A neck injury isn’t always as obvious as say, a head injury.  There may be no visible signs of injury from the outside, and very often, the symptoms are very similar to those seen in other kinds of injuries like back injuries.  This means that misdiagnosis of neck injuries is rampant.  Also, remember that a neck injury does not have to involve a sudden injury or accident.  You could suffer a neck injury from repetitive stress over months, or even years of performing the same activity over and over again.

If you’re a maritime worker, look for the following symptoms of a neck injury.

• Pain
• Soreness in the neck region
• Stiffness of the neck
• Numbness
• Tingling sensation
• Persistent headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Unexplained paralysis in the arms and legs
• Pain in the shoulders
• Lethargy
• Inability to move neck

Doctors aren’t always able to diagnose neck injury for what they are, and for a correct diagnosis, it would help if you explained to your doctor the kind of work that you do.  This will help him pinpoint the cause of your pain more precisely.

If you are an offshore worker with a neck injury, know that you’re not alone.  These are some of the most common maritime injuries that I come across.  Unfortunately, a severe neck injury could prevent you from being able to continue your job.  If you have questions about what this means for you, contact a maritime attorney at my office for a free confidential consultation.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – some of rebecca’s photos

This morning, there was an explosion on an oil production platform in the Gulf of Mexico.  At this point, all 13 crewmembers on the platform are believed to be accounted for and safe.  One person is confirmed to have been injured.

According to a statement by the Coast Guard, the crew members were all rescued and have been safely transferred to a commercial vessel.  They are currently in wet immersion suits waiting to be brought to shore.  The platform is believed to be still on fire. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident.  The rig was not actively engaged in producing anything.  At this point in time, there is no report of any oil spill.

The explosion took place on the Vermillion Oil production platform 380.  The platform is owned by Houston-based Mariner Energy.  The Coast Guard has already dispatched a rescue team to the site.  Multiple helicopters, aircraft and a Coast Guard cutter are on their way to the explosion site.

This explosion comes just over four months after the devastating Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico which killed 11 workers and set off the biggest oil spill in US history.  Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like this explosion has had the same impact.  I hope the workers are brought back to shore as quickly as possible so they can be reunited with their families.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

If you or a family member has been hurt in an oil rig explosion, order a free copy of my book, Insider’s Guide to Winning Your Maritime Injury Case. You can also contact my office for a free consultation by calling 877.724.7800.

Image courtesy: Flickr  -DVIDSHUB

Jama Idle Ibrahim faced several criminal charges arising from the attack, and this week, he pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors.  Ibrahim had been accused of opening fire on the USS Ashland in the Gulf of Eden.  There were six men on the pirate boat.  The U.S. Navy vessel returned fire, killing one person and capturing the other pirates.

This week, Ibrahim pleaded guilty to attacking to plunder a vessel, use of firearms during a crime of violence, and acts of violence against persons on a vessel.  Earlier this month, a judge in Norfolk had thrown out the piracy charges against the six men, because they had not robbed, boarded or taken control of the vessel.  The piracy conviction would’ve meant a mandatory life sentence for Ibrahim and his five accomplices.   However, the six men continued to face other criminal charges.

Sentencing has been set for 29 November.  Ibrahim is likely to be sentenced to 30 years in prison.  According to US Attorney Neil McBride, this is the first conviction for piracy in more than 150 years.

The unrest and continued political and economic tension in Somalia has created a fertile environment for the breeding of pirates. This continues to be a serious maritime safety issue for seamen.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Coutresy: Flickr – Olivier Bruchez

The Wall Street Journal

There was much disagreement and confusion during the last hours of the rig.  The confusion began with an e-mail sent by a BP engineer on the morning of April 20^th.   In the e-mail was a major change to a safety pressure test conducted to determine the well’s safety.  According to the change, BP wanted to remove an extraordinarily large amount of drilling mud from the well before the test.  It was an unusual way of doing things, and not surprisingly, it left most of the crewmembers confused.

BP has not explained why it wanted a change in the test specifications.  Crew members say that that it is not unusual for a company to begin speeding things up during the last days of a well.  A few hours after the pressure test was approved, the rig exploded, taking 11 workers down with it.

The decisions that were made on that day contributed heavily to the explosion, and some of the key players who made those crucial decisions have taken the safe way out by either declining to comment, or pleading their Fifth Amendment rights.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – Ideum

Money from the fund will be used to reimburse claims arising from state and local response efforts, as well as environmental damage.  There may be very little money left over to pay claims to victims of the explosion.

Contrary to what Ken Feinberg, the administrator of the fund told Public Citizen, the fund is capped at $20 billion.

A BP subsidiary that has very few assets apart from Gulf of Mexico oil leases, will likely be the funding source to pay all costs arising from the disaster.  BP also plans to pay off its liability purely from revenues it generates from oil and gas production.  Do I detect a tiny incentive here for the company to be allowed to expand its oil and gas drilling operations, risky as they are?

The trust comes with no disclosure requirements, meaning that all claims or transactions arising out of the fund will be done without any public oversight.

