Equipment Operating Negligence & Injuries

As offshore operations have become increasingly complex, particularly in the oil and gas industry, adequate training is essential to ensuring that maritime workers understand how to safely use equipment.

The Krist Law Firm, P.C. is familiar with the potential offshore injuries that can be incurred due to equipment operating negligence. If you were injured in an accident, contact them today at 281-283-8500 to find out how they can help you.

Dangers of Equipment Operating Negligence

Human error is one of the biggest challenges in ensuring the health and safety of maritime workers. While mistakes are bound to occur, many equipment-related injuries are the result of negligence. Unfortunately, negligence continues to be a leading factor in Houston maritime accidents.

Equipment operating negligence can include the following:

• Fatigue due to long working hours or lack of sleep
• Lack of attention
• Inexperience with equipment
• Inadequate training
• Poor communication among workers
• Impaired workers
• Risky or poor decision-making
• Lax adherence to safety regulations

Negligent practices like inadequate employee training, failure to take proper safety measures, and having insufficient crew members assigned to work with a piece of equipment, can lead to devastating consequences for maritime workers and their families. A failure to operate equipment safely can result in explosions, fires, electrocutions, mechanical failures, workers being struck or crushed by machinery, chemical exposures, and falls. Many of these accidents are preventable with the proper safety practices and precautions.

Common Injuries Caused by Equipment Operating Negligence

It is the obligation of maritime industry employers to provide a safe working environment, which means providing maritime workers with the appropriate equipment and training. When a maritime industry employer or a company the employer works with fails in that obligation, the consequences can be devastating for workers and their families.

Common injuries sustained in equipment operating negligence cases include:

• Mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injuries
• Crushed or amputated limbs
• Back or spinal cord injuries
• Lacerations
• Severe burns
• Electrocution
• Torn ligaments
• Polytrauma (multiple bodily injuries)
• Broken bones

Maritime workers who have been injured on a marine vessel, drilling rig or platform, or at port, as a result of equipment operating negligence, may be able to recover compensation for your losses. The compensation you may recover will depend on the maritime laws that apply to your case, which is why it is critical that you speak with an experienced and knowledgeable Houston maritime injury attorney.

Federal and State Maritime Laws that May Affect You

Maritime cases are complex because different maritime laws can apply to a variety of situations and classes of workers. The following federal maritime laws or doctrines may impact your claim:

• Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (more commonly known as the Jones Act)
• Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
• Maintenance and Cure
• Unseaworthiness
• Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
• The Death on the High Seas Act

The attorneys at The Krist Law Firm, P.C. have decades of experience handling maritime injury cases under these complicated maritime laws and can help explain you pursue a claim for compensation.

How The Krist Law Firm, P.C. Can Help With Your Operating Negligence Case

At The Krist Law Firm, P.C., our Houston maritime attorneys have a successful track record of representing people who were hurt in a maritime accident in Houston and we will fight to obtain the maximum possible compensation for your injuries. We have the resources and skills to build a strong case on your behalf, which includes a network of some the best medical, engineering, life care planning, and maritime industry experts in the nation. Let us put our significant experience and knowledge to work for you so that you can focus on recovery.

To learn how we can help, contact us today at 281-283-8500 for a free consultation.