Louisiana is dotted with numerous water bodies which offer plentiful jobs to local residents, but it can also be a hazardous place to work. Offshore injuries and disasters are a common threat for maritime workers working in cargo or cruise ships, oil or gas rigs, jack-up platforms, and other vessels. These people are more often at risk of serious injuries. The physically challenging and dangerous nature of this work leads to many kinds of offshore accidents, most of which can be quite severe and even fatal.
Combustible materials and heavyweight machinery used in most offshore works generate exceedingly unsafe surroundings. This article includes a detailed note on different types of maritime accidents that lead to offshore injuries and also the most frequent types of such offshore injuries. In the event of such a disaster, feel free to reach out to our personal injury attorneys for an initial consultation and legal representation.
What Can Lead To Offshore Injuries?
There are many offshore jobs in the Louisiana region; the most common are the ones associated with the oil or gas industries. Workers should be aware of all the dangers and risks involved in these offshore jobs and continually consider their safety while working.
There are many ways in which disasters can happen on offshore rigs and platforms. Each year, offshore accidents injure hundreds of employees. Workers assigned to these locations should follow safety rules carefully and seek legal assistance if someone else’s negligence causes an injury.
Falls
When you work in any offshore facility, falls can be pretty dangerous. These accidents do not primarily refer to falling in water. Slipping and falling on a ship hatch, for instance, can also cause severe injuries. These offshore accidents are mostly related to ankle and foot injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and so on.
Electrocution
We all know water and electricity don’t mix well. But many people working offshore get elasticated by electric-powered equipment at any offshore location. Most workers neglect the lock-out and tag-out procedures altogether, leading to disaster. Most important to consider are the extension cords, but still, most workers either ignore them or are trained inadequately to handle them properly. This can also be a huge problem.
Fire
Maritime accidents involving fires are a major concern for people working on offshore rigs. For most people on a cargo or cruise ship, it is rather difficult to escape a fire breaks out. These situations may lead to smoke inhalation, burns, and even death.
Fires are the third-leading foundation of fatalities on offshore oil rigs and platforms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Explosions
Accidents that occur offshore are often catastrophic in nature, and many of these make the news. Other accidents are less newsworthy but still cause damage, injury, and deaths.
Most workers are killed or get extremely injured when combustible materials explode in an offshore area. There are many regulations to help prevent such accidents. But they aren’t always enough to ensure the safety of workers on any offshore site.
Oil rig explosions, for instance, are serious accidents that can leave workers, those who survive, in need of maximum financial compensation.
What Are Common Offshore Injuries?
Here are some common injuries caused by different offshore incidents in Louisiana. Workers should be well informed to prevent such injuries and to carry out their compensation claims for compensation benefits if things do take a turn for the worse; this much is the right of all injured workers in the maritime industry.
Head Injuries
An impulsive blow from a pipe wavering, from falling equipment, can lead to painful brain injuries. They may have variations ranging from a slight concussion to everlasting disability. Severe brain injuries can make you incapable of earning a living and providing for your family.
Falling from certain heights can also cause open brain injuries or closed head wounds, leading to loss of balance, a compromised attention span, double vision, and indistinct speech issues.
Back Injuries
Most offshore jobs are physically demanding, thus heavy lifting and tough labor onboard a cruising cargo ship or at any offshore oil or gas platform can lead to serious back injuries, necessitating back surgery.
Moreover, falls from unprotected balconies or unsafe ladders leading to serious back injury can make an offshore worker incapable of working for a prolonged period.
Burn Injuries
Explosions and fire damages can be caused by several reasons and are a constant worry for an average oil rig worker:
- Faulty safety equipment
- Increase of flammable fumes in unstuffy and unventilated spaces
- Welding mishaps
- Loss of control
Human carelessness, errors, and negligence can cause serious burn injuries. Whatever the reason might be, these can lead to blemishes, require general plastic surgery, and result in long-term disability. Workers are frequently out of work for months after a serious burn injury and deserve maximum compensation for it.
Loss of a Limb
Losing a limb is the most painful and life-changing injury. Many offshore works can sometimes lead to different types of limb amputation accidents. A worker’s hand can become entangled in the line and can coil onto a winch drum. Deckhand can also cause a leg to get caught in and crushed between two barges.
The loss of a limb often requires surgery and the use of a prosthetic.
Fatalities
Offshore workers most frequently die because of falls, explosions, electrocutions, and many other accidents caused by employer negligence,
Acoustic Trauma
Loud explosions can lead to lifetime hearing impairment. Such injuries can also make it more difficult to further work and support one’s family.
Eye Injuries
Loss of vision or weakening can be caused by various offshore incidents and workers’ negligence. It makes it quite impossible for a worker to return to work the same way.
Suffocation, Asphyxiation, or Chemical Inhalation
Working in any sealed-off space, especially below deck; workers can be subjected to toxic fumes or a lack of oxygen. This type of injury accounts for less than 2% of accidents on an offshore vessel but is a serious personal injury claim nonetheless.
Crush injuries
Offshore workers confined between or under heavy equipment/objects can suffer crush injuries, to the whole body or to specific limbs and digits. Such maritime injuries can also be quite severe and life-threatening.
Be sure to discuss the details of such an occurrence with your offshore injury lawyer before anyone else!
Bottom Line: How An Offshore Injury Lawyer Can Help
We have discussed some of the most frequent offshore accidents in Louisiana and the common injuries caused by these mishaps. These accidents can be categorized as catastrophic and fatal. If you or your loved ones have fallen target to any of these terrible accidents, you can always acquire professional assistance from the highly experienced offshore injury attorneys at Wright & Gray Law Firm.
By law, the vessel owner owes it to their workers to provide an adequately safe work environment, especially concerning gas operations which pose a serious risk of common types of injuries. Immediate help from medical professionals is also a must for the worst-case scenarios, and if the liable party fails to fulfill their duty then our maritime injury lawyers will see to it that they pay up for your losses.
We are a personal injury law firm with special expertise in offshore worker’s compensation for medical care, and other economic and non-economic losses. Plus, we’ll handle your case from A to Z without any upfront payments. Call us today and we’ll show you just how committed we are!