Offshore Injury Help
Why the consultation is where your case begins
Most injured workers treat the first meeting as the lawyer interviewing them. It runs both ways. The questions to ask at a maritime consultation are not about catching a lawyer out; they are about confirming, before you commit, that this is the right person to protect a claim that may be worth years of your income. A maritime injury case can hinge on a single legal question, and you want to know in the first thirty minutes whether the lawyer across the table understands it. Our companion guide, questions to ask a maritime lawyer, pairs with this one and goes deeper on the wording of each question.
Maritime law is a specialty, and it is unforgiving of generalists. The lawyer who handled a friend's car accident may be excellent and still not know whether you qualify as a Jones Act seaman, whether the Longshore Act covers you instead, or how maintenance and cure works while you recover. Those are not minor details. They decide which court hears your case, what you can recover, and how a defendant will try to limit it. A consultation is your chance to find out, at no cost and no obligation, whether the lawyer lives in this area of law or is visiting it for your case.
The checklist below groups the questions worth asking and, just as important, describes what a strong answer sounds like. Use it as a map for the conversation, then read the sections that follow for the reasoning behind each one. A good lawyer will welcome these questions; the way they answer tells you almost everything you need to know.
| What to ask | Why it matters | A strong answer includes |
|---|---|---|
| How many maritime cases have you handled? | Maritime law is distinct from car-accident or general injury work | Specific numbers, years in maritime, named vessel types |
| Have you tried Jones Act cases to a verdict? | Settlement leverage depends on a real willingness to try the case | Actual trials, not only settlements |
| Am I a seaman or a Longshore worker? | Your status decides which law and which remedies apply | A walk through the seaman-status test, not a guess |
| What is my case realistically worth? | Sets honest expectations and exposes overpromising | A reasoned range, never a guarantee |
| What maintenance and cure am I owed now? | A no-fault benefit you can receive during recovery | A daily rate and a plan to enforce it |
| What is your contingency fee? | Fees vary and must be disclosed in writing | A clear percentage for settlement versus trial |
| Who advances costs, and what if we lose? | Expert and filing costs can run high | The firm advances costs; you owe nothing without a recovery |
| What is my filing deadline? | A missed deadline can end an otherwise strong claim | A specific date and the statute behind it |
| Who will actually handle my file? | The lawyer you meet may not be the one doing the work | A named attorney and a clear contact rhythm |
| How long will my case take? | Maritime timelines are long; you need to plan for it | A realistic 12 to 24 month estimate |
Questions about the lawyer's maritime experience
Among the questions to ask at a maritime consultation, none matters more than genuine, specific maritime experience. Start plainly: how many maritime injury cases have you handled, and what kinds of vessels and workers were involved? A lawyer who regularly represents seamen, offshore platform crews, and dock workers will answer with detail, naming tugs, supply boats, jack-up rigs, or fishing vessels. A lawyer who dabbles will speak in generalities. You are listening for fluency, the easy command of a field someone works in every week, not a rehearsed line about handling all kinds of injury cases.
Then ask the question that separates real maritime firms from the rest: have you tried Jones Act cases to a verdict, not just settled them? Most cases settle, and that is fine, but settlement value is driven by what the other side believes will happen if the case goes to trial. A lawyer who has actually stood up in front of a jury in a maritime case carries leverage that a lawyer who always settles does not. If the answer is vague, that vagueness is itself an answer.
Finally, ask how they will verify the facts that make or break your claim, from your work history to the vessel's maintenance records. Verifying what you hear in the room is its own task, and our guide on how to vet a maritime injury attorney covers the credentials, bar records, and case results worth checking before you sign. Experience is a claim like any other, and a confident lawyer will not mind you confirming it.
Questions about your status and which law governs
The most consequential question in many maritime cases is also the least obvious to an injured worker: are you a Jones Act seaman, or are you covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act? The two systems are mutually exclusive, and they lead to very different places. A seaman sues an employer directly for negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 30104, and can pursue full tort damages. A Longshore worker, covered under 33 U.S.C. § 901 and following, recovers through a federal workers' compensation system with scheduled benefits. Ask the lawyer to tell you which one applies to you, and why.
A strong answer will walk you through the actual legal test rather than guessing. Seaman status turns on a substantial connection to a vessel in navigation, both in duration and in nature, the standard the Supreme Court set in Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347 (1995). Courts often look to whether a worker spends roughly thirty percent or more of their time in service of a vessel, and an earlier decision, McDermott International v. Wilander, 498 U.S. 337 (1991), confirmed that a seaman need not aid in the vessel's navigation to qualify. A lawyer who knows these cases will discuss your duties, your time on the water, and the vessels you served. A lawyer who simply assures you that you are probably a seaman is skipping the analysis that controls your case.
Status disputes are common offshore. Workers on platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana and Texas, and on the Outer Continental Shelf, frequently fall into contested territory where the answer depends on the specific structure and assignment. That is exactly why this question belongs at the top of your list: if the lawyer cannot reason through your status with you, they are not ready to fight for it against an insurer who will.
Questions about what your case is worth
It is fair to ask what your case might be worth, but pay close attention to how the lawyer answers. The honest response is a reasoned range with the factors that move it, not a number designed to win your signature. Ask what categories of damages apply to your situation. A Jones Act seaman can recover lost wages past and future, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of earning capacity, and separately may be owed maintenance and cure under general maritime law. A lawyer who explains these pieces, and the uncertainty around them, is being straight with you.
Ask specifically about maintenance and cure, because it is money you may be entitled to right now, before any settlement. Maintenance is a daily living allowance and cure is the cost of your medical treatment, both owed until you reach maximum medical improvement, and both owed regardless of fault. If an employer withholds them in bad faith, the law allows more: in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009), the Supreme Court held that a seaman may recover punitive damages when maintenance and cure is willfully denied. A maritime lawyer worth hiring will know your daily maintenance rate is a live issue and have a plan to enforce it.
One more value question is worth asking: how does fault affect what I recover? Maritime law uses a forgiving causation standard for Jones Act negligence, the featherweight test from Rogers v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co., 352 U.S. 500 (1957), under which an employer is liable if its negligence played any part in the injury. Comparative fault can still reduce a recovery, but it rarely bars one. A lawyer who can explain how these rules apply to your facts is showing you the analysis behind any number they quote.
Questions about fees, costs, and the written agreement
Almost every maritime injury lawyer works on a contingency fee, which means you pay nothing up front and the lawyer is paid only if they recover money for you. That is good news for an injured worker with no income, but the details still matter, and you should ask about them directly. What is your fee as a percentage of the recovery? Standard maritime contingency fees run from 33 to 40 percent, often lower if the case settles early and higher if it goes to trial. Ask where in that range your case falls and what triggers the higher number.
Then separate the fee from the costs, because they are not the same thing. Litigation costs, including expert witnesses, depositions, medical records, and filing fees, can run into real money in a maritime case. Ask who advances those costs, whether they are deducted before or after the fee is calculated, and, most important, what you owe if the case is lost. A worker-friendly answer is that the firm advances all costs and you owe nothing if there is no recovery. Get the answer in writing.
That last point is not a formality. A fee structure should be disclosed in writing before you sign an engagement letter, so you can read it without pressure and compare it against another firm if you wish. A lawyer who is comfortable putting the fee and cost terms on paper, and walking you through them line by line, is treating you the way a client deserves to be treated. A lawyer who is evasive about money in the first meeting will not get clearer later.
