According to a report from The Maritime Executive, a crew member of a drillship damaged by Hurricane Ida is filing a lawsuit under the Jones Act. At least nine different crew members of the Noble Globetrotter II—a drilling ship stationed just south of the delta of the Mississippi River—sustained injuries in the incident. In this article, our Houston maritime injury attorneys provide an overview of the accident and the lawsuit.
Hurricane Ida: A Category 4 Storm Causing Vast Damage
Hurricane Ida was a deadly, powerful Category 4 storm that made landfall near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. It was the second strongest storm ever to hit the state, after only 2005’s devastating Hurricane Katrina. In the following days, Ida ripped through the Eastern United States, causing dramatic flooding in many regions, including in New York City.
Drilling Ship Damaged During Hurricane Ida
The Noble Globetrotter II is a drilling ship that was located at a site owned by Shell. The ship was near the Mississippi River Delta when Hurricane Ida barrelled into the Gulf Coast of the United States. The ship’s captain received advanced warning that Hurricane Ida was likely to hit its location, so the boat was re-positioned.
However, it still endured severe storm conditions. According to the legal complaint filed by the injured crewmember, the ship saw 150 mile per hour (MPH) winds). It sustained damage during the hurricane and at least nine crew members required medical attention. Four maritime workers were medevaced back to the United States for treatment.
Injured Maritime Worker: A Jones Act Lawsuit
Ship owners and ship operators have a legal responsibility to protect the health and well-being of their crewmembers. As maritime workers are outside of the confines of most state-based workers’ compensation statutes, there are specialized provisions in place under federal law to allow them to hold their employers accountable. The Jones Act allows people injured by an “unseaworthy” vessel to file a personal injury lawsuit directly against a negligent maritime employer.
Notably, knowingly operating a vessel in unsafe, unseaworthy conditions—such as during a major hurricane—could be deemed a violation of the Jones Act. In this case, the maritime worker who was hurt while aboard the drilling ship Noble Globetrotter II is suing his employer on the grounds that the failure to remove the vessel from the path of Hurricane Ida was a breach of a duty to provide a seaworthy vessel under the Jones Act.
Get Help From Our Southeast Texas Maritime Injury Lawyers Today
At the Kolodny Law Firm, our Texas maritime injury lawyers have deep experience representing workers in a broad range of legal claims. If you were injured as a crewmember working at sea, we are ready to help protect your legal rights. You deserve the maximum financial compensation. Call us now or contact us now for a no cost, no obligation evaluation of your case. From our law office in Houston, we handle maritime injury claims throughout the wider area.
Alan Kolodny is committed to representing injured clients in Texas and throughout the United States. Alan earned his B.A. from Rice University and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
He focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases involving the following matters: maritime and offshore accidents, including those under the Jones Act; automobile and 18-wheeler truck accidents; and industrial site accidents, work-related accidents, and claims for injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
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