Doyle Dennis Avery LLP has been retained as local counsel to bring an offshore injury claim, under United States general maritime law and more specifically the Jones Act, on behalf of a deckhand who was injured working aboard a push boat vessel operating on Texas territorial navigable waters between Houston, Texas and Victoria, Texas. The claim against Hailey’s Harbor LLC is based in Harris County, Texas. Hailey’s Harbor LLC is a foreign limited liability corporation, with its headquarters and principal place of business in the State of Tennessee, and that is registered in and regularly does business in a systematic and continuous manner in the State of Texas and Harris County, Texas. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client was a citizen of Alabama and operated on Hailey Harbor LLC’s fleet of vessels throughout the Gulf Coast and the connecting inland waterways and ports.
The claim, which is brought under the Jones Act and general maritime law of the United States, is based upon the negligence of our client’s Jones Act employer Hailey’s Harbor LLC, the negligence of its employees, officers and crew; and the condition of Hailey’s Harbor LLC vessel, the M/V RYAN BAKER II. On or about June 6, 2020, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client was employed as a deckhand on the Defendant’s vessel the M/V RYAN BAKER II. Hailey’s Harbor LLC did not provide a vessel properly equipped for it’s intended use. Hailey’s Harbor LLC also failed to properly train the crew on the proper handling and safe storage of the vessel’s heavy-duty face wires. This created a dangerous environment and working conditions for Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client who was forced to manually lift and handle heavy duty face wires weighing in excess of 100 pounds while trying to make up a tow to an empty barge. As a result of Hailey’s Harbor LLC’s failures Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client suffered serious injury to his back and general body, which required surgery and ultimately rendered him unable to resume work. M/V RYAN BAKER II was a vessel for which Hailey’s Harbor LLC owed Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client a duty of seaworthiness as a seaman. Hailey’s Harbor LLC breached that duty because the M/V RYAN BAKER II was dangerous, not reasonably fit for its intended purposes, not reasonably safe, and unseaworthy. This unseaworthiness included Hailey’s Harbor LLC’s failure to provide adequate crew and equipment, failing to supervise and train the crew, and in other respects. The dangerous and defective condition of the M/V RYAN BAKER II violated applicable laws and regulations of the United States of America for vessels, and accordingly, Defendant is liable for negligence, negligence per se, and unseaworthiness. As a result of his injuries, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client suffered and continues to suffer from his injuries which will require further medical treatment in the future.
The incident resulted in a life-altering injuries to Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client that now have led to sustained physical impairment and disfigurement of which he will continue to suffer from as a result of the incident. At the time of the incident in question, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client was a healthy and able-bodied seaman who was failed in numerous ways by his employer and now faces the many permanent and life-altering consequences of this failure. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP’s client has been exposed to significant damages that are owed under general maritime law and guaranteed under the Jones Act. Under admiralty law, maritime law, and the Jones Act, this injured maritime worker will be entitled to seek lost wages, lost future earning capacity, past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, physical impairment, mental anguish and other damages.
Offshore workers operating in and around the Gulf of Mexico are a vital part of the local economy and increasingly important role in the United States’ economy. Due to the importance, a complex set of laws, including admiralty law, maritime law, the Jones Act, and other offshore injury rules, provide workers certain legal protections and rights. If you would like to understand those rights protected by maritime law, following an offshore injury, the attorneys at Doyle Dennis Avery LLP can assist in providing a free evaluation of your claim, based upon years of experience and success in representing injured offshore workers under maritime law and the Jones Act. Call us today to discuss your claim.
