Port of Freeport
The Port of Freeport, located in the industrial hub of Brazoria County, is a deep-sea Port which is surrounded by a substantial amount of land available for development, as well as accessibility through the road and railway, and the shortest deep-water channel on the Texas Coast. Port Freeport serves its customers and stakeholders through state-of-the-art infrastructure, multimodal terminal services, and competitive expansion options while creating jobs as a leading economic catalyst for the district and the Texas Gulf Coast. When it comes to imports, the Port handles a variety of products, including oil, chemicals, and machinery. These items are crucial for industries and businesses in the region and international as well. On the other hand, the Port’s top exports consist of petroleum products, chemicals, and grains. These goods are in high demand globally, and the Port plays a significant role in their distribution.
Activities which occur in Port Freeport are operating their heavy lift terminals, container operations, project and breakbulk operations, roll on/off operations, their foreign trade zone, and rail services which the Union Pacific services Port Freeport twice weekly with their manifest train service.
- Accidents that pose a danger to the workers and environment around the Port of Beaumont may also occur at the Port of Beaumont from the activities on the Port. Examples of accidents which may occur are but not limited to collisions, fires/explosions, ship groundings, chemical spills, overboard accidents, slips and falls, crane accidents, unsafe working conditions leading to injury, toxic chemical exposure, exposure to cancerous substances, unsuitable equipment and insufficient training leading to injury. There is also a risk of cargo being accidentally dropped on workers or machinery malfunctioning.
- From these accidents listed, injuries which could occur at the Port vary from level of pain and body parts affected and can even have severe consequences. Examples of injuries which may occur are but not limited to back and neck injuries, herniated discs and brain injuries, loss of limbs, lung problems, torn muscles, ligaments, or tendons, broken bones, burns compartment syndrome, crush injuries, deep cuts or lacerations, and drowning or near-drowning incidents. Traumatic brain injuries, smoke inhalation, and even cancers due to chemical exposure are faced at a higher risk by longshoremen and other dock workers.
Types of workers in this Port include maritime workers, longshore workers, Jones Act workers, and dock workers and seamen in general
Although the potential dangers listed above may scare people from engaging in activities on the Port of Freeport, it remains a thriving center of trade and commerce. Many efforts are made to ensure the safety of workers and the environment around the Port. Several notable companies such as Exxon, Valero, Motiva Enterprises, Jefferson Energy Company, Kinder Morgan, Union Pacific, Burlington Santa Fe, Kansas City Southern and Allegiant Industrial, LLC are affiliated and working on this Port (Exxon, Valero, and Motiva Enterprises are involved in the oil and gas industry, while Jefferson Energy Company deals with electricity. Kinder Morgan is a pipeline company, and Union Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and Kansas City Southern are all railroad companies. Allegiant Industrial, LLC specializes in steel fabrication).
Although the potential dangers and juries listed above may scare people from engaging in activities on Port Freeport, many notable companies are still affiliated and working in this Port. For example, KIRBY Marina, KIRBY Marine, FEDEX, UPS, The Dow Chemical Company, and ISS/ Inchcape Shipping Services. KIRBY Marina is a company focused on ship repair and KIRBY Marine is focused on barge fleeting. FEDEX and UPS are both companies which provide air freight services in the Port of Freeport. The Dow Chemical Company are a chemicals corporation and the Inchcape Shipping Services are a marine transport company.
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$7.86 Million – Gillies V. Valaris PLC
Claims: Jones Act/Maritime Law
Jury Verdict: $7.86 million – Gillies v. Valaris PLC
On January 12, 2022, Doyle Dennis Avery LLP secured a $7.86 million verdict on behalf of Gordon Gillies, a drill ship operations adviser, who was injured while working on a vessel in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Gillies brought claims for negligence against Valaris PLC (formerly Ensco/Rowan Drilling) and for unseaworthiness of its vessel, the drillship DS-15. At trial, the jury determined that Valaris failed to maintain a stair case from the derrick elevator down to the “deadman” deck of the vessel. Specifically, the second step on the stair case lacked a protective bullnose – an important safety guard at the end of each step. As a result of this defect, Mr. Gillies fell and suffered injuries to his tail bone, back, and spine.
After hearing four days of testimony and argument in the 270th District Court of Harris County, the jury attributed 90% of the negligence that caused the client’s injuries to Valaris and only 10% to the client. Even more telling, the jury attributed 99% of the unseaworthiness of the ship to Valaris and only 1% to the client.
Ultimately, the jury agreed with Doyle Dennis Avery LLP and found that Valaris was negligent in creating the dangerous conditions on the ship. The jury awarded $1,821,000 in past damages (including pain, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity, disfigurement, impairment, and medical care) and $6,040,000 in future damages (including pain, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity, impairment, and medical care).
$350,000 – Deaver V. Noble Drilling (US) LLC
Claims: Jones Act/Maintenance and Cure/Unseaworthiness
Jury Verdict: $350,000.00 ($340,500.00 after contributory negligence offset; judgment not yet entered).
On June 15, 2018, a Harris County District Court Jury (Houston, Texas) found that Noble Drilling (US) LLC provided an unseaworthy vessel that caused injuries to Nathan Deaver. The jury also found that Noble unreasonably and callously failed to provide Mr. Deaver with maintenance and cure benefits. Michael Patrick Doyle, Patrick Dennis, and Jeffrey Avery of Doyle Dennis Avery LLP represented Mr. Deaver as trial counsel.
The plaintiff is a Texas resident who worked as a floor hand on the drillship the M/V Noble Tom Madden – a vessel owned and operated by the Houston-based Noble Drilling. In more detail, Mr. Deaver claimed that Noble failed to provide a vessel with a properly manned and experienced crew, and that Noble also failed to provide proper safety instructions related to his work in the shaker room aboard the vessel. Despite repeated requests to Noble by Mr. Deaver, Noble failed to provide Mr. Deaver with the necessary staffing and caused Mr. Deaver to suffer injury to his ankle, heel, and foot.
Based on this conduct, the jury found that M/V Tom Madden was unseaworthy and that Noble was responsible for Mr. Deaver’s injuries.
