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Best Louisiana Oil Rig Accident Attorneys Near Me
Fighting for Injured Oil Rig Workers Across Louisiana
Oil rig work can put you around heavy machinery and toxic substances. One injury can take you off the job and leave your family worried about the next paycheck.
A Louisiana oil rig injury attorney can help you learn which laws protect you and who should pay. At Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, our Louisiana personal injury lawyers help injured workers and their families across the state. We fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
Our client results include $3 Billion recovered for injured clients and 230+ Million dollar verdicts and settlements. Your consultation is free. With No Fee Unless We Win, you pay nothing unless we win or settle your case.
Types of Oil Rig Injuries Our Louisiana Lawyers Handle
Rig injuries can range from cuts and broken bones to burns, brain injuries, and harm that lasts a lifetime. Some illnesses build slowly after exposure to toxic materials. An injury also affects your family when the paychecks stop, and we keep that in mind as we build your claim.
Here are some of the injuries our team handles.
Louisiana Oil Rig Incident Statistics
The federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) tracks incidents at offshore oil and gas operations. One incident can count in more than one category, such as a fire that also causes an injury. If a fire or blast on a rig hurt you, our explosion and fire injury lawyers can help. Here is what BSEE reported for calendar year 2025:
182
fires and 2 explosions
401
lifting incidents
121
gas releases
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Types of Oil Rig Accidents We Handle
Rig accidents happen in many ways. A fall from height, a gas leak, and a dropped load each raise different questions about what went wrong. We look at how your accident happened to find every company that may share the blame.
Here are some of the oil rig accidents our team handles.
Who May Be Responsible for an Oil Rig Accident?
An oil rig accident attorney in Louisiana looks past your employer, because more than one company may have played a part. Responsible parties may include:
- Your employer, in a Jones Act claim
- The vessel owner, in an unseaworthiness claim
- A negligent vessel, if you are covered by the Longshore Act (33 U.S.C. 905(b))
- The rig operator or another contractor whose crew created the hazard
- The maker of a defective tool, valve, or safety device
A claim against an outside company is called a third-party claim. Federal and Louisiana law both let you collect workers’ benefits and still bring a third-party claim (33 U.S.C. 933(a); R.S. 23:1101).
How Long Do I Have to File My Oil Rig Accident Claim?
Your deadline depends on which law covers your claim. Missing it can cost you your right to recover. An oil rig injury claims lawyer can help you find every deadline that applies.
- Jones Act and other maritime injury or death lawsuits: 3 years from when the claim arose (46 U.S.C. 30106; 45 U.S.C. 56)
- Longshore Act and OCSLA benefits: written notice to your employer and the federal district office within 30 days (33 U.S.C. 912)
- Longshore Act and OCSLA claims: 1 year from the injury, or 1 year from the last payment if you were paid without an award (33 U.S.C. 913)
- Louisiana workers’ comp: generally 1 year from the accident (R.S. 23:1209)
- Louisiana injury claims arising after July 1, 2024: 2 years from the day of the injury (Civil Code Article 3493.1)
- Louisiana wrongful death claims: 1 year from the death or 2 years from the injury, whichever is longer (Civil Code Article 2315.2)
Late notice under the Longshore Act can sometimes be excused (33 U.S.C. 912(d)). Still, some deadlines are only 30 days.
Statute of Limitations Changes in Louisiana
Louisiana used to give injury victims one year to file most claims. Act 423 of 2024 changed that to two years for claims arising after July 1, 2024. Older claims follow the old rules.
How Fault Affects Your Oil Rig Injury Claim
Companies may argue that you caused your own injury. The effect depends on the law that covers your claim.
- Jones Act: your share of fault lowers your damages but does not bar recovery (46 U.S.C. 30104; 45 U.S.C. 53)
- Louisiana law: since January 1, 2026, if you are 51% or more at fault, you cannot recover damages. Under 51%, your damages go down by your share (Civil Code Article 2323)
- Maintenance and cure: owed even if the vessel owner was not at fault (Dutra Group v. Batterton)
- Longshore Act benefits: payable regardless of fault (33 U.S.C. 904(b))
We push back when anyone tries to shift the blame to you.
Compensation You May Recover After an Oil Rig Injury
What you can recover depends on your claims. Possible benefits and damages include:
- Maintenance and cure for seamen
- Longshore Act or Louisiana workers’ comp benefits
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages and reduced earning ability
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium, service, and society for certain family members (Civil Code Article 2315)
If a rig accident took your loved one, your family may have a wrongful death claim. Louisiana law sets who can file, in order: a spouse and children, then parents, then brothers and sisters, then grandparents (Civil Code Article 2315.2).
Offshore, other rules can apply. If a seaman dies from a job injury, the seaman’s personal representative can bring the Jones Act claim (46 U.S.C. 30104). The Death on the High Seas Act covers deaths caused by a wrongful act on the high seas, more than 3 nautical miles from the U.S. shore. It lets the personal representative seek the financial losses of a spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative (46 U.S.C. 30302 and 30303).
