Maritime Wrongful Death Attorney: Your Legal Rights After an Offshore Accident

Undefeated Maritime Wrongful Death Lawyers

Maritime occupations are inherently dangerous and all too often fatal.

In fact, according to a report recently published by the International Marine Contractors Association, fatalities in maritime and offshore industries more than doubled in 2025, even as injury rates improve. In other words, falling injury numbers don’t necessarily mean conditions are becoming safer for offshore and maritime workers. The risks associated with these jobs haven’t gone away; their consequences have only grown more deadly.

Admiralty law recognizes the enormous toll inflicted on families in the wake of a fatal maritime accident or explosion, and provides powerful legal remedies to help survivors begin rebuilding their lives. While no amount of money can ever compensate for this kind of grief, understanding and enforcing those rights is often the only way those left behind will ever achieve any sense of justice.

Having won billions in connection with some of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent history, our Undefeated Houston Maritime Lawyers not only understand the nuances inherent to the Jones Act and other maritime laws, but we also know how to use that knowledge to hold maritime companies accountable and ensure our clients recover the maximum compensation allowable, including:

Voted Maritime Lawyer of the Year in 2026

The Deadliest Maritime Jobs

Working on the high seas carries enormous risk, but some maritime workers are far more likely to die on the job than others, including:

Commercial fishing: Few workers face as much danger on the job as the men and women who man the nation’s commercial fishing fleet, where the fatality rate was a staggering 28 times higher during one recent five-year period
Offshore oil and gas: According to one recent investigation, deaths among offshore oil and gas workers are likely undercounted. But even with missing data, we know the six work-related deaths reported by the offshore drilling industry in 2019 exceeded those reported in the previous five years combined. At least three fatalities weren’t even included in the official tally that year: two connected with a helicopter crash on its way to a rig and a third deemed non-work-related.
Cargo ships, tankers, and general commercial vessels: The European Maritime Safety Agency tracked an average of 57 “very serious” marine casualties worldwide annually from 2020 through 2024.
Ports, harbors, and marine terminals: According to federal labor data, workers in transportation and materials moving occupations—which include those employed at ports, harbors, and marine terminals—are nearly seven times more likely to die on the job than the average American worker.

As nationally recognized maritime attorneys, we’ve found that far too many of these deaths are entirely preventable. Again and again, tremendous suffering could have been avoided had a maritime company or offshore operator not chosen to put profit ahead of safety.

Leading Causes of Maritime Wrongful Death

There are many ways a worker can die at sea. But according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, maritime wrongful deaths tend to fall into a handful of recurring categories:

Transportation accidents: This is the single largest cause of offshore fatalities, accounting for roughly half of all deaths in the CDC’s data. Three-quarters of the transportation-related deaths logged by the agency involved offshore workers being transported to worksites via helicopter.
Struck-by and caught-between incidents: Workers who are hit by or caught between cranes, drilling equipment, and other heavy machinery account for 16% of offshore oil and gas fatalities, according to the same CDC data.
Fires and explosions: Well blowouts, uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases, and blowout preventer or pressure control system failures caused 13% of offshore oil and gas fatalities recorded by the CDC.
Exposure to harmful substances or environments: Hydrogen sulfide, a gas naturally present in many oil and gas formations, and oxygen-deficient air in confined spaces like tanks and storage containers, caused another 13% of offshore oil and gas fatalities.
Electrocution, falls from height, and mooring line failures: All three were cited as leading causes of death in the International Marine Contractors Association’s 2025 Safety Statistics Report. Falls overboard alone killed 204 maritime workers during the 16 years analyzed for the study.

Maritime deaths can occur hundreds and even thousands of miles offshore, far from emergency medical help. While no agency tracks those numbers, delayed medical response likely contributes to some of the work-related fatalities reported in maritime and offshore industries every year.

How the Law Approaches a Maritime Wrongful Death

Work-related deaths in maritime industries aren’t subject to state workers’ compensation laws. Instead, they’re governed by a complicated framework of statutes explicitly enacted for the benefit of maritime and offshore workers and their families.

