A brain injury can change everything — and it isn't always visible.
A blow to the head from a dropped object, a fall, or a blast can cause a traumatic brain injury whose effects — memory, mood, cognition — outlast every visible wound.
Can I recover for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) offshore?
A brain injury can change everything and is not always visible, which makes documentation critical. If you were a seaman or maritime worker, a TBI claim can rest on Jones Act negligence, unseaworthiness, and maintenance and cure.
Key takeaways
- If you were a seaman or maritime worker, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) can support a Jones Act, unseaworthiness, and maintenance-and-cure claim.
- The Jones Act needs only a very light showing of employer fault; unseaworthiness needs none.
- Maintenance and cure is owed regardless of fault while you recover.
- Recovery is measured by category (medical, lost earning capacity, pain, future care), not a fixed amount.
- Deadlines are limited and evidence fades, so early advice matters.
From concussion to severe TBI.
Traumatic brain injury offshore ranges from concussion to severe injury with permanent cognitive, behavioral, and physical deficits. The hardest part is often that the injury is invisible: a worker can look recovered while struggling with memory, concentration, mood, and the ability to do skilled work.
Severe TBI can require lifelong care and supervision, and even a “mild” injury from a single blow can permanently change a person's life and livelihood.
How offshore workers suffer it.
TBI happens from dropped objects and struck-by events, falls from height, blast and explosion, and impacts during personnel transfers.
What the claim is worth.
TBI claims turn on proving deficits that don't show on a routine scan — through neuropsychological testing, the worker's history, and the lifetime of care the injury requires.
Past and future medical bills, surgery, rehabilitation, and a life-care plan for ongoing needs.
Wages lost and the future earning capacity an offshore career represented — often the largest part of a serious claim.
Physical pain, mental anguish, disfigurement, and permanent impairment or disability.
If you are a seaman, maintenance and cure covers daily living and medical costs until maximum medical improvement — regardless of fault.
The cruelty of a brain injury is that the people around the worker often can't see it — which is exactly what the claim has to prove.
Sound like your situation? Calling us is confidential, costs nothing, and starts nothing you don’t choose to start.
Text (713) 489-2297We build the case around the full cost of the injury.
Doyle Dennis Avery tries catastrophic offshore-injury cases to verdict — including the $7.86 million result in Gillies v. Valaris. The firm builds these cases by documenting the full lifetime cost of the injury — the future surgeries, the care, and the lost career — and proving who is responsible.
If you or a family member is facing a serious injury after an offshore accident, an early and thorough investigation protects both the evidence and the value of the claim.
Frequently asked questions about offshore a traumatic brain injury (TBI) claims
Can I recover for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) suffered offshore?
Usually, yes, if you were a seaman or maritime worker. A Jones Act seaman can recover from the employer for negligence, bring an unseaworthiness claim against the vessel owner, and receive maintenance and cure. What you can recover depends on the severity of the injury, the fault involved, and your lost earning capacity.
What can I recover for a traumatic brain injury (TBI) offshore?
Recovery is measured in categories rather than a fixed amount: past and future medical care, lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, the cost of long-term cognitive and rehabilitative care, and maintenance and cure while you recover. The total depends on the specific facts, so no honest lawyer can promise a number up front.
Do I have to prove my employer was at fault?
Not entirely. Under the Jones Act you need only show the employer's negligence played some part, however slight, in causing the injury, which is a very worker-friendly standard. An unseaworthiness claim requires no negligence at all, only that the vessel or its equipment was not reasonably fit. Maintenance and cure is owed regardless of fault.
What is maintenance and cure?
Maintenance and cure is a no-fault maritime benefit owed to an injured seaman: maintenance covers daily living expenses and cure covers medical care, until you reach maximum medical improvement, regardless of who was at fault.
What if my brain injury doesn't show up on scans?
A traumatic brain injury can be real and disabling even when imaging looks normal. Cognitive testing, medical records, and accounts from family and coworkers can document the effects. A normal scan does not mean there is no injury or no claim.
How long do I have to file an offshore injury claim?
Generally three years for Jones Act and general maritime claims, but some deadlines are shorter and vary by the type of claim and your status. Because evidence also disappears quickly, confirm your deadline with a lawyer promptly.
What should you do after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) offshore?
Get medical care and make sure the injury is reported in writing. Preserve evidence early, including incident reports, photos, equipment, and witness names, and do not give a recorded statement or sign anything before talking to a lawyer.
What happens when you text us
Tell us what happened — in your own words, as much or as little as you want.
We review it free. You learn whether maritime law protects you and what your options actually are.
You decide. Nothing is filed, and no one contacts your employer, unless you choose to move forward.
Your conversation with us is confidential. There is no fee unless we win. Hablamos español.
Reach out even if…
- You think the accident was partly your fault — under the Jones Act, your own fault reduces a recovery but does not bar it.
- You already gave a statement or signed something — a release signed under pressure can be challenged.
- You still work for the company — talking to a lawyer is confidential, and retaliation for pursuing a claim can itself be actionable.
- You’re not sure your case is “big enough” — that’s exactly what a free review is for.
Hurt offshore? Find out what your claim is really worth.
A serious offshore injury can mean a lifetime of medical care and lost earning power. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP builds the full picture of what an injury costs and pursues every responsible party. A case review costs nothing, there is no obligation, and your employer will not know you contacted us.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. The law that applies to an offshore injury — the Jones Act, the LHWCA and \u00a7 905(b), OCSLA, the general maritime law, DOHSA, or another body of law — the available damages, and the parties responsible depend on the specific facts. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP · Houston, Texas. This is attorney advertising.