What to Do After an Oil Rig Accident
If you can, take these steps to protect your claim:
- Report the injury to your employer right away, in writing if you can
- Get medical care and keep copies of your records
- Write down what happened and the names of coworkers who saw it
- Talk with a lawyer before you sign a statement or give a recorded interview
The Longshore Act lets you choose your doctor from those the Department of Labor authorizes (33 U.S.C. 907(b)). Federal law also bars firing or punishing a seaman for reporting a work injury or illness to the vessel owner or the Coast Guard (46 U.S.C. 2114).
Speak to a Louisiana Oil Rig Injury Attorney Near You Today
Physical and emotional recovery go hand in hand after an injury. You may not have the time or energy to fight an insurance company, too. Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys has over 180 employees, including 130+ staff and 47 attorneys ready to stand up for injured workers across Louisiana.
Call 888.501.7888 or contact us online for a free consultation with a Louisiana oil rig injury lawyer. With our No Fee Unless We Win promise, you pay nothing unless we win or settle your case. That’s the G Guarantee.
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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.
Your Rig, Its Location, and Your Job Decide Which Laws Apply
Many people assume the Jones Act covers every oil rig worker. That is not always true. The type of rig, where it sits, and your job duties decide which law covers your claim. An offshore injury attorney in Louisiana starts by sorting this out.
Mobile Drilling Rigs and the Jones Act
Federal rules define a mobile offshore drilling unit as a vessel that can drill for subsea resources and meets certain size rules (46 CFR 107.111). That includes self-elevating rigs (with movable legs), column-stabilized rigs, and drillships.
A worker assigned to a vessel like this may qualify as a “seaman.” The Supreme Court set two requirements in Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis (1995):
- Your duties must contribute to the vessel’s function or mission
- Your tie to a vessel in navigation, or a group of vessels, must be substantial in both time and nature
As a rough guide, the Court said a worker who spends less than about 30% of their time serving a vessel in navigation should not qualify.
A seaman hurt on the job can sue the employer under the Jones Act, with the right to a jury trial (46 U.S.C. 30104). The Jones Act borrows federal railroad worker law, which makes the employer liable when its negligence caused the injury in whole or in part (45 U.S.C. 51).
More Rights for Injured Seamen
Seamen may also have two more claims under maritime law (Dutra Group v. Batterton, 2019):
- Maintenance and cure: food, lodging, and medical care for a seaman hurt while serving the vessel, even if the owner was not at fault
- Unseaworthiness: the vessel owner has an absolute duty to provide a seaworthy vessel, which the Court called a kind of liability without fault
Fixed Platforms and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
The Supreme Court has treated fixed platforms as artificial islands, not vessels (Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 1969).
The outer Continental Shelf is the federal seabed beyond state-owned waters (43 U.S.C. 1331). For work on platforms and other structures there, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA):
- Makes benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act payable to injured workers, but not to a vessel’s crew (43 U.S.C. 1333(b))
- Applies the laws of the adjacent state, such as Louisiana, as federal law where they fit and do not conflict with federal law (43 U.S.C. 1333(a)(2)(A))
Longshore Act benefits include medical care (33 U.S.C. 907). For temporary total disability, they pay two-thirds of your average weekly wage, up to a federal maximum (33 U.S.C. 908(b) and 906(b)). These benefits are generally your only remedy against your employer (33 U.S.C. 905(a)). Our offshore accident lawyers in Louisiana handle these claims, too.
If your rig or platform is located in state-owned waters, different state or federal laws may apply. Call us now for a free consultation.
Land Rigs and Louisiana Workers’ Comp
Not every rig is offshore. If you were hurt on a land rig, an oilfield injury lawyer in Louisiana can check if state workers’ comp or a federal system covers you. Louisiana workers’ comp does not pay benefits to workers covered by the Jones Act or the Longshore Act and its extensions (R.S. 23:1035.2).
When state comp applies, it is generally your only remedy against your employer, except for intentional acts (R.S. 23:1032). Our Louisiana work injury lawyers can walk you through it. Hurt at a plant or refinery instead? Our industrial accident lawyers and oil refinery accident lawyers can help.
How Our Louisiana Oil Rig Accident Lawyers Build Your Case
After an accident, the company may build its own version of events. You deserve a team on your side, too.
With 679+ years of combined legal experience, our team knows where to look. Every case gets a team of lawyers and support staff. If you hire us, we may:
- Find out which laws cover your claim, based on your job, the rig, and where it sits
- Gather incident reports, safety records, and maintenance logs
- Interview coworkers and witnesses
- Work with medical, safety, and engineering experts
- Identify every company and insurance policy that may apply
- Handle calls with insurance companies for you
Our New Orleans oil rig accident lawyers and the rest of our team will take your case to court if that’s what it takes.
Don’t Wait — Talk to a Louisiana Oil Rig 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.
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