Experienced Lawyers In Louisiana
Offshore & Maritime Injury Lawyer in Baton Rouge
Injured? Get Gordon
No Fee Unless We Win
I’ll win your case, or you don’t owe me a dime. No costs, no expenses, no fee. Nothing.
Injured? Get a FREE Consult Now!
Best Baton Rouge Offshore Injury Lawyers Near Me
Free Consultation for Offshore Accident Injury Cases Near Prairieville
An offshore accident can change your life in a single shift. One moment you are doing your job. Next, you are hurt, out of work, and wondering how the bills will get paid.
Offshore and maritime injury claims often fall under federal law instead of the usual Louisiana rules. The law that protects you depends on your job and where you were hurt. A Baton Rouge offshore injury lawyer can help you sort out which law applies and what you may be owed.
At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, we help injured offshore workers and their families in Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Central, and across Louisiana. Our firm has recovered $3 Billion for injured clients and their families. If you were hurt on the water, we are ready to fight for you.
Types of Offshore Injuries Our Baton Rouge Lawyers Handle
An offshore injury affects more than your body. It can stop your paycheck, strain your family, and put your career on hold. You deserve a legal team that sees the whole picture.
Our Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers handle a wide range of serious injuries, including:
Baton Rouge Offshore Injury Statistics
The figures below come from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), a federal agency that collects incident reports from offshore operations on the Outer Continental Shelf (federal offshore waters). Every injury counted here belongs to a real worker and a real family.
192
injuries reported in 2025
182
fires reported in 2025
401
lifting incidents reported in 2025
Our Attorneys
How Our Baton Rouge Offshore Accident Lawyers Handle Your Case
Every case starts with a free consultation. We listen to what happened, answer your questions, and talk through your options.
If you hire Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, we handle the legal work so you can focus on healing. Our team may begin:
- Reviewing your job duties and time aboard vessels
- Gathering medical records, incident reports, and pay records
- Reviewing safety and maintenance records
- Interviewing coworkers and other witnesses
- Consulting with medical and safety experts
- Handling communication with insurers
- Preparing your case for settlement or trial
With over 180 employees, including 130+ staff and 47 attorneys, we can put a full legal team behind your case.
Offshore Accident Compensation You May Be Entitled To
The compensation available depends on which law covers your injury. An offshore accident compensation lawyer can look at every claim that may apply to you. Depending on your case, you may be able to recover:
- Medical care
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Compensation for the injury itself
- Maintenance for food and lodging
- Financial losses for your family after a death
Not every item applies to every claim. Seaman status has been the source of a great deal of litigation, so we build your case with work records and medical evidence from the start.
Mistakes to Avoid After an Offshore Accident
A few early missteps can weaken an offshore injury claim. Try to avoid:
- Waiting to report your injury in writing
- Signing statements or forms you do not understand
- Skipping medical care or stopping treatment early
- Assuming you have no case because you were partly at fault
- Throwing away work schedules or records of your time aboard
- Posting about the accident on social media
- Putting off a talk with a lawyer for injured offshore workers
Already made one of these mistakes? Do not panic. Call us so we can talk through your options.
Understanding Offshore Injury Laws for Baton Rouge Workers
Maritime claims follow federal deadlines and fault rules. Missing a deadline can cost you your claim, so it helps to know the basics.
Deadlines to File
- 3 years for most maritime injury and death lawsuits, including Jones Act claims
- 30 days to give written notice of an injury under the LHWCA
- 1 year to file most LHWCA compensation claims
- 2 years for many maritime claims against the U.S. government
Some of these clocks start later, such as when you learn an injury is tied to your work. Talk with a Baton Rouge offshore injury attorney early so you do not lose time.
Comparative Fault
Being partly at fault does not end a Jones Act claim. Instead, your compensation is reduced by your share of fault. If your employer’s violation of a safety law contributed to your injury, you cannot be found partly at fault. Death on the High Seas Act claims also reduce, rather than bar, recovery based on fault, and LHWCA benefits are paid regardless of fault.
Common Legal Challenges in Offshore Injury Claims
Offshore injury claims can get complicated quickly. Injured workers may face:
- Disputes over seaman status
- Confusion about which federal or state law applies
- More than one company that may share responsibility
- Maintenance and cure payments that stop or never start
- Deadlines that differ depending on the law involved
These challenges are stressful, but an offshore worker injury lawyer in Baton Rouge can help you face them. With 679+ years of combined legal experience, our team is ready to stand up for you.
Contact a Offshore & Maritime Injury Attorney Near Central Today
Injured in an Accident? Find Legal Help Near You
You do not have to figure out maritime law on your own. If you were hurt on a platform, a vessel, or a dock, Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys is ready to review your case and explain your options.
We help injured workers in Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Central, and nearby communities. Visit our Baton Rouge office page to learn about our location on Hilton Avenue, or see how our Louisiana offshore and maritime lawyers help injured workers statewide.
Call 888.501.7888 today for a free consultation with an offshore accident lawyer in Baton Rouge. With our No Fee Unless We Win promise, you pay nothing unless we win or settle your case. That’s the G Guarantee.
Get Gordon. Get It Done.
Which Law Covers Your Offshore Injury?
