Editorial Standards

01Authorship and the editor's qualifications

Editorial content on Offshore Injury Help is written and reviewed by Michael Mangione, the editor and founder of the site. Where a specific article is co-written, edited, or reviewed by another person, that person is identified by byline or in a "Reviewed by" line on the article.

What the editor brings to the work

Michael spent more than twelve years inside contingency-based law firms before launching Offshore Injury Help. In those roles, he built and ran intake departments, designed qualification frameworks for incoming case inquiries, worked with attorneys on case-fit assessments, and developed deep familiarity with how maritime and other injury claims are screened, evaluated, and pursued. He is the founder of The Mangione Group, Inc., the corporation that operates this site.

What the editor is not

Michael is not a practicing attorney. He does not hold a current license to practice law in any state. He does not represent clients. The editorial work on this site reflects operational experience inside contingency practices, applied to publicly available legal sources, not the practice of law. Where an editorial article requires the perspective of a licensed attorney, that perspective is identified separately, either through a "Reviewed by" byline or through citation to the attorney's own published work.

02What the editorial work is for

The editorial content on Offshore Injury Help exists to help injured maritime workers, surviving families, and the people who help them understand how maritime injury claims actually work, before they have to make decisions about counsel, filings, or insurance communications. Most of the people who arrive at this site arrive in distress, often shortly after an incident, and are looking for a footing on which to stand while they figure out what to do.

The editorial work serves that purpose. It is written to explain, not to sell. The lead generation side of the business is a separate function, governed by the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and is described as such where it appears.

Editorial content is general information. It is not legal advice on anyone's specific case. The relationship between editorial information and a real legal claim is described in our Disclaimer.

03Sources and how we cite them

We draw on primary sources whenever possible. Primary sources are the original legal materials themselves, not someone else's description of them. When we describe a statute, we work from the actual text of the statute. When we describe a court decision, we work from the published opinion. When we describe an agency rule, we work from the agency's own materials.

Primary sources we use

Federal maritime statutes

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (Jones Act), the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), the Saving to Suitors clause, the Limitation of Liability Act, and related federal statutes. We work from the United States Code, with section citations.

Federal court decisions

Published opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal courts of appeals, and federal district courts, accessed through PACER, the courts' published-opinions pages, or Westlaw and Lexis citations where available. We cite cases by name and reporter citation so a reader can pull the original.

Federal agency materials

U.S. Coast Guard regulations, marine casualty reports, and safety bulletins; OSHA standards and inspection reports; MARAD policy materials; Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) reports for offshore matters; and the Federal Register for current rulemaking.

State statutes and decisions

Where state law is relevant (for example, when a Jones Act claim is brought in state court under the Saving to Suitors clause, or when a wrongful death claim depends on state law), we cite the relevant state statute and reported state appellate decisions.

Secondary sources

We also use peer-reviewed maritime law journals (such as the Tulane Maritime Law Journal and similar), recognized treatises on admiralty law, bar association continuing-legal-education materials, and reputable news coverage of maritime incidents. Secondary sources are used to contextualize primary materials, not as substitutes for them.

How we cite

When we paraphrase or summarize a source in an article, we link to the original or identify it by citation so a reader can verify. We do not invent citations. If a citation appears in editorial content, the editor has verified it against the underlying source before publication.

04Fact-checking and accuracy

Before an article is published, the editor checks the following:

• That every statute cited exists, is current, and is described accurately as to scope, effective date, and any recent amendments;
• That every court decision cited exists, is described accurately, and has not been reversed, vacated, or substantially limited by later authority that the article does not acknowledge;
• That every dollar figure, percentage, time limit, or specific factual claim is supported by a source the editor has reviewed;
• That the article distinguishes general information from legal advice in language a reader can recognize;
• That the article does not promise outcomes, predict recoveries, or otherwise imply a result on any specific case.

We do our best, and we will still occasionally get things wrong. The law evolves, sources are sometimes ambiguous, and any editorial process has limits. When an error is found, the correction process described in Section 6 applies.

05Updating content as the law changes

Maritime injury law evolves continuously: through Supreme Court decisions interpreting key statutes, through circuit court splits, through federal agency rulemaking, and through the occasional act of Congress. A guide that is accurate today may need an update next quarter.

The editor monitors developments in maritime law and updates affected editorial content when changes are material. Each article on the site shows a "Last reviewed" date so a reader can see when the content was most recently checked against current law. When an article is substantially revised in response to a development, we add an editor's note describing what changed and why.

We do not promise a specific update cadence on every article. Older guides on stable topics may sit without a recent revision because the underlying law has not changed. Newer guides on active areas (for example, areas where a circuit split is being resolved) may be updated more frequently. If you are reading an older article and the "Last reviewed" date concerns you, send us a note and we will look at it.

