Tugboat & Barge Accident Lawyers

Over $1 Billion Recovered for Maritime Accident Victims. We are proud to have a reputation for aggressively fighting for the rights of injured workers.

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Legal Representation for Tugboat & Barge Accidents Injuries

At any given moment, there are hundreds of giant, cargo laden barges moving up and down the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as well as other interior waterways in the United States. These barges are vital to our country’s economy, transporting goods between our nation’s heartlands and its coastal ports. Our tugboat and barge accident lawyers have represented deckhands, mates, tankermen, pilots, and Captains who have become injured while working onboard a tugboat, pusher, towboat or barge.

Barge & Tugboat Accident Law

Specially designed tugboats are employed to push and tow these unwieldy barges, some bigger than a football field, to their destinations. These tugs go by many names, including pushers, pushboats, pusher tugs and towboats.

Working on America’s inland waterways aboard a tugboat, pushboat, towboat or barge can be just as risky as working on the open seas. Navigating huge barges through narrow, crowded channels while avoiding bridges, docks, sandbars, rocks and other obstacles are just a few of the potentially dangerous situations a river tug’s crew face on a daily basis.

Accidents can occur at any moment, leaving a crew member with serious, even fatal, injuries. When these accidents are caused by negligence on the part of a vessel’s owner, commander or crew, federal and state laws give injured crew members the right to seek compensation from the responsible parties for the losses resulting from their injuries.

If you’ve worked on a vessel, you know that the maritime world has its own language and that anyone who hasn’t experienced it probably couldn’t understand how things operate in this world. Maritime law is similarly unique and needs an experienced barge accident lawyer to maximize your recovery under whichever maritime laws may apply.

Let maritime lawyers at Lambert Zainey put our extensive maritime litigation experience and vast legal resources to work for you. Pursuing compensation after a tugboat and towboat injury can be a complex undertaking. Depending on where your accident took place, a multitude of federal and state laws may apply in your case and you’ll want to make sure you get the full amount of compensation to which you are entitled.

Companies We’ve Fought Against

Lambert Zainey has obtained recoveries from a long list of maritime companies, including some of the biggest names in the industry.

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COMMON TYPES OF BARGE AND TUGBOAT INJURIES

With over 40 years of experience, Lambert Zainey is one of the nation’s leading maritime personal injury law firms. Since our founding, we’ve recovered more than a billion dollars in compensation for clients who have been injured or killed in accidents. We’ve represented deckhands, mates, tankermen, pilots, and Captains who have become injured while working onboard a tugboat, pusher, towboat or barge due to many of the common types of accidents below.

Human error, equipment malfunction and ignoring/underestimating environmental conditions are the most common reasons why tug and barge collisions occur.

Allision is the term used to describe a vessel striking a stationary object, such as a tug or barge hitting a bridge or dock.

It seems maritime workers face serious risks there, too. More than a quarter of seafarers exhibit signs of depression, according to a recent study.

Maritime workers can spend months having no contact with friends or family, facing some of the harshest working conditions to be found in any job. How do these stresses impact the mental health of seamen and other maritime workers?

Learn More About The Struggle of Maritime Workers With Depression

When a tug or barge worker falls overboard, they are at serious risk of drowning or suffering other fatal injuries. Insufficient safety protocols, unseaworthy vessels, and poor weather conditions are common reasons why these accidents occur.

When railings are poorly designed or not well maintained, tug and barge workers can suffer falls and other injuries.

Whether by inhalation or direct contact, chemical exposure can result in serious, long-term health issues for tug and barge workers.

Fires and explosions aboard tugboats and barges are among the most serious dangers faced by workers.

When too many barges are lashed together, it increases the risk of accidents that can injure workers, cause damage to other vessels and structures, and even lead to environmental damage.

When barge loading and unloading plans aren’t followed, it can lead to structural failures and other accidents.

Mooring lines are the thick cables used to keep a vessel tethered to a dock or terminal. Too much strain on the mooring lines can cause them to break and the two ends of the line to wildly recoil or “snap back” with high speed and force.

From towlines to winches to life vests, if a barge or tugboat has defective or poorly maintained equipment, workers who use these tools can suffer injuries.

Maritime rules and regulations are put in place to keep workers safe, as well as protect the public and environment from injuries and damages.

When a person exerts themselves in a hot environment, their body attempts to maintain a stable internal temperature by circulating blood to the skin and sweating. As temperatures rise, it becomes more difficult to cool the body and maintain a safe internal temperature.

High levels of humidity, such as we experience in the Gulf Coast region, also make it difficult for sweat to evaporate and cool the skin. Prolonged exposure to heat and high humidity can cause a host of heat-related health problems.

Learn More About Heat-Related Illnesses that Affect Maritime Workers

Falling objects, whether tools or improperly secured cargo, are among the most common reason for head, neck and brain injuries among barge and tugboat workers.

