Shaffer Files Claim For Client Injured On Jackup Rig

Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. managing partner Matthew Shaffer recently filed a Jones Act lawsuit on behalf of a client who was injured while evacuating a jack up rig that was struck by another vessel while docked in Sabine Pass.

Our client is 44 years old and lives in Temple Hills, Maryland. He was working as a camp boss for Aramark, a catering company that was servicing Spartan Offshore Drilling’s jack up rig in Sabine Pass, on the Texas-Louisiana border.

As a camp boss, our client’s job was overseeing catering for the rig’s crew while it was docked in Sabine Pass. On April 28, 2014, he was aboard the Spartan 303 jack up rig when another vessel, the Grey Fox, struck the Spartan 303 as the Grey Fox was traveling through.

Our client and other workers were evacuated from the Spartan 303 when the accident occurred. While evacuating from the rig on a gangway, he lost his balance and fell due to inadequate ingress and egress from the vessel. The fall caused injury to his back and extremities.

On behalf of the injured worker, Mr. Shaffer filed a lawsuit under the Jones Act and general maritime laws against employer Aramark U.S. Offshore Services LLC, the rig owner/operator Spartan Offshore Drilling, as well as the owner and operator of the other vessel, Grey Fox.

The lawsuit states the entities named were negligent in failing to provide a safe evacuation route and failing to properly train crewmembers in safety and emergency procedures. The claim seeks damages for past and future lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, past and future medical and pharmaceutical expenses, maintenance and cure from his employer, and pain and suffering, and punitive damages for his employer’s failure to provide maintenance and cure.

“This case illustrates that all maritime workers, even those that are in port, are at risk for injury,” Mr. Shaffer said. “The entities responsible for this occurrence owe my clients a debt that is now due and payable.”

Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., Accident & Injury Lawyers is a Houston-based law firm representing clients from across the U.S. and worldwide in maritime injury claims. If you’ve been injured on a vessel, offshore, or in a port, contact us today for assistance.