Injuries to Seamen and Longshore Workers
If you were seriously injured at sea, on an offshore oil rig, on a barge or on the docks, the lawyers of Newman, Hoffoss & Devall, LLP are uniquely qualified to secure your full benefits and personal injury compensation.
Representing clients in Southwest Louisiana and statewide, we have a long record of success in claims under the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act and other remedies for seamen and maritime workers. See examples of our verdicts and settlements. Contact our Lake Charles law office at 337-439-5788 for a free consultation with an experienced maritime accident attorney.
We Know Maritime Law and the Maritime Industry
Trial lawyer Raleigh Newman has practiced in the Gulf Coast area for over 40 years. His first case ever was a Jones Act claim, and he has tried maritime injury cases all over Louisiana and Texas. Claude Devall grew up in Cameron Parish and has been around river vessels his whole life. He worked aboard tugboats from the eighth grade through college, and still helps manage his family's towing company on the Intracoastal Waterway.
We can take on every type of maritime accident case:
- Offshore oil platform and jack-up rig injuries
- Cargo ship and tanker accidents in the Gulf of Mexico
- Barge, tugboat and longshoreman injuries
- Injuries to commercial fishing and charter boat crews
Seamen and maritime workers have special rights under federal law, including the ability to sue an employer or the ship's owner for negligence under the Jones Act. We explore your employer-paid benefits (medical care, lost wages) and possible personal injury lawsuits for additional compensation for pain and suffering or permanent disability.
Representative Cases
We represented a barge worker who was ordered to haul up an anchor as the vessel was coming into port in Cameron. Our client objected because of the rough seas and excessive closing speed, but the captain overrode his concerns. The man was disabled from the severe back injury that resulted from following the captain's order, and we recovered $1,300,000.00 in settlement in a Jones Act suit against the owner of the ship his employer.
We have represented several longshoremen working at the docks who have been injured while lifting bags of rice. Extensive discovery and creative thinking led to the discovery that the rice mills were putting too much glue in between each bag of rice stacked on pallets. This discovery resulted in several rice mills being held responsible for injuries to longshoremen, with verdicts in many exceeding $1,000,000.00.
We have helped maritime and longshore workers secure full damages for a range of serious injuries, including back injury, traumatic brain injury, loss of limb, broken bones, chemical burns and hearing damage.
Call 337-439-5788 or contact us online to arrange your free consultation. There are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
