[Blog] Houston Maritime Attorney – Serving in Texas

Our Houston maritime lawyers at Patrick Daniel Law are well-equipped to handle complicated marine damage matters that other Houston maritime law companies deem too hard. Houston maritime injury law, also known as admiralty law, is riddled with idiosyncrasies and anomalies. It requires an experienced marine injury attorney to spot these irregularities, which we do in every case that comes into our Houston office.

In some marine circumstances, Houston maritime employees are at a disadvantage. In other circumstances of maritime damage, they have certain advantages. However, only an experienced Houston maritime attorney will be able to sort it all out. So, if you’ve been wounded at sea and need a Houston maritime accident attorney, Patrick Daniel Law is here to assist, whether you live in Houston, Harris County, Pasadena, Baytown, or the surrounding suburbs.

Patrick Daniel is a Houston maritime legal legend, having practiced for over 20 years in Houston, Texas and around the Gulf Coast.

Patrick Daniel has fought marine injury cases from both sides and has significant knowledge not just of how Houston maritime law matters are handled, but also of the job done at sea by employees of hundreds of Houston maritime enterprises.

He has handled the following sorts of Houston marine injury claims in Texas and elsewhere:

• Jack-up rig – accidents
• Deck – accidents
• Tugboat – accidents
• Oil platform – accidents
• Barge – accidents
• Commercial fishing – accidents
• Cargo ship – accidents
• Shipyard – accidents

HOUSTON MARITIME LAW

Houston is more than just oil and aerospace. According to a recent survey, Houston, TX is the No. 2 city in the country for jobs related to marine through the movement of goods between U.S. ports. Only the nearby city of New Orleans has a greater maritime workforce. When all Texas ports’ personnel are combined, Texas ranks third in the United States for cargo transportation between American ports.

The Port of Houston handles about 8200 seagoing vessels and 215,000 barges each year through over 200 commercial and governmental ports. Thousands of maritime workers live in the Houston area.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Houston has a plethora of marine injury claims. Maritime employees who are hurt at sea do not have many of the same legal options as land-based workers, and they frequently need to retain a marine injury lawyer in Houston to preserve their rights and recover damages resulting from their maritime accident.

Read More => Latest Best CAR Insurance Rates in India (2022)

HOUSTON MARITIME ATTORNEY

Houston maritime attorneys are many, and they are well-versed in admiralty law (maritime law), but experience is essential. Patrick Daniel, the firm’s founder, has battled hundreds of marine accident claims and obtained considerable compensation for his clients.

However, this approach needs more than a good courtroom attorney. Marine job is arduous, harsh, and brutal, and any Houston, Texas lawyer who wishes to defend maritime employees must understand the work as well as the law. That is what distinguishes Patrick Daniel Legal from other law offices in Houston, Texas. He is familiar with the task. He grew up in Louisiana and has 20 years of expertise in maritime litigation, some of it on the other side of the courtroom.

SEA is a Different World to work in

There are literally hundreds of maritime enterprises in Houston, and while many claim to value their employees and the sacrifices they make, you’re just one slip on a slick deck or one falling pallet of goods in rough seas away from finding out how much or how little they genuinely care.

If you are wounded at sea, do not expect that your company would fairly pay you or cover your medical expenditures. Any Houston maritime lawyer would soon tell out that when an accident happens, the game changes dramatically. Furthermore, the rules for marine personnel differ from those for land-based employees. Defendants in maritime law matters try to hide behind maritime law intricacies, hoping the harmed party is unaware of them.

Workman’s Comp, for example, does not cover injuries sustained at sea. However, according to the federal Jones Act, maritime employees can sue their employers for compensation, and companies are held liable for providing reasonably safe working conditions and maintaining their boats in a safe and seaworthy state.

WHEN TO REACH MARITIME ATTORNEY

When should you contact a lawyer following a maritime accident? The short answer is “as soon as your ship docks in Houston.” If you have mobile phone or Wi-Fi connection onboard and the ability to make personal phone calls, call or contact an attorney as quickly as possible. If your ship enables employees to make personal calls, management cannot hold you accountable if you use your time to contact an attorney!

Read More => Best WordPress Hosting Service

Some employees make the mistake of attempting to seem to be a “team” player who does not want to stir things up with the possibility of a lawsuit. It may be necessary to pay a high price to safeguard an image that will not help you in the long term. Many Houston maritime employees – or former workers who are no longer able to work – wish they had contacted an attorney immediately following their injury.

Regardless of how many blogs and websites you read, don’t try to figure out if you have a case worth pursuing on your own. Call an attorney. Patrick Daniel has earned so many ensign disputes that he can usually spot a successful case within the first few minutes of a support session. If Patrick Daniel Law takes your case, the legal cost will be deducted from the final compensation, leaving you with no out-of-pocket expenses.

MARITIME ATTORNEY ACT OF 1920

Some regulations meant to safeguard you no longer apply once you sail out of Houston and leave the national limits of the United States, even if you’re a U.S. citizen working for a U.S.-based corporation aboard a ship registered in the United States. Fortunately, other laws come into play, restoring some of those safeguards, albeit in a new way.

The Merchant Marine Act is one such statute. It is a broad statute that contains laws controlling maritime commerce between US ports in US waterways. Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act, sometimes known as the Jones Act, mandates that trade between U.S. ports be conveyed exclusively by boats built in the United States. The Merchant Marine Act and the Jones Act are frequently used interchangeably, however the Jones Act is a section of the Merchant Marine Act.

The Jones Act also incorporates measures that priorities the rights of maritime employees. Among these provisions are among others:

The vessel’s owner must take reasonable precautions to keep it safe and seaworthy. If the owner is proven to be irresponsible and the incompetence causes a harm, the owner may be held accountable.

Qualifying sailors (formally known as seamen) who have been injured or become ill while at sea can seek fair pay from their employers, through a lawsuit if necessary. The concept of a vessel’s seaworthiness is critical because it can shift a case from one in which the best possible outcome would be the restoration of basic expenditures (known as maintain and cure) to one in which all of the victim’s losses are recovered.