Maritime Leg Injuries
Any injury to a leg, particularly one that results in permanent damage or even amputation, can be a traumatic experience.
While an injury or damage to a leg can be painful enough, the long-term impact of a leg injury can affect nearly every aspect of your life. The treatment, recovery, and physical rehabilitation necessary to maintain your previous quality of life can be a lengthy and expensive experience, and it can make your prospects for finding employment or living a productive life to be difficult at best.
Causes Of Maritime Leg Injuries
A number of accidents can result in leg injuries, such as:
- Malfunctioning equipment
- Crush injuries from falling containers or equipment
- Improper safety equipment in dangerous areas
- Lack of proper training on equipment usage
- Damage from collisions between vessels
- Lack of non-slip or non-skid surfaces in dangerous areas (hallways, stairwells)
- Lack of signage in dangerous areas (heavy machinery, slip and fall hazards, etc)
Many of these injuries are preventable through proper training and other responsibilities of the ship owner, and negligence can be the primary cause of most injured or lost limbs in offshore work.
Short-Term & Long-Term Effects of Maritime Leg Injuries
A leg injury, even if it seems minor at first, can result in severe and potentially lasting damage to your leg. A few of these effects and symptoms include:
- Broken bones
- Damage to joints
- Lost cartilage in knees or ankles
- Risk of amputation/severed limb
- Permanent nerve damage
- Loss of mobility
- Contusions
- Ruptured blood vessels/internal hemorrhaging
- Swelling
- Torn muscles
among others. If left untreated, or if the damage is severe enough, these injuries may lead to permanent disabilities over time, which can affect your ability to work, or even maintain your current standard of living.
What Should I Do If My Leg Is Injured While Working Offshore?
Leg injuries, no matter how minor they may seem at first, can often mean the end of your career as a maritime worker, and can be a devastating loss of all livelihood and income, period.
If you have been the victim of an injured leg while working offshore, the Jones Act lawyers of O’Bryan Law can help. We can review the facts of your case to help understand and identify the circumstances that led to the injury of your leg or other limbs, and can work to determine if these circumstances were the cause of negligence on your employer’s fault.
No matter how minor or severe your leg injury turns out to be, we can help you fight for justice and financial support through this traumatic time. Contact O’Bryan Law today with the details of your case to get started.
