Texas Dredge Accident Lawyer
Dredging accidents resulting from faulty equipment, unseaworthy vessels, and unforeseen dangers lurking beneath the water’s surface can cause serious injuries. If you or a loved one has been injured in a dredging accident, you may be entitled to substantial compensation through multiple avenues. Our experienced Texas dredge accident lawyers can help you explore your legal options and maximize your recovery.
Legally Reviewed By: Lawrence P. Wilson
Senior Attorney
- Page Last Updated:
- May 20, 2025
Why Hire Our Texas Dredge Accident Lawyers?
What Are the Common Injuries in Dredge Accidents?
What Compensation Can You Get for a Dredge Accident Injury?
How Long Do You Have To File a Dredge Accident Claim?
What Our Talented Dredge Accident Lawyers Can Do for Your Case
Contact Our Award-Winning Dredge Accident Lawyers in Houston, TX
Dredging is uniquely hazardous, putting workers at risk from accidents caused by a variety of conditions. Workers must perform their duties on the water while exposed to weather conditions like rain, fog, wind, and lightning. These duties often include welding, cutting, and other hazardous activities near heavy machinery in tight spaces.
Meanwhile, dredges are large machines with multiple moving parts, pinch points, cables, and wire ropes. These conditions put dredge operators at risk of serious accidents such as drowning, slips and falls, electrocution, struck-by and caught-between accidents, toxic exposures, fires, and explosions.
Employers and vessel owners can prevent most dredging accidents by properly maintaining dredge equipment, providing sound safety equipment, and training workers in dredge safety. When employers and dredger owners fail to take safety seriously, workers pay the price. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a dredge accident, our knowledgeable Texas dredge accident attorneys can help you hold the negligent parties accountable. Contact The Lanier Law Firm today for a free case evaluation.
Why Hire Our Texas Dredge Accident Lawyers?
Our attorneys have been winning record-setting results for people injured on land and at sea for over 35 years. We have recovered nearly $20 billion in settlements and verdicts on behalf of injured individuals by fearlessly standing up to the largest and most resourceful corporations in the world and defeating them at trial. The Lanier Law Firm’s case results include historical verdicts and settlements that have made the headlines, such as the following:
- $417 million verdict against Amoco
- $115 million verdict against a steel mill
- $56.3 million verdict against Caterpillar Inc. and Holt Texas
- $5.5 million verdict against West Star Transportation
- Undisclosed Jones Act settlement against Marine Drilling Company
Dredge accident cases are complex claims involving maritime law litigation. Having an attorney who understands your legal rights and options under the Jones Act and the unseaworthiness doctrine is crucial. Lawrence P. Wilson is an industrial accident attorney with vast experience and unsurpassed knowledge of maritime safety and liability.
When you choose The Lanier Law Firm, you receive personalized legal care from compassionate attorneys. We will invest our own resources to prosecute your case with no upfront costs to you. You pay nothing unless we successfully recover compensation.
“I have had the best experience with the Lanier Law Firm. Everyone is so friendly and helpful, and I could not have asked for a better firm. I truly cannot say enough nice things about them and hope everyone gets to experience this high-quality care.”
– Caroline D.
“One should only engage The Lanier Law Firm if you expect a relentless pursuit of a positive result. They will FIGHT tooth and nail until the last drop of blood. HIGHLY recommended!”
– S. P.
What Are the Common Injuries in Dredge Accidents?
Dredge workers perform heavy work in wet conditions with slippery surfaces. Large moving parts on dredges can strike workers due to mechanical failures or inadequate safety training. Workers often perform duties in confined spaces. They may fall overboard, become entrapped, or get squeezed in the dredge’s many pinch points. Working in shallow waterways also puts them at risk of collisions with other vessels and stationary objects.
Workers may suffer the following injuries:
- Crushing injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Severe and widespread burns
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Eye injuries
- Hearing loss
- Amputations
- Fractures
- Strains and sprains
- Shoulder injuries
- Back injuries
- Hernias
- Death
Dredge workers use multiple types of dredges to clear shipping channel floors. Some are self-propelled while others are mechanical arms that use the vessel’s power.
