Louisiana Maritime Wrongful Death Lawyer

If your husband, wife, father, son, or family member was killed in a maritime accident in Louisiana; on the Mississippi River, in the Gulf of Mexico, on a vessel, barge, platform, or during offshore operations, your family has legal rights that must be pursued with urgency, because evidence disappears and claims must be filed within strict deadlines.

At The Maritime Injury Law Firm, attorney George Vourvoulias has stood beside the families of maritime workers who lost everything in an instant. He has fought for surviving spouses and children against the same large maritime employers and insurers who move quickly after a death to minimize their exposure. He will fight for yours.

Call (504) 584-6300 — free and confidential, available 24 hours a day. No fee unless we recover.

The Legal Framework for Maritime Wrongful Death Claims

Unlike most areas of personal injury law, maritime wrongful death claims are governed by multiple different federal statutes depending on where the incident occurred and who the worker was. Identifying the correct statute, and understanding how they interact, is one of the most important tasks in these cases.

The Jones Act wrongful death claim

If the deceased was a seaman, a worker who spent at least 30% of their time aboard a vessel in navigation, surviving family members can bring a wrongful death claim under the Jones Act. Jones Act wrongful death damages include lost financial support the family would have received, loss of services, and the family’s pecuniary losses. Some courts also allow loss of society damages under the Jones Act depending on the circumstances.

Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA)

When a maritime death occurs more than three nautical miles from U.S. shores — in the open Gulf, for example — the Death on the High Seas Act governs the wrongful death claim. DOHSA (46 U.S.C. §§ 30301-30308) allows surviving family members to recover pecuniary losses: the financial support the deceased would have provided, the value of the services they would have performed for the family, and funeral expenses. DOHSA does not permit non-pecuniary damages like loss of companionship in most cases — but this limitation can sometimes be overcome depending on the specific facts. The statute of limitations for DOHSA is three years from the date of death.

General maritime law wrongful death

For deaths occurring in state navigable waters — closer to shore — general maritime law provides a wrongful death action that may allow broader damages than DOHSA, including loss of society and consortium. Louisiana state wrongful death law may also provide additional recovery depending on the circumstances.

Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA)

When a non-seaman maritime worker is killed — a longshoreman, dock worker, or harbor worker — the LHWCA provides death benefits for surviving dependents. It also preserves the right to bring a third-party negligence claim against a vessel owner or other party whose negligence caused the death.

What Damages Can the Family Recover?

The damages available to the family of a maritime worker who has been killed depend on which statute applies, but may include:

Lost financial support: the present value of what the deceased would have earned and provided to the family over their remaining working life
Lost services: the economic value of household services, childcare, and other contributions the deceased would have provided
Loss of society and companionship: the profound loss of the deceased’s love, guidance, affection, and presence (available under some maritime statutes and general maritime law)
Funeral and burial expenses
Medical expenses incurred between the injury and death
Pain and suffering: experienced by the deceased prior to death (survival action)
Punitive damages: in cases of willful and wanton employer conduct, such as the deliberate concealment of known safety defects

What Surviving Families Need to Know

Act immediately. Evidence in maritime wrongful death cases — vessel logs, black box data, witness statements, crew records, maintenance histories — can be lost, altered, or destroyed quickly after an incident. The earlier we are retained, the more effectively we can preserve the evidence that will be essential to your family’s case.

Your family will be contacted by the employer’s representatives and insurance adjusters soon after the death. They may offer condolences. They may offer an early settlement. They work for the company, not for your family. Any settlement offered in the immediate aftermath of a death is almost certainly worth a fraction of what your family is entitled to recover. Do not sign anything, accept anything, or make any formal statement before speaking with a maritime attorney.
Louisiana maritime wrongful death cases require expert analysis of the deceased’s future earnings, the family’s dependency on those earnings, and the appropriate discount rate for present value calculations. George works with forensic economists and vocational experts who provide the rigorous damages analysis these cases require.

