Texas Tugboat Injury Lawyer

Texas tugboats and towing vessels move every barge through the Houston Ship Channel, the Sabine-Neches Waterway, Corpus Christi Bay, and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Tugboat crewmembers work some of the most dangerous schedules in American industry — extended tours of 28 days on / 14 days off, rolling watches in all weather, fast-moving lines under massive tension, and the constant risk of being caught between the tug and the tow. A Texas tugboat injury lawyer at McFarlane Law represents captains, mates, engineers, deckhands, and cooks injured aboard harbor tugs, linehaul towboats, and offshore tugs. Jones Act, unseaworthiness, and maintenance and cure are all on the table.

How Tugboat Injuries Happen

The most frequent serious tugboat injuries include line injuries from snapped mooring lines and tow wires under tension (capable of severing limbs), caught-in-between incidents when the tug is pushed against the tow by current or wind, man-overboard incidents during face-up and breakaway evolutions, slips and falls on icy, oily, or spray-covered decks, and crush injuries when hatches or deck gear shifts. Engine room injuries include burns from hot steam, slips on oily floor plates, and hearing damage from extended exposure to engine noise without proper PPE. Tugboat casualties also include the regular risk of collision and allision: tug masters operate in tight harbor spaces, at night, and under wind and current conditions that routinely push tows out of position. Every one of these scenarios can support a Jones Act claim when the employer was negligent.

Jones Act Employer Negligence on Tugboats

Tugboat employers have extensive duties to their crews. Those duties include providing a reasonably safe work environment, adequate training, proper equipment, sufficient rest breaks under Coast Guard work-hour rules, and appropriate medical care aboard. Common negligence scenarios include ordering crews to handle lines in unsafe weather, failing to provide properly rated mooring equipment, ignoring Coast Guard fatigue regulations, failing to investigate near-misses, and staffing tugs with inexperienced personnel. The Jones Act’s low burden of proof — “any part, however small” — means that these employer failures are almost always actionable when an injury results. Damages include past and future medical, full lost wages and lost earning capacity (often enormous for licensed mariners), and non-economic damages for pain and impairment.

Vessel Unseaworthiness on Texas Tugs

A tug is unseaworthy when it, its crew, or its gear are not reasonably fit for their intended purpose. Common findings of unseaworthiness include worn mooring and towing lines, inadequately maintained winches, missing safety rails, poorly lit work areas, untrained crewmembers, and towing gear that is undersized for the tow. Unseaworthiness is a strict liability doctrine — the owner is liable even without proof of fault or notice. In Texas tugboat cases, McFarlane Law pairs the Jones Act negligence claim with the unseaworthiness claim so that the jury can choose the theory that best fits the evidence. This layered approach produces the strongest possible trial presentation and the best settlement leverage.

Maintenance, Cure, and Getting Back to Work

Every injured Texas tugboat crewmember is entitled to maintenance (daily living expenses) and cure (medical treatment) until maximum medical improvement. Employers frequently try to cut off cure at the earliest possible MMI determination — sometimes through a company-chosen doctor. Injured mariners have the right to their own treating physician and to challenge premature MMI findings. McFarlane Law frequently secures extensions of cure, negotiates higher maintenance rates, and — when employers arbitrarily deny or delay benefits — pleads punitive damages under Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend. If you are being pressured to sign a release, waive benefits, or accept an inadequate offer, call our firm first.

Related Practice Areas

Related: Texas Jones Act lawyer, Texas barge accident lawyer, maintenance and cure lawyer, unseaworthy vessel lawyer, Texas offshore injury lawyer. Hub: Texas maritime injury lawyer.

Talk to a Texas Injury Lawyer Today

If you were hurt aboard a Texas tugboat, call McFarlane Law. Free consult. Austin (512) 222-4900, Odessa (432) 803-5000. No fee unless we win.