Texas Maritime Injury Lawyer

Texas has the second-longest coastline in the continental United States and three of the country’s busiest ports — Houston, Corpus Christi, and Beaumont-Port Arthur. Tens of thousands of Texans work on tugboats, barges, offshore supply vessels, commercial fishing boats, dredges, and the docks that load and unload them. Maritime workers face hazards no landlocked job does: unstable decks, heavy rigging, dangerous cargo, caustic chemicals, and the ever-present risk of drowning. When an injury or death occurs, general state tort law does not apply — instead, a specialized body of federal admiralty and maritime law governs the recovery, including the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), the doctrines of unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure, and — for death on the high seas — the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA).

A Texas maritime injury lawyer at McFarlane Law understands these overlapping regimes and knows how to identify every compensation path available to an injured seaman or maritime worker. Our firm has recovered more than $100 million for injured Texans and pursues maritime cases across the Gulf Coast — from the Houston Ship Channel and the Port of Corpus Christi to offshore operations in state and federal waters.

What Makes Maritime Cases Different

Maritime injury law is federal law. It is tried in federal court (or state court under the “saving to suitors” clause), uses a unique legal vocabulary, and offers remedies you will not find in any land-based Texas injury case. A “seaman” (someone who spends a substantial portion of their work aboard a vessel in navigation) is entitled to sue the employer for negligence under the Jones Act and to sue the vessel owner for unseaworthiness — and is entitled to maintenance and cure (daily living expenses and medical care) regardless of fault until maximum medical improvement. A “longshoreman” (dock worker, cargo handler) is covered by the LHWCA, a federal workers’ comp scheme that also allows third-party claims against vessel owners under Section 905(b). Understanding which regime applies is step one in every Texas maritime case.

Who McFarlane Law Represents in Texas Maritime Cases

We represent Texas maritime workers across every vessel and facility type: tugboat and towboat crews, barge workers, offshore supply vessel (OSV) crews, platform supply and standby workers, commercial fishermen (shrimp, snapper, tuna), dredge workers, harbor pilots, longshoremen and cargo handlers, dock foremen, crane operators, tankermen, ship repair workers, shipyard welders and pipe fitters, and divers. We also represent passengers injured in cruise ship and charter boat incidents. Every Texas maritime worker deserves an attorney who understands the federal regime that governs their recovery — not a general PI lawyer trying to apply Texas tort principles.

Why Act Fast in a Texas Maritime Case

Maritime cases are notoriously evidence-dependent. Vessel logs, chart plotters, ECDIS data, engine room records, maintenance logs, medical department records, and video from bridge cameras are frequently purged or lost. Shipmates rotate off the vessel and can be difficult to locate. Vessel owners often try to settle quickly with inadequate offers before injured crew members understand the value of their Jones Act rights or LHWCA coverage. Under general maritime law, most claims are subject to a three-year statute of limitations, but Jones Act and LHWCA claims have distinct procedural deadlines — and many vessel owners demand that crew members sign releases shortly after incidents. Call McFarlane Law before you sign anything.

Talk to a Texas Maritime Injury Lawyer Today

Whether you were injured on a tugboat pushing barges in the Houston Ship Channel, a shrimp boat in the Gulf, a supply vessel in federal waters, a dredge in the Sabine-Neches Waterway, or as a longshoreman at the Port of Houston, McFarlane Law can help. We offer free case evaluations and charge nothing unless we recover for you. Call Austin (512) 222-4900 or Odessa (432) 803-5000.