The Jones Act

Officially known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the Jones Act applies to maritime workers classified as “seamen”. When a seaman is killed on the job, this statute allows surviving family members to pursue several avenues of compensation:

Jones Act Wrongful Death Claim: Families can sue their loved one’s employer when unsafe practices, inadequate training, faulty equipment, or lack of safety protocols caused or contributed to the death
Unseaworthiness claims: The vessel owner can be liable for a maritime wrongful death if the ship lacked proper equipment, was poorly maintained, or had an underqualified crew. The owner doesn’t have to be aware of the unsafe condition. To win an unseaworthiness claim, you only have to prove that it existed and that it played a role in your loved one’s death.
Jones Act Survival Claim: In addition to a wrongful death claim, families can pursue compensation for the pain, suffering, and medical expenses their loved one experienced between the time they were injured and the time they died.

To pursue these remedies, your loved one must meet the legal definition of a seaman. In other words, you must be able to show:

Their job duties contributed to the vessel’s operation or the accomplishment of its mission.
They had a tangible connection to the vessel that was substantial in both duration and nature. Courts will generally consider someone a Jones Act seaman if they spend at least 30% of their working time in the service of a vessel.

Workers who typically meet the definition of a Jones Act seaman include:

Deckhands and crew members on supply boats, tugboats, dredges, and tankers
Engineers and operators running shipboard machinery
Drillers, roustabouts, and crane operators aboard rigs or drillships that qualify as vessels
Specialized technicians, like welders or ROV operators, who spend substantial time assigned to a vessel

The Death on the High Seas Act

Passed the same year as the Jones Act, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) covers deaths that occur more than three nautical miles from U.S. shores, such as:

Offshore oil and gas workers killed on platforms, drillships, or vessels beyond that limit
Mariners and seamen aboard commercial ships operating on the high seas
Offshore transport passengers, including contractors and crew ferried by helicopter
Aviation passengers and crew killed in crashes beyond U.S. territorial waters

The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act

Enacted in 1927, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) applies to maritime employees who work on or near the water but aren’t permanently assigned to a vessel, including:

Longshoremen and stevedores loading and unloading cargo
Shipbuilders and repair workers at docks and shipyards
Harbor construction workers
Crane operators and equipment handlers working on navigable waters or adjoining areas

Unlike the Jones Act, the LHWCA functions more like a workers’ compensation system and bars negligence claims against employers. Survivors eligible to pursue compensation under its provisions include a worker’s spouse and children, and in some cases parents, grandchildren, or siblings who can show dependency on the deceased.

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act

Passed to cover the growing number of oil and gas workers stationed miles offshore, this law applies to platforms and other structures permanently fixed to the seabed, including:

Drilling and production crews on fixed platforms
Maintenance and service personnel stationed on permanent offshore structures
Divers and subsea workers
Contractors and subcontractors supporting platform operations

This law provides the same structured benefits available under the LHWCA, and, like that statute, bars families from suing their loved one’s employer directly.

Compensation After a Maritime Fatality

Maritime wrongful death laws exist to provide those left behind with a means of securing their future. However, the compensation available will depend on the nature of the worker’s job, the circumstances of the accident or explosion that caused their death, and the specific laws that apply to their occupation:

Jones Act Compensation

If your loved one met the definition of a Jones Act seaman, you can pursue compensation for:

Loss of financial support: The income the worker would have earned and contributed to the family over their remaining work-life expectancy
Loss of services: The monetary value of the household labor, childcare, maintenance, and other contributions the worker would have provided
Nurture to dependent children: Compensation for the loss of a parent’s care, guidance, and training
Pre-death medical expenses: Out-of-pocket costs tied to any hospitalization or treatment the worker received before dying
Funeral expenses: The cost of burial or cremation
Pre-death pain and suffering: Compensation for the conscious physical and emotional suffering the worker experienced before death, recovered through a survival claim

