worker's role. Reviewing the specific facts of the job and the accident is the only way to know which laws apply.
Maritime law applies its own comparative fault principles, which can differ from Louisiana's state court rules. In many cases, a worker's compensation is reduced by their share of fault rather than being barred outright, but the details depend on which type of claim is involved.
A compilation of the Frischhertz & Impastato attorneys and staff at work and interacting with clients.
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