Getting this question right early matters, and an offshore injury claims attorney can help you answer it. Each law offers different benefits and follows its own rules.
- Jones Act: Covers seamen with a substantial connection to a vessel. It may allow you to sue your employer for negligence and gives you the right to a jury trial.
- Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA): Covers many dock, harbor, ship repair, and shipbuilding workers. It can provide medical care and disability benefits, regardless of fault.
- Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA): Covers certain non-crew workers exploring for or developing offshore natural resources. It can provide benefits under the LHWCA.
- Maintenance and Cure Doctrine: Covers seamen who are hurt or become sick while serving on a vessel. It can provide food, lodging, and medical care, regardless of who was at fault.
- Unseaworthiness Doctrine: Covers seamen injured by an unsafe vessel or its equipment. It may allow a claim against the vessel owner without having to prove carelessness.
What Makes Someone a “Seaman”?
Not everyone who works on a boat is a seaman. The U.S. Supreme Court has said a seaman’s duties must contribute to a vessel’s work or mission. The worker must also have a connection to a vessel in navigation, or a group of vessels, that is substantial in both time and nature.
As a rule of thumb, the Court said a worker who spends less than about 30 percent of their time in the service of a vessel in navigation should not qualify. That figure is only a guideline, and every case depends on its facts. Seamen also keep Jones Act protection when their work takes them ashore. A Jones Act lawyer in Baton Rouge can review your assignments and time aboard to help show where you fit.
Maintenance and Cure
If you are a seaman who gets hurt or sick while serving a vessel, you may be owed maintenance and cure. Maintenance covers food and lodging. Cure covers medical treatment. This duty does not depend on anyone being at fault.
Maintenance and cure is separate from a Jones Act or unseaworthiness claim, so you can pursue it alongside those claims. Courts will not let you recover twice for the same loss. The Supreme Court has also held that punitive damages may be available in the right case when an employer willfully disregards its duty to pay maintenance and cure.
Unseaworthiness Claims
Vessel owners have a duty to provide a seaworthy vessel. If an unsafe condition on the vessel or its equipment caused your injury, you may have a claim against the owner. Unlike a Jones Act negligence claim, an unseaworthiness claim does not require proof that anyone was careless. A maritime accident attorney in Baton Rouge can dig into the vessel’s condition and records.
Dock, Harbor, and Platform Workers
The LHWCA covers many longshore workers, harbor workers, ship repairers, and shipbuilders. It applies to injuries on navigable waters and on nearby areas used to load, unload, repair, or build vessels, such as piers, wharves, dry docks, and terminals. Benefits include medical care and disability pay, no matter who was at fault.
OCSLA extends LHWCA benefits to certain workers hurt in operations to explore for, develop, or remove natural resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. For the seabed and fixed structures in federal waters off Louisiana, federal law also adopts Louisiana law when it applies and does not conflict with federal law.
If a negligent vessel or another outside party caused your injury, you may have a separate claim while still receiving benefits. Workers who fall outside all of these laws may still have options. Our Baton Rouge workers’ compensation lawyers can check if a state claim fits your situation.
When a Loved One Dies Offshore
The Death on the High Seas Act covers deaths caused by a wrongful act or neglect on the high seas, more than 3 nautical miles from the U.S. shore. In those cases, the personal representative of the person who died can file a claim. Recovery covers the financial losses of the spouse, parents, children, or dependent relatives. The Jones Act also allows a personal representative to bring a claim when a seaman dies from a work injury. A maritime injury lawyer in Baton Rouge can help your family understand which claims apply.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results may vary depending on the facts and circumstances of each case. Viewing this website or contacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Don’t Wait — Talk to a Baton Rouge Offshore & Maritime Injury Lawyer Today
At Gordon Mckernan Injury Attorneys, we understand that emotional and physical recovery come hand and hand after an injury or accident. We also know that you may not have the energy or time to fight with an insurance company and the complexities of your personal injury claim.
How It Works
Filing a claim with Gordon Mckernan Injury Attorneys is easy!
Simply follow the steps below.
Get Your Free Consultation
Fill out our quick and easy form to find out if your case qualifies. Our consultations are free and confidential, and we are here to help whether you hire us or not!
Hear From An Attorney
Our team will evaluate your case and decide on the best course of action. One of our lawyers will get back to you promptly and begin the process of winning your case!
Get Gordon!
Get It Done!
Once your case has been evaluated and deemed a good fit for our firm, our team will go to work immediately on gathering evidence, building your case, and getting you the compensation that you deserve.
Excellent
Settlements & Verdicts
Frequent Answered
Questions
Offshore & Maritime Injury Lawyer in Baton Rouge Blog Posts
Injured? Get a FREE Consult Now!
Let Our Team Fight For You!
If you or a loved one has been injured, don't wait— contact Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys today for a free consultation. Our team is ready to fight for you and secure the compensation you deserve.
With over 30 years of experience, a proven track record of success, and a commitment to client care, we are the best personal injury attorneys in Louisiana to handle your case.
Call us now or fill out our online form. No Fee Unless We Win!
Your Case Matters—Let's Get It Done!
Office Locations
© 2026 Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys.
