Maritime Accidents in Mississippi and Injury Advice

If you work on or near water in Mississippi, you know that maritime injury is commonplace.  If it happens to you, many attorneys may be interested in working with you to achieve fair and just compensation for damages.

But you need to be cautious to seek qualified legal counsel for your maritime injury. In Mississippi, much like the rest of the country, a lawyer can and most often should be hired to look out for your best interests in battling insurance companies. The best route is to work with a Mississippi maritime law firm with developed skills and past case experience with boating, shipping, oil rig, and on-shore incidents.

Richard Schwartz & Associates, P.A., maritime injury lawyers, represents clients in a variety of injuries that happen under the hazardous conditions of ships and harbors, including– 

Many other types of injuries and death, from accidents or exposure to toxins or infectious diseases, are covered by the law as well.

Three laws cover Mississippi maritime accidents

Where your accident occurs determines which of the following maritime statutes will be used in pursuit of your case:

• The Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act—This covers injured seamen, dock workers and harbor workers, and was written to minimize the impact of employment injuries and death for employees engaged in loading, unloading, repairing, or building of a vessel. The benefits cover costs of medical care and disability, including a partial replacement of income when your injury makes you unable to work. Your employer is either insured for these benefits or is permitted by the Office of Workers Compensation Programs to be self-insured.

• Jones Act—Injured workers on sea-going vessels and oil rigs have to prove, with the assistance of their Jones Act attorneys, that owners and managers of the ship or rig were negligent or otherwise at fault for the injury, illness, or death.

• Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA)—A spouse, parent, child, or other dependent relative can sue for damages when a family member is killed while working on a vessel or oil rig beyond three nautical miles from shore. This law determines damages to be the actual or future value of the deceased (his or her income) that would otherwise benefit the survivors.

One call...that's all

Attorneys at Richard Schwartz & Associates, P.A. are experienced in employee injuries and their economic consequences, particularly those covered under maritime laws. They work on a contingency basis so that clients only pay when they have achieved a fair settlement. One call is all you need to pursue your claim for Mississippi maritime injury. Call Richard Schwartz & Associates, P.A. at 1-800-844-1215, or contact us online to speak with a Mississippi admiralty lawyer.