Blog

Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims

• Sabine Neches Tanker Accident: Pilot Failed to Inform Tugboat Operator He Was off Course
• Maritime Safety Recommendations on NTSB Wish List
• 28 Maritime Pirates Taken into Custody Today by EU Naval Force
• Malacca Strait Tankers at Risk for Terrorism
• Maritime Worker Electrocuted: Coast Guard Issues Safety Alert

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Houston Car Accident Attorneys

• 3 Children Killed, 2 Children Seriously Injured in Bastrop County, Texas Crash
• Houston, Texas Motorist Seriously Injured in Monday Morning Crash
• Texas High School Student Killed By Her School Bus
• Poor Sleep Linked to More Car Accidents in Teenagers
• Two Killed in Multiple Vehicle Crash in Pearland, Texas

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Texas Truck Accidents

• Brazoria Tractor-Trailer Accident Trial: Lawyers Wrangle over Blood Sample Protocols
• New Employee Screening Website Promises Stronger Checks of Truck Drivers, Fewer Accidents
• Two Teenagers Killed in Truck Accident in Brazoria County
• Arlington, Texas Tractor-Trailer Crash Kills Two, Critically Injures One
• Austin, Texas Cyclist run over by 18-wheeler

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Houston Motorcycle Accidents

• Corpus Christi, Texas Motorcycle Accident Kills One, Critically Injures Another
• Motorcycle Accident Death in Lewisville, Texas Also Severely Injures Passenger
• Texas Motorcycle Helmet Law Repeal Leads to Rise in Deadly Accidents
• Legally Blind Motorist Kills Motorcycle Rider in Waco, Texas
• Motorcycle Precautions That Can Save Your Life

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Texas Construction and Refinery Accidents

• OSHA Teaming up with Scaffolding Group to Increase Safety
• BP Facing up to $3 Million in Fines in Ohio Refinery Explosion
• Practice of Misclassification Places Workers at Risk
• Despite OSHA Regulations, Scaffolding Safety Continues to be Elusive
• Worker Dies in Fall at Houston, Texas refinery

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Railroad Injury Lawyers | FELA Claims

• Railroad Workers With Repetitive Stress Injuries
• Speaking out about a Fatal Train-car Collision in North Carolina
• Railroad Employer Liable for Parking Lot Injury
• Should I get a lawyer to file my FELA injury claim?
• Court grants arbitration case involving labor dispute in railroad industry

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General

• Texas Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit vs. Waco in Cameron Park death
• Swine Flu Lawsuit Planned Over First Death
• More Americans die each month of preventable medical injuries than died in terrorist attacks of 9/11
• First Potential Lupus-Specific Treatment in Sight!
• Protecting Your Job While Coping With a Chronic Illness

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News

• Multiple-vehicle wreck shuts down Houston's South Loop...
  Posted on 3/11/2010
• Norovirus Outbreak on Mediterranean Cruise Ship...
  Posted on 3/10/2010
• Amtrak Passenger Injured in Train Car Collision With Big Rig...
  Posted on 3/8/2010
• Two Crew Members Killed in Oil Tanker Fire While Welding...
  Posted on 3/5/2010
• Texas Man Dies While Diving Near Key Largo, Florida...
  Posted on 3/4/2010
• Two Texas Refinery Workers Killed in Oil Refinery Fire...
  Posted on 3/3/2010
• March 2010, Brain Injury Awareness Month...
  Posted on 3/2/2010
• Danish NATO Destroyer Sinks Maritime Pirate Vessel off Somalia...
  Posted on 3/1/2010
• Louisiana Work-Related Injuries, Illnesses And Deaths Down In 2008...
  Posted on 3/1/2010
• Hawaii Urges all Vessels, Crew to Evacuate Harbor Areas Before Tsunami...
  Posted on 2/27/2010

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Library

Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims

• Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)
• Jones Act Claims
• Jones Act Lawsuits
• Jones Act Settlements
• The Jones Act, Part of The Merchant Marine Act

