
If you live in Lake Charles, LA and have recently suffered an injury in an offshore accident off the coast, don’t hesitate to call Hale Injury Lawyers. As an offshore worker, you are protected under state and federal law. When you’re injured while working on an oil rig or another offshore platform, you’ll likely have the right to seek compensation to offset the costs of your medical treatment, lost wages, and other resulting losses. Working with our experienced Lake Charles offshore accident lawyers can help you win your maritime injury claim and maximize your recovery.
For over a decade, Hale Injury Lawyers has been a trusted legal advocate for injured drill operators, pump technicians, floor hands, and other workers on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Backed by over 61 years of combined experience, we’ve helped our clients navigate complex offshore injury claims and secure top-dollar benefits, settlements, and jury awards.
We’ve helped clients across the state of Louisiana recover tens of millions in compensation. Today, we’re here to help you make the most of your offshore accident claim. Contact our law office to set a time for your complimentary case evaluation, you can call at (337) 426-1071.
How Hale Injury Lawyers Can Help After an Offshore Accident in Lake Charles, LA

While you may have rights under federal maritime law, getting compensation after an offshore accident isn’t necessarily easy. Insurance companies, government agencies, and employers will always put their needs ahead of your own. They’ll invest the considerable resources at their disposal to fight your claim and limit the benefits you’re awarded or try to deny your claim altogether.
There’s a lot at stake, which is why you need to hire an experienced Lake Charles personal injury lawyer to handle your offshore accident case.
Choosing the award-winning legal team at Hale Injury Lawyers means working with attorneys who are experienced, successful, and genuinely invested in helping you find better days ahead. Recognized as leaders in civil litigation by Top Lawyers in Acadiana, Super Lawyers, Top Trial Lawyers in America, The National Trial Lawyers, and the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, we’ve been instrumental in recovering life-changing monetary awards for the good people we represent.
You’ll benefit from our full-service legal representation, which includes:
- Conducting a prompt and independent investigation into your offshore accident
- Working in close collaboration with experts in offshore operations, medicine, forensics, rehabilitation, and other specialties related to your case
- Determining if your employer violated state or federal safety regulations and, if so, whether those violations contributed to your offshore accident and injuries
- Evaluating employer policies and procedures, surveillance footage, photographs, co-worker and witness statements, accident reports, medical records, and other evidence
- Notifying your employer of your intent to seek monetary benefits and submitting necessary paperwork and claims on your behalf
- Helping you understand your rights under the law and providing support when you need to make important decisions about how to resolve your maritime injury claim
- Representing you during claim-related negotiations, hearings, appeals, and/or at trial, if necessary
Our Lake Charles maritime accident attorneys will go above and beyond to help you move forward after a catastrophic accident. Since we represent injured offshore workers and grieving families on contingency, there’s no cost to hire our law firm until we’ve recovered compensation for you.
Get started by calling our law office in Lake Charles, Louisiana to arrange a time for a case review at no charge. Members of our team are here to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We Handle All Types of Offshore Accidents
At Hale Injury Lawyers, we’re proud to fight for the best interests of workers who’ve suffered injuries or families who’ve suffered the wrongful death of loved ones in all types of offshore accidents, including:
- Deck accidents
- Equipment failures
- Jack-up rig accidents
- Oil platform accidents
- Barge accidents
- Tugboat accidents
- Fires and explosions
- Transportation accidents
- Exposure to toxic chemicals
- Slip and fall accidents
- Struck by object accidents
- Falls from heights
- Electrocution accidents
It’s important to take prompt action if you’ve been injured in an offshore accident in the Gulf of Mexico. Call Hale Injury Lawyers to get the information you need to protect your rights and take the necessary steps to recover the compensation you’ll need moving forward.
Common Offshore Injuries
Louisiana’s offshore oil and gas industry is a powerhouse, accounting for 13 percent of the state’s total employment. However, offshore operations in which workers spend long hours on oil rigs in rough seas drilling for gas and oil in the Gulf of Mexico are among the most inherently dangerous jobs.
Some of the most common injuries reported by offshore workers in Lake Charles, LA, include:
- Crush injuries
- Amputation injuries
- Degloving injuries
- Burn injuries
- Respiratory injuries caused by chemical inhalation or suffocation
- Eye injuries
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Hearing loss
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Herniated disc injuries
- Paralysis injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Drowning injuries
- Broken bone injuries
- Catastrophic injuries
- Wrongful death
Seek prompt medical care on your offshore platform and, when possible, pursue additional medical care once you’re back onshore. These steps will help to document your trauma and mitigate the extent of your offshore injuries, both of which will be instrumental in helping you obtain compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit.
How Can I Get Compensation If I’ve Been Injured in an Offshore Accident Near Lake Charles?
Whether you’re a driller, a firefighter, a technician, an engineer, a mechanic, a deckhand, a captain, or another type of offshore worker, you’ll have certain rights under federal maritime law. However, the rights extended to you will ultimately depend on your job and where you spend most of your time.
The Jones Act
The Jones Act is a federal maritime law that protects workers classified as “seamen.” A seaman is a maritime worker who spends at least 30 percent of their time working on board a navigable vessel and the remainder of their time working in direct support of that vessel. So, most oil rig workers – at least those stationed on platforms – won’t qualify for benefits under the Jones Act.
However, other offshore workers, particularly those operating vessels in support of offshore rigs, might.
If you qualify as a seaman, you can receive maintenance and cure benefits intended to pay for your medical bills and cover your day-to-day living expenses while you recover. You may also be able to sue your employer for compensatory damages if their negligence caused your offshore accident and resulting injuries.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA)
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) is essentially workers’ compensation for maritime workers.
Thanks to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the LHCWA extends to most workers on offshore platforms, including oil rigs deep in the heart of the Gulf of Mexico on which workers from Lake Charles might be employed.
Under the LHWCA, injured offshore workers may qualify to receive no-fault benefits for medical bills, lost wages, disability, and/or death.
Louisiana State Law
As a resident of Louisiana, you also have protections under Louisiana state law. When you suffer injuries as a result of another person’s negligence or wrongful actions or because of a defective piece of machinery on your offshore station, you may be able to file a civil personal injury lawsuit to recover compensation for your economic losses and harder-to-value non-economic damages.
If you’ve experienced the loss of a loved one in a fatal offshore accident off the coast of Louisiana, you may also be able to seek compensation through a civil wrongful death law under state law.
How Long Will I Have to Seek Compensation After an Offshore Accident?
Different types of claims are subject to different statutes of limitations under state or federal law:
- Jones Act: three years
- LHWCA: one year
- Personal injury lawsuit: two years
- Wrongful death: one year
There may be some circumstances where the statute of limitations can be tolled. However, these are few and far between. Absent an exception, you must file your offshore accident claim within the applicable statute of limitations. Once time expires, you will lose the ability to seek benefits or file a lawsuit to make your road to recovery easier.
Schedule a Free Case Review With an Experienced Lake Charles Offshore Accident Lawyer
Call Hale Injury Lawyers if you or a loved one has recently been injured in an offshore accident near Lake Charles, Louisiana. There’s no circumstance under which you should have to navigate the consequences of a catastrophic accident on your own. Our award-winning Lake Charles offshore accident lawyers want to help you fight for the maximum compensation you deserve.
We have 61+ years of collective experience and a team dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the people we represent. Our hard work and winning legal strategies have led to tens of millions in monetary awards for our clients.
We offer a complimentary case evaluation, so call our law office in Lake Charles today.
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