The Nate Dugan Case

“I was working on the Mississippi River as a deckhand when we were collided with by an upbound vessel pushing 40 barges. My three crewmates died. I was the only survivor. I hired George Vourvoulias and he went to work right away. He came up with a plan on how to deal with the insurance companies and the big boat owners — it was complicated because there were lots of different companies blaming each other and blaming my crew for the collision. George’s plan worked.” — Nate Dugan, Deckhand

George represented the sole survivor of this accident and has fought for the families of workers who did not survive. He understands both the legal and human dimensions of these cases.

What to Do Immediately After a Maritime Death

Do not speak to the employer’s representatives before consulting an attorney. Their adjusters will contact you quickly. Their interests and your family’s interests are not aligned.
Do not sign any documents or accept any offers. This includes any forms the employer or their insurer says are ‘routine.’
Preserve any communications. Text messages, voicemails, emails involving your loved one’s work, the vessel, or the incident should be preserved and not deleted.
Gather information about your loved one’s work history. Employment contracts, pay stubs, union agreements, and the name of the vessel they were assigned to will all be needed.
Call us immediately. (504) 584-6300. The sooner we are involved, the better position your family is in.

The Maritime Injury Law Firm - Representing Offshore Workers - Jones Act tugboat

Why George Vourvoulias

Masters Degree in Admiralty, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans
20+ years practicing exclusively in maritime and offshore injury law
Admitted to U.S. District Courts for Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana and the Fifth Circuit
Member: Trial Lawyers College, Louisiana State Bar, New Orleans Bar, International Society of Barristers
100% contingency fee — no fee unless we recover for you
You work directly with George — not a paralegal or associate

The Maritime Injury Law Firm - Representing Offshore Workers - tugboat

What Louisiana Maritime Workers Say

"George represented me when I got injured working on a tow boat. The company was playing pretty rough with me, but George was able to get them to provide my medical care and got me a large settlement. If you work on boats, like I do, I recommend George Vourvoulias if you are looking for a lawyer who knows maritime law."

— Curtis Watson, Lead Deckhand

"I was working on the Mississippi River as a deckhand when we were collided with by an upbound vessel pushing 40 barges. I was the only survivor. I hired George Vourvoulias and he went to work right away. He listened to my story and came up with a plan on how to deal with the insurance companies and the big boat owners. George's plan worked and he was able to get a settlement that covered me for the rest of my life."

— Nate Dugan, Deckhand

"I hired George Vourvoulias after I suffered a back injury at work and a surgery that left me worse off than I was before. George explained everything to me and guided me through the process."

— Darren Holmes

Frequently Asked Questions About Maritime Wrongful Death

My husband was killed on a fixed offshore platform, not a vessel. Does our family have a claim?

Yes. Workers killed on fixed offshore platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf are covered by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) and the LHWCA. Surviving family members can receive LHWCA death benefits and pursue third-party negligence claims against vessel owners, contractors, and equipment manufacturers whose negligence contributed to the death. The OCSLA may also allow direct negligence claims against the platform operator.

What is the statute of limitations for a maritime wrongful death claim?

Jones Act wrongful death claims: three years from the date of death. DOHSA claims: three years from the date of death. LHWCA death claims: one year from the date of death, with notification requirements. These deadlines are strictly enforced. Call immediately — do not wait.

The employer is offering our family a quick settlement. Should we accept it?

You should not accept any settlement without independent legal evaluation. Early settlements offered by maritime employers after a fatality are almost always calibrated to resolve the family’s claim at minimum cost to the company. The actuarial value of a young offshore worker’s lost earnings over a working lifetime, plus the family’s loss of society, frequently produces damages in the millions. The only way to know whether an offer is fair is to have it evaluated by an attorney who has handled these cases. The consultation is free and the evaluation is confidential.

Contact a Louisiana Maritime Wrongful Death Lawyer

If your family has lost a loved one in a maritime accident in Louisiana, The Maritime Injury Law Firm is ready to fight for everything your family is owed. Call today — free and confidential, 24 hours a day.

Call (504) 584-6300 — free and confidential, 24/7

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