Houston Car Accident Attorneys

• Houston Auto Accident Lawyer | Car Accident Attorneys
• Missouri City Car Accident Lawyer
• Sugar Land Car Accident Lawyer
• Pasadena TX Car Accident Lawyer
• Galveston Auto Accident Lawyer

Texas Truck Accidents

• Houston Truck Accident Attorney

Railroad Injury Lawyers | FELA Claims

• How to Protect Your Rights Under the FELA

General

• Legal Resources 5
• Legal Resources 6
• Legal Resources 4
• New Jersey Jones Act Lawyers
• North Carolina Jones Act Lawyers

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Worldwide Jones Act attorneys and Maritime lawyers with over 100 years combined experience in Maritime Personal Injury Cases and Jones Act Seamen Claims. We also handle Houston Auto Accidents, Texas Truck Accidents, Houston Motorcycle Accidents and Texas Construction Injuries and Refinery Explosion cases. We have handled FELA cases nationwide for over 40 years, representing railroad workers injured on the job. The lawyers of SMSH are prepared to help you win your case. In order to better serve our clients we also offer services in Spanish (Espanol).

Timeline
Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer and Harris is the continuation of a legal practice founded by Arthur Schechter in 1964, and continued by partners Dennis McElwee and Matt Shaffer when Mr. Schechter left to become a United States Ambassador in 1998. Jonathan Harris joined the firm in 1999 and later became a partner. When Arthur Schechter returned as Senior Counsel in 2006, the firm came full circle, while also expanding its capabilities.

Reputation
Known as aggressive trial lawyers who prepare and try cases around the country

• Arthur Schechter
• Dennis McElwee
• Matthew D. Shaffer
• Jonathan Harris
• Stacey E. Burke
• Ellen H. Shaffer
• Adam J. Rosenfeld

Expertise
For over 5 decades, the lawyers of Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer and Harris have represented victims of serious personal injury including seamen, railroad workers, offshore workers, longshoremen and harborworkers from around the nation and around the world.

The firm has also had numerous outstanding recoveries in serious 18-wheeler and other commercial vehicle accidents.

Representation of victims of auto and motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, construction and refinery accidents are also high priorities.  The firm handles refinery and workplace injuries, and successfully represented workers injured in the recent British Petroleum Texas City Plant explosion.

Compensation
Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer and Harris work on a contingency fee basis: there is no or bill for our services unless we recover for the client.

Geography
If you are injured while working offshore, we can evaluate the facts of your case even if you are injured in another country, on another continent.  We have handled maritime injury cases worldwide for over 45 years.

Primary practice area is in state and federal courts located in Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, Angleton, Bay City, Corpus Christi and Brownsville, Texas, but our attorneys handle cases throughout Texas for catastrophic personal injury cases.

We have had clients in all 50 states, and have handled cases in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, New York and California.

The firm has represented clients from Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Israel and other countries.

Offices
Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer and Harris maintains offices in Houston and in Galveston, where meetings are by appointment only.

Videos

Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims:

Pirate Hostage Escapee Still Coping

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FAQ

Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims

• Should I discuss settling my claim with my employer or their claims adjuster?

• How much is my claim worth?

• Should I try to return to work after I am hurt?

Houston Car Accident Attorneys

• How much money can I get for my Houston Auto Accident Claims?
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  What kind of injuries result from Houston Car Accidents?

  
  

• What are some of the reasons for Houston car accidents and fatalities?

Railroad Injury Lawyers | FELA Claims

• How long do I have before I resolve my railroad injury claim?
• Should I give the claim agent a recorded statement?
• When I suffer an injury, what do I need to do?

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Resources

• Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims
• Houston Car Accident Attorneys
• Houston Motorcycle Accidents
• Railroad Injury Lawyers | FELA Claims
• Government Agencies
• Private Agencies
• General

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