Jones Act

Tony Buzbee started his career representing Jones Act seaman. He cut his teeth representing workers injured on boats, ocean going vessels, and drilling rigs. Buzbee was so successful that his practice rapidly grew and now he is routinely hired when the very best is needed. The Buzbee Law Firm has handled multiple cases against Falcon Drilling, Diamond Offshore, H&P, Global Santa Fe, Transocean, Rowan Drilling, and all the major pipe laying companies. If you need someone who knows what they are doing, and knows how to win, The Buzbee Law Firm is the only option.

The attorneys at the Buzbee Law Firm represent clients in legal issues relating to the sea, including shipping, marine cargo, and workers injured at sea-on navigable waters, or while working in a harbor. They have extensive expertise in the requirements of the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.

The Jones Act protects crew members of a vessel in the event they are injured. This law applies to inland river workers and offshore crew members who work on jack-ups, semi-submersibles, barges, drill ships, tugs and towboats, crew boats, dredges, floating cranes, tankers, cargo ships, fishing vessels, chemical ships, research vessels, construction barges, diving vessels, cruise ships, recreational boats, and other floating or movable vessels.

Seminars & Recent Developments

• Deepwater Horizon blast survivor: Safety may have been compromised
• Oil is Stopped but Money Still Gushing From BP
• Attorney Tests Should Have Stopped Work on Doomed Rig
• Buzbee Interviewed in BBC Documentary on the BP/Deepwater Horizon Disaster
• Blast at BP Texas Refinery in '05 Foreshadowed Gulf Disaster

Representative Matters

• The firm has handled hundreds of offshore injuries. A few selected case examples:

• Derrickman hit by drilling pipe--$2.1 Million settlement;
• Mud hand killed by exploding pipe--$6.2 Million verdict;
• Wire line operator fell off walkway--$1 Million settlement;
• Roustabout hit with crane load--$1 Million settlement;
• Toolpusher hit with debris--$1.2 Million settlement;
       
• The Buzbee Law Firm has represented hundreds of workers in Jones Act claims in Texas and Louisiana.  The firm has represented workers of all job functions. 
• The firm is currently representing or has represented more than 60 injured dredge workers in suits throughout the State of Texas.
• The firm represented more than twenty workers who were injured when the Parker 14J collapsed off the coast of Louisiana. Buzbee's clients obtained more money in settlements than any other attorney.
• The firm has represented countless of workers injured offshore in workboats and crewboats.
• The firm has represented multiple workers injured on drilling rig--from roustabouts to toolpushers to rig superintendents to company men.
• The firm has represented more than 20 shrimp boat workers who were injured on the job.
• The firm has represented a class of offshore workers who alleged that their wages had been suppressed by their employers, and that case resulted in a settlement for the class.
• The firm represented a class of maritime workers on claims that their workplace was riddled with asbestos; that case also resulted in a settlement to the class.
• The firm represented a widow whose husband died on a ship after becoming ill and after his employer failed to arrange for medical treatement.
• The firm was hired to file suit on behalf of the estate of a young offshore worker who was found dead tangled in the spokes of a large hose reel on a drilling rig.  The suit resulted in a financial settlement to the estate, and as part of settlement, the defendant agreed to install a reel guard in an effort to prevent incidents like this.
• In one of his first trials, Tony Buzbee represented the estate of an offshore worker who was killed while working aboard a drilling rig off the coast of Saudi Arabia, when a pipe exploded.  The case resulted in a jury verdict against the defendant.  In the course of the lawsuit, Buzbee uncovered a deadly problem with piping used in the drilling industry and, as result of the suit, that problem has now been corrected in the industry.