The most common types include the following:
- Suction dredgers
- Backhoe or dipper dredgers
- Bucket dredgers
- Grab or clamshell dredgers
- Dustpan dredgers
- Water injection dredgers
- Agitation dredgers
- Barge unloaders
- Auger dredgers
If you are injured in a dredge accident, seek medical attention immediately and follow your treatment plan. Write down the details as soon as possible and report the accident to your supervisor immediately. Contact our experienced maritime and offshore accident lawyers as soon as possible to protect your claim.
What Compensation Can You Get for a Dredge Accident Injury?
If you have been injured in an offshore and maritime accident, federal maritime laws provide multiple pathways to compensation.
Maintenance and Cure
Maintenance and cure is a no-fault program similar to workers’ compensation that provides living expenses and medical care while you recover. Maintenance includes food, the cost of lodging on land, and transportation to and from medical care. Cure is payment for the costs of medical care. You do not have to prove anyone was negligent or even that your injury was work-related to receive maintenance and cure. You only need to prove you were injured while serving on the vessel.
The Jones Act
The Jones Act allows workers injured in accidents at sea to sue their employers for negligence. In addition, families of those killed in offshore accidents can also bring wrongful death claims under the act. To be covered by the act, the accident must occur in navigable waters, which include rivers, lakes, and oceans used for interstate or international shipping.
In a Jones Act claim, you can pursue economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages compensate for financial losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages cover more subjective effects on your life, such as pain and suffering. You can file a Jones Act lawsuit even if you receive maintenance and cure. However, you cannot receive duplicate compensation for medical expenses.
In the event of a loved one’s death, your family may be entitled to the following economic damages under the Jones Act:
- Loss of your loved one’s lifetime income
- Loss of estate value
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Loss of inheritance
- Your loved one’s medical expenses
The Unseaworthiness Doctrine
Under the doctrine of unseaworthiness, vessel owners must provide and maintain seaworthy vessels. The law considers a vessel unfit if it has any of the following conditions:
- Structural defects that prevent the vessel from performing its intended purpose
- Missing or defective parts or equipment
- Inadequate safety equipment
- An inadequate or incompetent crew
If you were injured because the dredger was unfit for its intended purpose, you may be entitled to similar damages as afforded by the Jones Act.
Death on the High Seas Act
The Death on the High Seas Act allows family members to sue for certain economic damages when a loved one is killed on a vessel located at least three nautical miles from shore when that death is caused by negligence. Like Jones Act claims, compensation under the Death on the High Seas Act only includes economic damages, such as loss of financial support.
How Long Do You Have To File a Dredge Accident Claim?
You generally must file your Jones Act claim within three years of the accident date. However, many factors can influence the statute of limitations. If you guess wrong and miss the deadline, you could lose the right to pursue justice and compensation forever. Rather than jeopardize your claim, contact our experienced Texas dredge attorneys as soon as possible.
What Our Talented Dredge Accident Lawyers Can Do for Your Case
When you or your loved one is injured in a dredge accident off a Texas shoreline, you can count on our award-winning firm to make the legal process as easy as possible. We will do the following:
- Provide a free case review
- Travel to you anywhere in the state
- Perform a forensic investigation of your accident
- Gather evidence and interview witnesses
- Identify all responsible parties
- Review your medical records and collaborate with life care planners and vocational experts to determine the lifetime cost of your injuries
- Calculate your damages and demand full compensation from the responsible parties
- File your lawsuit on time and in the appropriate jurisdiction
- Negotiate a maximized settlement and refuse to accept less than you deserve
- Prepare your case for trial from the beginning and present a compelling case to a jury if the responsible parties refuse to pay fair compensation
“We will not be outspent, will not be outworked, and we are able to handle the big industrial cases to ensure our clients the best results.”
– Lawrence P. Wilson
Contact Our Award-Winning Dredge Accident Lawyers in Houston, TX
You may be entitled to substantial compensation if you or a loved one has been injured in a dredge accident. Our Texas dredge accident lawyers have experience handling complex maritime accident cases, and we know what it takes to recover the compensation you deserve.
Contact The Lanier Law Firm online today or call (800) 723-3216 to schedule your free case evaluation.
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Houston, TX 77064
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