What are my rights if I was injured offshore or on a vessel?

Who counts as a seaman, and why it decides everything

The Jones Act protects seamen: workers who contribute to the function of a vessel or fleet in navigation and have a substantial connection to it, as a rule of thumb spending roughly thirty percent or more of their work time in its service. Deckhands, tankermen, drilling crews on jack-ups and drillships, dredge workers, and pushboat crews on the channels around Houston commonly qualify. Workers who do not, longshoremen, many platform workers, fall under different regimes like the LHWCA or state law, each with different remedies. The status fight is often the case, and employers classify with their liability in mind.

The seaman's three claims

First, Jones Act negligence against the employer, with a causation standard famously lighter than ordinary negligence: the employer's fault need only play a part, however slight, in producing the injury. Second, unseaworthiness against the vessel owner, a strict duty to furnish a vessel, crew, and equipment reasonably fit for their purpose, defective winches, slick decks, undermanned crews, and inadequate training all qualify. Third, maintenance and cure: no-fault daily living support and medical care until maximum medical improvement, owed almost regardless of how the injury happened, with courts resolving doubts in the seaman's favor and punishing employers who wrongfully cut it off. Suits generally must be brought within three years, and comparative fault reduces but does not bar recovery.

The company moves first. It should not move alone.

Offshore and inland marine employers respond to injuries with practiced speed: company-friendly medical care, recorded statements taken while the medication is still working, and paperwork that quietly shapes the record on seaman status and fault. The vessel's logs, the JSA paperwork, the maintenance records, and the crew's memories are the case, and all of it sits in company hands. The counterweight is a preservation demand and independent counsel early, before the record is someone else's story.

Houston is a maritime town, and so is this practice

From the Ship Channel to the Gulf platforms and the inland waterways, this region runs on maritime labor, and its injured workers are routinely offered shoreside settlements priced as if workers' comp were the measure. It is not. Jones Act damages include full wage loss, found, pain, and impairment, and the difference between the comp-style offer and the maritime measure is frequently the largest number in the case. Silver Key Law evaluates vessel status, the three claims, and the offer on the table without charge.

Injured in Arizona? Some rules on this page are Texas-specific. Arizona differs on points that change outcomes, including pure comparative fault and government-claim deadlines. See our Arizona answers or call (888) 508-6967.

Related: Maritime Injuries · Offshore Injuries · Injured on the Job in Texas · Submit Your Case · All Common Questions

This page is general information about Texas law, not legal advice about your specific situation. Deadlines and outcomes depend on facts; talk to a lawyer about yours.