DOHSA Compensation

If your loved one died more than three nautical miles from U.S. shores, the Death on the High Seas Act allows you to recover compensation for the pecuniary, or financial, losses resulting from their death, including:

Lost financial support
Lost household services
Funeral expenses

LWHSA and the OCSLA Compensation

If your loved one was covered under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, you and your family are entitled to receive:

Death benefits: Calculated as a percentage of the worker’s average weekly wage
Spousal benefits: Continue until death or remarriage
Children’s benefits: Continue until adulthood
Funeral expenses: Capped at a statutory maximum of $3,000, which has been in place since 1984

Maritime Wrongful Death: Other Frequently Asked Questions

Can my family still recover damages for maritime wrongful death if my loved one was partly at fault for the accident?

Yes. Claims filed under the Jones Act, DOHSA, and general maritime law are subject to a pure comparative negligence standard. That means a family’s compensation is reduced by the deceased worker’s percentage of fault, but it’s never barred outright, no matter how high that percentage is. So if a jury finds your loved one 40 percent at fault, your recovery is reduced by 40 percent, but not eliminated. Even if they’re found to be 99 percent at fault, your family is still entitled to the remaining 1 percent. However, both the LHWCA and OCSLA are no-fault systems that compensate families regardless of the circumstances of their loved one’s death.

Can my family still recover damages if my family member wasn’t a U.S. citizen?

Generally, yes. DOHSA extends its remedy to a decedent’s spouse, parent, child, or dependent relative regardless of nationality, and Jones Act protections apply so long as the deceased met the legal definition of a seaman. However, the LHWCA and OCSLA work differently for survivors living outside the U.S. or Canada: benefits are still available, but the law limits which relatives qualify as dependents and may pay out as a reduced lump sum rather than ongoing payments.

What if more than one maritime law applies to my loved one’s death?

It’s common for more than one statute to come into play, particularly when a death occurs near the three-nautical-mile boundary or involves both an employer and a separate at-fault party. If a seaman is killed on the high seas, for example, their family may be able to bring a Jones Act claim against the employer and a DOHSA claim against a different, at-fault third party at the same time. An experienced maritime attorney can help determine which laws apply to your specific case and how to pursue every available claim.

What are the deadlines for filing a maritime wrongful death claim?

Maritime wrongful death claims are subject to statutes of limitations that set strict deadlines for filing a claim. However, your specific deadline will depend on the maritime laws that apply to your case:

Jones Act claims: must generally be filed within three years of the seaman’s death
DOHSA claims: also subject to a three-year deadline
LHWCA and OCSLA claims: require the employer to be notified within 30 days of the death, and a formal claim filed within one year.

If you miss your deadline, you surrender all rights to recover compensation. It’s in your best interest to talk with a maritime attorney as soon as possible to ensure there’s enough time to gather evidence and build a case before time runs out.

What should I do after a maritime death?

While it’s hard to see a path forward in the immediate aftermath of a maritime death, it’s important to act quickly to secure your legal rights:

Request a copy of the official incident report from the employer or vessel operator
Preserve personal effects, photos, or communications related to the accident
Get contact information for any witnesses or fellow crew members
Avoid signing anything or accepting a quick settlement before speaking with an attorney
Collect financial records, such as pay stubs and tax returns, showing your loved one’s contributions
Keep track of all communications, expenses, and bills, including funeral and medical costs
Contact one of our experienced maritime attorneys as soon as possible, since evidence like vessel logs and safety reports can disappear quickly without legal action to preserve it.

Contact our Undefeated Maritime Lawyers at 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consultation

Our Undefeated Maritime Attorneys know what it takes to win against the largest maritime companies in the world, and we never accept anything less than the maximum compensation our clients deserve.

If you lost a loved one after a maritime accident or explosion, we’re ready to help. Call 1-888-603-3636, use the chat button on our homepage, or send us a confidential message through our website.

Your consultation is completely free, and because we only represent clients on a contingency basis, you’ll owe us nothing unless we win your case.

Maritime Wrongful Death: Your Rights After a Fatal Offshore Accident or Explosion