06Corrections policy

We correct errors openly. If a reader, a participating attorney, a fact-checker, or anyone else points out a factual error in published content, the editor reviews the report personally, verifies it against the relevant source, and, if a correction is warranted, makes it.

How we make corrections

For minor edits that do not affect a reader's understanding of the article (typos, broken links, formatting), we update silently and update the "Last reviewed" date. For substantive corrections that change the meaning of the article in a way a reader might have relied on, we:

• Update the article so the corrected information is the one a reader sees;
• Add an editor's note at the top of the article describing what was wrong, what the correction is, and the date of the correction;
• Update the "Last reviewed" date to the date of the correction.

We do not silently delete content that turned out to be wrong. The point of a correction is to be honest about an error, not to pretend the article never said what it said.

How to flag a correction

Email Info@OffshoreInjuryhelp.org with "Editorial Correction" in the subject line, identify the article and the issue, and (where possible) link to the source supporting the correction. The editor reviews every correction request personally and responds within one business day, although verifying a substantive correction may take longer.

07Editorial independence and the lead generation side of the business

Offshore Injury Help has two functions that the reader should understand are kept separate: editorial and lead generation.

The editorial function is the publishing of guides, articles, and FAQs that explain how maritime injury claims work. The lead generation function is the intake of inquiries from injured workers and, where a reader has asked us to make an introduction, the routing of the inquiry to one specialty attorney whose practice fits the case. The two functions are operated by the same person (the editor) and the same corporation (The Mangione Group, Inc.), but they are run with a clear separation of decision-making.

What that separation means in practice

• Editorial decisions are made independently. Decisions about what to write, how to characterize legal questions, which cases or rulings to highlight, and how to describe attorney specialty areas are made by the editor based on the legal merits of the material, not on the participating-attorney roster or marketing fees.
• Participating attorneys do not have editorial control. Attorneys who participate in our editorial program do not write, edit, or pre-approve articles. They do not receive advance copy. They do not have veto power over editorial content that touches on their specialty area.
• Paid placement is identified as such. Where any portion of an article is paid for, sponsored, or syndicated, we identify it openly using language like "Sponsored by" or "Paid placement." We do not publish paid content disguised as editorial. If you see an article on this site without such a label, the article is editorial.
• Editorial coverage does not depend on participation. An attorney's decision to participate in our editorial program does not buy editorial coverage, and an attorney's decision not to participate does not exclude them from editorial coverage where their work is relevant.

The structure of the lead generation arrangement (including that participating attorneys may pay marketing fees in connection with our editorial program) is described in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. The relevant point for editorial standards is that the financial arrangement does not flow into editorial decisions.

08Conflicts of interest and disclosure

The editor is the founder and operator of The Mangione Group, Inc., which has an economic interest in the lead generation function of the site. That interest is disclosed here as part of the editorial standards, in the Privacy Policy, in the Terms of Service, and in the Disclaimer. A reader of this site should understand that the site is a commercial enterprise, not a public-interest publication, and that the editor's economic interests align with helping readers find competent representation rather than with a particular outcome on any case.

Where an editorial article specifically discusses an attorney or law firm that participates in our editorial program, we identify the participation openly in the article. Where the editor has a personal relationship with a source, a participating attorney, or a third party referenced in an article that a reasonable reader might want to know about, we identify that relationship in an editor's note.

The editor does not invest in, hold any ownership interest in, or accept any financial benefit from any law firm or attorney we may introduce readers to beyond the marketing-fee arrangement disclosed in our public-facing policies. The editor does not accept gifts, trips, or other benefits from participating attorneys or third parties that could compromise editorial judgment.

09Use of artificial intelligence as a writing aid

We are direct about this because readers reasonably want to know. We use AI tools as a writing aid in the editorial process. We do not publish AI-generated text without human editorial review, and we do not rely on AI-generated citations without verifying them against the underlying primary source.

How AI may be used

• Research assistance. AI tools may help the editor gather candidate citations to statutes, cases, and agency materials, and surface related-source suggestions for the editor to evaluate. The editor verifies every citation against the underlying primary source before it appears in published content.
• Outlining and structure. AI tools may help draft an initial outline for an article, suggest section breakdowns, or propose FAQ structures. The outline is reviewed and revised by the editor before any drafting begins.
• Drafting assistance. AI tools may help generate an initial draft of a section that the editor then rewrites, edits, and verifies. The editor is responsible for the language and accuracy of every published sentence.
• Editing assistance. AI tools may help check spelling, grammar, readability, and consistency, in the same way that a copy editor or a tool like Grammarly might. Stylistic edits are accepted or rejected by the editor.
• Image generation. Decorative illustrations, where used, are clearly editorial. We do not use AI-generated images that depict real attorneys, real clients, or real incidents in a way that could be mistaken for documentary photography.