I’m not sure if the Obama administration has considered how these provisions in the fund agreement compromise the security and future of so many people affected by the spill.  Public Citizen is calling on all concerned Americans to write to the federal administration, to urge them to fix the fund, so that it does ultimately benefit the people it’s meant to help.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – Tracy O

• The employee has filed a Workers Compensation  claim
• The employee has hired a lawyer to represent him in good faith
• The employee has instituted or caused to be instituted in good faith a proceeding under subtitle A (FN1)
• The employee has testified or was about to testify in a proceeding under subtitle A.

The laws clearly define that an employer cannot retaliate against an employee by threatening him or terminating his employment, just because the employee files a Workers’ Compensation claim or hires a lawyer.  So if you’ve been hesitant about filing a claim or seeking legal advice about your situation, you should know that your rights are safeguarded under Texas laws, and that a maritime attorney will help you protect them.

If you fear that your employer is going to blackball you just because you reported an injury or filed a claim, feel free to contact me at my office.

The maritime lawyers at Vujasinovic and Beckcom represent injured maritime workers and their families across the US and worldwide.  We protect maritime workers who have been blackballed, or are being retaliated against for reporting safety concerns, workplace injuries, or asserting their legal rights.

To learn more about how you can protect your rights, order a copy of one of our free books and reports.

If you want to talk to one of our maritime attorneys immediately, call our toll-free number 877.724.7800 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and schedule an appointment.

Image Courtesy Flickr – Nagyman

Much of the hearing was dominated by BP executives blaming Transocean for the explosion.  The head of marine authority at BP testified that Transocean had found dozens of maintenance issues in an audit that was conducted just seven months before the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

It was then Transocean’s turn.  A member of Transocean’s shore-based management testified that he had expressed doubts about the experience of a well site leader from BP, who had been sent to the rig just a few days before the explosion.  He did mention his concerns to BP, but was assured by the oil company that the person was an experienced BP team member.

The hearings turned pretty chaotic with attorneys firing questions, only to be greeted by loud objections.  It’s been yet another round of hearings, and we’re still nowhere close to confirming exactly what caused the explosion.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy – Flickr – eschipul

According to the figures released by the Health and Safety Executive, there were 50 major offshore injuries reported in 2009-2010.  That was an increase of 20 injuries from 2008-2009, and higher than the average of 42 over the past five years.  There was an increase in the combined fatal and major injury rate to 192 per 100,000 workers in 2009-2010, compared to 106 in 2008-2009 and 156 in 2007-2008.

There was also an increase in the number of major hydrocarbon releases in 2009-2010, with a total of 85 during this period of time, compared to 51 in 2008-2009.  In 2009-2010, there was also a decline in the number of minor over 3-day injury rates at 414 workers per 100,000, compared with 496 the previous year.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – eschipul

More than 53,000 gallons of oil spilled into the ocean, when the container ship collided with a Bay Bridge Tower, in November that year.  The investigation finally pointed to the impaired condition of the pilot in charge of the ship at the time.  John Cota was on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including Vicodin and Valium.  In the days before the accident, investigators found he had purchased hundreds of pills, including painkillers acetaminophen hydrocodone and diazepam, anti anxiety medications, sleep disorder medications, antidepressants and other drugs.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation after the accident found that there were many causes that contributed to the collision.  The ship operator had failed to properly equip and train crew members.  The crew had remained unwilling to change or challenge decisions made by Cota.  The Coast Guard failed to warn the pilot that the vessel was off course.  To make matters worse, the pilot had decided to sail off in poor for the weather.  He had according to investigations, misinterpreted triangles drawn on a chart, and sailed right into the bridge tower.  He was not tested for pharmaceutical drugs after the accident.

Cota was sentenced to prison for 10 months.  He has just finished his sentence, but in spite of strengthened laws, pilots in California are still not subjected to prescription drug tests.  In fact, close to three years after the disaster that wreaked so much economic loss, a board committee is still considering whether an enhanced drug policy should be in place.

Since the collision, there have been several changes made to California law.  Bar pilots are now required to carry personal navigation equipment and must undergo medical checkups by a doctor.  They are tested for marijuana and narcotics, but prescription drug testing is still not mandated.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – erix!

The U.S. Navy ship was attacked off the Horn of Africa in April.  The six were accused of opening fire on the vessel from a small stiff.  The Navy vessel returned fire.  One of the men was killed, and the stiff sank.  All six men in the boat were captured.

Their lawyers argued that their actions did not amount to piracy, because they did not board the vessel, did not take control of the vessel and did not take anything of value from the vessel.  Last week, Judge Raymond Jackson of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, agreed with the defense lawyers.  If the piracy charge had stuck, it would have resulted in a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

Although the piracy charges have been thrown out, the six continue to face charges of attacking to plunder the vessel, assault with a dangerous weapon on US officers and employees, and acts of violence against people on the vessel.  The men had early been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of attack to plunder a vessel, piracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, and conspiracy to use firearms during a crime of violence.

The dismissal of the piracy charges should encourage a group of 5 other Somali men who are accused of mounting an attack on the USS Nicholas on 31 March.  These men are also seeking a dismissal of the piracy charges.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board-Certified Trial Lawyer whose primary focus is the representation of Jones Act seamen, including tankermen,  galley hands, deckhands, cruise line crews, fishing vessel crew members, offshore workers and other maritime workers in accidents in Texas, across the country and international waters.

Image Courtesy: Flickr – kainr