Maritime Lawyers New Orleans (All You Need To Know)

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Should you hire one?

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Let’s see who is are maritime lawyers in New Orleans and why it’s important!

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What Do Maritime Lawyers New Orleans Do

Maritime lawyers, also called admiralty lawyers, are legal professionals who are trained and practice law by dealing with matters that relate to maritime law, maritime injuries, or anything related to the navigable waterways and vessels.

Every ship or vessel governed by US laws must meet and respect the regulatory requirements imposed by law, such as:

• Ship inspection requirements
• Labor obligations and standards
• Safety rules 
• Tax laws 

A maritime attorney is particularly familiar with certain key pieces of legislation in the area of maritime law, namely:

• Jones Act
• Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act 
• Death on the High Seas Act
• Louisiana state laws
• General maritime laws

New Orleans maritime attorneys are specialized in the laws applicable to ships, vessels, waterways, personal injuries, and damages that may arise on a ship subject to the laws of New Orleans (Louisiana).

When a person or company subject to the New Orleans laws is involved in a ship accident, must deal with a maritime legal issue, or needs legal advice, the professional to call is an attorney who understands admiralty laws in New Orleans.

Why Hire A Maritime Lawyer New Orleans

Maritime commerce is an important part of the New Orleans economy.

As such, many individuals and businesses thrive in maritime activities.

On the other hand, maritime activities can also be quite dangerous as you are dealing with complex vessels, hazardous environments, and sometimes dangerous maritime activities that can lead to accidents, injuries, damages, and claims of various sorts.

A Louisiana maritime attorney can represent various types of clients who need to sue someone or must defend against a claim, such as:

• Oil companies and explorations 
• Oil field service companies
• Offshore vessel operators
• Tug boat owners
• Barge owners
• Ocean-going vessel owners
• Drilling rigs

By hiring an admiralty lawyer, you can get legal advice and representation in dealing with matters such as:

• Personal injury at sea, navigable waters, or harbor
• Cargo loss 
• Collisions 
• Limitation of liability 
• Marine insurance
• Vessel mortgage
• Vessel seizures 
• Workers’ compensation 
• Maritime commercial disputes 
• Mass disasters
• Major pollution incidents
• Toxic torts 
• Class actions 
• Pipeline spills
• Drilling rig accidents
• Well blowouts
• Allision 
• Vessel grounding 
• Lift boat and jack-up right accidents
• Dock damage 
• Sunken barge 

A New Orleans maritime attorney can provide a wide variety of services to their clients in litigation matters, non-litigation matters, regulatory, or commercial dealings.

If you or a loved one have been involved in a maritime accident, catastrophic maritime accident, or have suffered damages, you should contact New Orleans maritime attorneys for legal advice, consultation, and representation.

Types of New Orleans Maritime Accidents

In Louisiana (New Orleans), there are many ways that someone can get injured or be involved in a maritime accident.

Particularly, sea workers (seamen and sea women) are exposed to high levels of risk merely due to the very nature of their jobs.

Here is a list of the common types of injuries reported on board a vessel, platform, or in a related manner:

• Barge accidents
• Bumps and collisions 
• Cargo chop accidents
• Commercial fishing accidents
• Deck accidents
• Illnesses 
• Jack-up rig accidents
• Oil platform accidents
• Shipyard accidents
• Slip and all accidents
• Tugboat accidents

Unfortunately, maritime accidents can be quite devastating to the victim and his or her family. 

In some cases, the accidents are even fatal.

Should there be an explosion on board a ship or oil rig, or in the event of a vessel collision, crew and staff can get severely injured.

Here are some catastrophic maritime injuries a person may suffer:

• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Paralysis
• Burn injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Amputation 

For catastrophic injuries, the victim may need lifetime medical care and will incur ongoing costs.

For this reason, Maritime New Orleans lawyers can provide legal representation services to obtain compensation for the care the victim may need during his or her lifetime.

Damages Resulting From Maritime Accidents

When a person suffers damages on board a vessel, maritime platform, or in some ways related to the waterways, ocean, or lake, the law allows for the person to be compensated in various ways.

Under maritime laws, the owner of a vessel is required to compensate and reimburse the losses suffered by its employees if they are injured or fall sick as a result of the performance of their duty.

This is referred to as the “maintenance and cure” benefits.

“Maintenance” refers to a sum paid to a seaman to pay his or her day-to-day expenses.

“Cure” refers to a sum paid to a seaman to cover his or her medical costs.

There are also other laws that may entitle an injured person to claim for economic damages, non-economic damages, or even punitive damages.

Economic damages are damages awarded to reimburse the victim’s actual financial losses such as:

• Current and future medical bills
• Costs for physical impairment services
• Rehabilitation costs
• Prescription drugs 
• Medical equipment
• In-home services
• Transportation costs 
• Loss of current and future income

Non-economic damages are generally awarded to compensate a person for “non-financial” damages such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish 
• PTSD
• Emotional trauma
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium 

Punitive damages are awarded in cases where a person has deviated so significantly from the standard duty of care or was so reckless that the courts award punitive damages as a means to “punish” the person.

In essence, if you have suffered personal injuries on or related to a boat or somehow related to the ocean or waterway, you’ll need to consult with the best New Orleans maritime lawyer to get legal advice and support to file a claim.

New Orleans Maritime Lawyers Takeaways 

So there you have it folks!

What does a maritime attorney do?

Maritime lawyers in New Orleans are familiar with maritime laws and various laws related to maritime business and accidents, among other things.

Whether you are a passenger on a ship, a person working on a ship, a longshoreman, seaman, or dealing with ships and vessels in some ways and have a legal issue on the water or near the water, you may likely need to speak to maritime attorneys New Orleans.

In the context of litigation, they can handle cases and claims relating to personal injuries, fatal accidents, toxic tort, class actions, and more.

In maritime business and commercial transactions, they can offer services related to the sale and purchase of vessels, shipyards, maritime contracts, insurance, evaluations, maritime finance and more.

In the context of regulatory matters, New Orleans maritime attorneys generally appear before various bodies and boards, such as:

• United States Coast Guard
• Federal Maritime Commission
• United States Department of Labor
• National Transportation Safety Board 

A New Orleans maritime lawyer can also be involved in various associations like the Maritime Law Association, Greater New Orleans Barge Fleeting Association, Mariners Club Port of New Orleans, Louisiana Bar Association, and more.

Let’s look at a summary of our findings.

Louisiana Maritime Lawyer

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