How AI is never used

• We do not publish AI-generated articles wholesale. Every published article is reviewed and edited by the editor before publication.
• We do not cite AI-generated case names or holdings without verification. AI tools occasionally fabricate citations that sound plausible but do not exist. We verify every citation against the underlying primary source.
• We do not use AI to generate fake testimonials, fake case outcomes, or fake quotes from real attorneys.
• We do not generate AI portraits of real people. Photographs of the editor or of identified attorneys are real photographs.

The editor is responsible for everything published on this site, regardless of which tools were used in the production process.

10Originality and plagiarism

Editorial content on Offshore Injury Help is original. The editor writes the work, with the assistance of the tools and sources described above. We do not copy text from other publications without attribution. Where we paraphrase or summarize a source, we identify the source.

If you believe a piece of content on this site is derivative of your own published work without proper attribution, contact us at Info@OffshoreInjuryhelp.org with "Editorial Attribution" in the subject line. The editor reviews every such report personally and will, where the report is well-founded, add attribution, remove the content, or take other appropriate action.

Our own editorial content is owned by The Mangione Group, Inc. (see Terms of Service, Section 8) and may not be copied without permission. Use of our content to train AI models is expressly prohibited under those Terms.

11Case examples, scenarios, and testimonials

Editorial content sometimes uses case examples, scenarios, and testimonials to illustrate general points. The standards we apply to those materials:

• Identified real cases. When we reference a real reported case, we identify it by name and citation. The reader can pull the opinion and read it themselves.
• Composite scenarios. Where a scenario combines elements of multiple real cases to illustrate a general point, we identify it as a composite. Composite scenarios are clearly marked as such so a reader does not mistake them for a single real case.
• Anonymized examples. Where we describe a real situation that we are not naming for privacy reasons, we change names and identifying details, and we say in the article that we have done so.
• Testimonials. Testimonials, where used, are real statements from real people. Past results, recoveries, or outcomes described in any example or testimonial are illustrative and do not predict future results in any other case. See our Disclaimer for the full statement on past results.
• Hypotheticals. Where we use a clearly hypothetical example to illustrate how a statute or rule works, we identify it as a hypothetical.

12Photography, illustrations, and attribution

Photography on the site is licensed from stock-photo sources (primarily Unsplash, with attribution as required by the source's license) or is original photography commissioned by The Mangione Group, Inc. Decorative illustrations may be produced editorially.

We do not present stock photography in a way that misrepresents it as documentary coverage of a specific incident or person. Where a photograph appears alongside a case discussion, the photograph is illustrative, not a depiction of the actual incident, unless we expressly say so. Photographs of the editor and of identified attorneys are real photographs of those people, used with permission.

If you are a photographer, illustrator, or rights holder who believes an image on the site is used without proper license or attribution, contact us at Info@OffshoreInjuryhelp.org with "Image Rights" in the subject line.

13What we will and will not write about

Offshore Injury Help focuses on US maritime injury and wrongful-death matters. The editorial scope includes:

• Federal maritime law (Jones Act, LHWCA, OCSLA, DOHSA, Saving to Suitors, Limitation of Liability Act, and related statutes);
• General maritime law negligence, unseaworthiness, and maintenance-and-cure;
• Offshore worker injury (drilling platforms, supply vessels, lift boats, offshore wind, deepwater operations);
• Commercial fishing vessel injury;
• Cruise ship passenger injury and crew injury;
• Inland and harbor worker injury (LHWCA coverage);
• How to evaluate a maritime injury attorney and what to ask in a consultation;
• Statutes of limitations, claim timelines, and procedural deadlines.

We do not write about, and we will not publish content directly addressing:

• Areas of personal injury law that have no maritime connection (auto accidents unrelated to maritime work, premises liability outside a maritime context, etc.);
• Criminal defense or family law;
• Non-US maritime law as a primary subject;
• Content designed to predict outcomes on specific cases;
• Endorsements of, or attack pieces on, specific identified attorneys.

14Reader feedback and the editor's note

Reader feedback is one of the most useful inputs to the editorial process. If you have read an article and you have a question, a correction, a counterpoint, or a request, send it. The editor reads every message that goes to the editorial inbox personally and responds to substantive editorial inquiries within one business day.

Reader feedback that meaningfully improves an article is sometimes acknowledged in an editor's note on the affected article, with the reader's permission. We do not publish reader feedback that contains personally identifying information without consent.

15How to contact the editor

For editorial concerns, corrections, source questions, attribution questions, or anything else related to the editorial work on this site, the right channels are:

• Email: Info@OffshoreInjuryhelp.org (include "Editorial," "Correction," "Attribution," or the relevant subject in the subject line)
• Phone: 1-844-697-8340

Editorial messages go directly to Michael Mangione. There is no editorial assistant, no managed inbox, and no triage. The person who wrote the content is the person who reads your message about it.

Business name: The Mangione Group, Inc., operator of Offshore Injury Help.