When barge and tugboat crews are not adequately trained, understaffed and overworked, it’s easy for mistakes to happen. It is the employers responsibility to ensure that workers are properly trained and equipped for their duties.

Weather conditions can change quickly on inland waterways, and flash flooding in particular can be extremely hazardous to tugboats and barges.

Laws That Protect Injured Barge and Tugboat Workers

The Jones Act and other maritime laws give an injured crewman the right to seek compensation after an accident due to negligence and/or the unseaworthiness of a vessel. Depending on your situation, you may be entitled to collect compensation for maintenance (living expenses), care (medical expenses) and other damages.

These laws don’t just apply to vessels on the high seas but also protect the crew members who maneuver the thousands of barges that travel our nation’s rivers and other inland waterways. But you only have a limited time in which to act.

Enacted in the 1920s, the Jones Act is among the most important laws governing the rights of maritime workers. This federal law expanding the rights of injured seamen under General Maritime Law and adds new rights and causes of action by which an injured maritime worker can recover compensation for the damages suffered because of an on-the-job injury.

Learn More About Who Qualifies Under the Jones Act

For workers who aren’t covered by the Jones Act, there are still federal maritime laws that offer protection. One of these is the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, or LHWCA, which provides benefits for workers who are injured while working in support of the maritime industry on any navigable waterway.

Learn More About Your Rights as a Longshoremen

General maritime law provides for legal protections of crewmembers of a vessel, allowing them to recover compensation for injuries caused by the unseaworthiness of a as well as the right to medical and living expenses in the form of maintenance and cure payments.

Learn More About General Maritime Law

General maritime law provides seamen who are injured or become ill while working on a vessel the right to receive maintenance and cure benefits until reaching maximum medical improvement or returning to work.

Learn More About Maintenance and Cure

SEACOR POWER CAPSIZING: LAMBERT ZAINEY SECURES RESOLUTION FOR ALL FAMILIES AFFECTED BY TRAGEDY

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case results

Over $1 Billion Recovered for Maritime Accident Victims

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$330 MILLION SETTLEMENT

Oil storage tank rupture at the Murphy Oil USA refinery in Chalmette, LA. The fastest class certification and resolution of a case of its type and magnitude to date.

SETTLED IN ONLY 12 MONTHS

Arco cryogenic platform explosion caused by improper cold cut of Southern Natural Gas pipeline. Settlement for the injured and deceased in approximately twelve months.

Compensation for Workers Injured While Working on a Tugboat or Barge

Contact the barge accident lawyers of Lambert Zainey without delay to arrange a free initial consultation to discuss your case with one of our firm’s leading Louisiana barge and tugboat injury attorneys. We’re headquartered in New Orleans and represent clients all over the U.S. We accept maritime injury and wrongful death cases on contingency, so there will be no out-of-pocket expenses, and we only collect a fee after we recover compensation for you.

The type and amount of compensation you may be able to recover after a maritime accident depends on many factors, including the nature of your job, the specific maritime law your claim falls under, and the severity of your injuries. Compensation may include:

Past medical expenses
Future medical expenses
Lost wages
Lost earning capacity
Loss of enjoyment of life
Pain and suffering

Frequently Asked Questions

There are many injuries that can result from a tow or push boat barge accident, including:

Bone fractures
brain, neck and spinal cord injuries
blindness
amputations
crush injuries
burns
and hyperthermia.

Our barge accident lawyers help all workers who are employed on tugboats and barges, including but not limited to:

crane barge / midstream operation workers
tug boat crews
plug & abandon operations
dredging operation workers
lay barge operation workers
deckhands
mates
tankermen
pilots
and captains.

Click here for a more comprehensive list of the types of maritime workers we help.

There are many types of barges used in the maritime industry. The most common are:

Dry Bulk Cargo Barges – These types of barges are used to haul and ferry dry cargo. Some of the material they may carry are grain, sand, gravel, and minerals like steel and coal.
Liquid Cargo Barges – The barges are completely in opposite to the dry bulk cargo barges explained above. These barges transport items like petrochemicals, liquid fertilizer, refined products like gasoline and diesel fuel, and pressurized products.
Split Hopper Barges – These barges are designed for carrying dredged material in the water. This barge is used in marine construction because it can unload the material at the site.
Crane Barges – These are offshore barges that are moved by deck engines, tugs, or mounted outboard engine propellers.

Without knowing the circumstances of your barge or tugboat accident, we can’t say yes with 100% certainty. That being said, tugboat workers have MANY legal protections when they are injured on the job, and our tugboat and barge accident lawyers have more than 40 years of experience in helping workers just like you get the compensation they deserve. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation – 800-521-1750

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CONTACT US

Our experienced attorneys are here to guide you through every step of the process, from initial consultation to settlement or trial.

800-521-1750
701 Magazine St., New Orleans, LA 70130
Info@LambertZainey.com