Louisiana Offshore Slip & Fall / Fall Overboard Lawyer

Slip and fall injuries are the single most common serious injury category in maritime and offshore work, and fall overboard incidents are among the most dangerous. Vessel and platform decks that are constantly wet from seawater, rain, drilling mud, oil, and condensation, are the most hazardous work surfaces in any industry. When non-skid wears out, drainage is inadequate, lighting is poor, and guardrails are absent or defective, the result is a predictable stream of serious injuries that employers attempt to characterize as worker carelessness.

They are employer negligence. And at The Maritime Injury Law Firm, George Vourvoulias has spent 20 years proving that — and winning compensation for the workers who paid the price.

Call (504) 584-6300 — free consultation, 24/7. No fee unless we win.

Why Offshore Slip and Falls Are Different from Other Slip and Falls

An offshore or vessel slip and fall is not the same as a retail slip and fall. Several factors make maritime deck falls uniquely dangerous and legally distinct:

Moving surfaces: a vessel’s pitch and roll adds an unpredictable dynamic to any fall, directing force in ways that amplify injury severity and make it impossible for a worker to protect themselves in the way they might on land
Steel surfaces: vessel decks are steel. Falling on steel is categorically different from falling on a concrete or tile floor. Head impacts, hip impacts, and shoulder impacts on steel produce serious injuries at impact velocities that might produce minor injuries on softer surfaces
Remote location: emergency medical response offshore is far away. A worker who suffers a serious spinal injury or head injury on a vessel hundreds of miles offshore will not receive definitive medical care for hours
The unseaworthiness doctrine: vessel owners have an absolute duty to maintain seaworthy decks with adequate non-skid, drainage, and lighting. This absolute liability standard is not available in ordinary premises liability law

What Causes Offshore Slip and Fall Injuries

Worn and inadequate non-skid surfaces

Marine non-skid deck coating is the primary defense against slip and fall injuries on vessel decks. When non-skid wears down, through years of foot traffic, chemical exposure, and weathering, deck surfaces become dangerously slippery, particularly when wet. Regular inspection and recoating of non-skid is a vessel maintenance obligation. Failure to maintain non-skid is one of the most common unseaworthiness findings in maritime slip and fall cases.

Spilled oil, fuel, and drilling mud

Vessel decks are continuously contaminated by hydraulic fluid leaks, fuel spills, drilling mud drips, and fish slime on fishing vessels. Without adequate drainage systems and prompt cleanup protocols, these substances create invisible slip hazards. Workers operating in these conditions, particularly at night or in poor visibility, have no warning before they fall.

Inadequate lighting

Offshore workers operate around the clock. Night watch duties, emergency deck operations, and routine maintenance occur in lighting conditions that are often inadequate for safe movement on a vessel deck. Burned-out deck lights, absent deck lighting on older vessels, and glare from work lights that creates blinding contrast are all documented causes of slip and fall injuries.

Defective ladders and stairways

Ladder wells and stairways on vessels are subject to corrosion, wear, and inadequate maintenance. Missing handrails, worn treads, inadequate non-skid strips on steps, and improperly angled ladders all create fall hazards that produce serious injuries. Falls in confined ladder wells, where a worker cannot arrest their fall, frequently result in the most severe injuries.

Absent or defective guardrails

Open decks, elevated platforms, catwalk areas, and work areas adjacent to open water require adequate guardrails. When guardrails are absent, corroded, or at incorrect heights, a worker who slips or stumbles at a deck edge can go overboard or fall to a lower deck. These conditions are pure unseaworthiness.

Fall Overboard — A Separate and Extreme Danger

A fall overboard from a vessel underway in the Gulf of Mexico or Louisiana’s waterways is a life-threatening emergency.

The hazards multiply rapidly:

Propeller risk: a worker who falls overboard from a moving vessel may be struck by the propeller before the vessel can stop
Cold water shock: water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana’s inland waterways, particularly in winter months, can cause incapacitation within minutes
Currents: the Mississippi River’s powerful current can carry a person overboard faster than a vessel can maneuver to recover them
Distance to shore: in open Gulf operations, a worker overboard may be many miles from any shore-based assistance
Recovery time: even with proper man-overboard procedures, recovery can take many minutes, during which drowning, hypothermia, and traumatic injury from vessel impact all present immediate risks

Fall overboard cases involve claims based on absent or defective guardrails, failure to require personal flotation devices during hazardous deck operations, inadequate man-overboard drills and equipment, and in some cases, failure to properly execute recovery operations.

Your Legal Rights After a Maritime Slip and Fall

Maritime slip and fall cases on vessels involve two overlapping theories of recovery that are not available in standard premises liability law:

Jones Act negligence: Your employer’s failure to maintain safe deck conditions, adequate lighting, and proper non-skid is actionable negligence. Any negligence that contributed to your fall — however slight — satisfies the Jones Act standard.

Unseaworthiness: The vessel owner’s absolute duty to provide a seaworthy vessel includes a deck that is reasonably fit for use. No fault or knowledge of the defect is required — if the deck condition was unsafe and contributed to your injury, the owner is liable.

The combination of these two theories gives maritime slip and fall cases significantly more legal leverage than a standard premises liability claim.

What to Do After an Offshore Slip and Fall

Report in writing immediately. Fill out an injury report describing every unsafe condition. This document becomes critical evidence.
Document everything. Photograph the scene, equipment, and your injuries. Get witness names and contact information.
Don’t give a recorded statement. The company adjuster works for your employer. Do not speak with them before calling an attorney.
Choose your own doctor. You have a legal right to an independent physician. Exercise it from day one.
Call us before signing anything. Early settlement offers are almost always worth a fraction of case value. Call (504) 584-6300 first.

Photograph the exact location of your fall immediately — before the deck is cleaned or repaired. The condition of the non-skid, the presence of any liquid, the state of the lighting, and the condition of any guardrail that should have been present are all critical evidence. Company personnel frequently clean up slip hazards or conduct repairs within hours of an accident. Your photographs may be the only evidence of what the condition actually was.

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 Clients 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."

— 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. George's plan worked and he got 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 Slip & Fall and Fall Overboard Injuries

The company says I fell because I wasn’t paying attention. Does that affect my claim?

Under the Jones Act’s comparative fault system, your employer bears liability for any negligence that contributed to your fall, even if you were also inattentive. If the deck was inadequately non-skid, if the lighting was poor, or if a spill had not been cleaned up, those conditions contributed to your fall regardless of your attentiveness. The question is proportional fault allocation, not all-or-nothing. Employers routinely and aggressively overstate worker fault in slip and fall cases because they know it affects settlement value. Don’t accept their characterization without independent legal advice.

I fell overboard and survived, but I have not fully recovered. What am I entitled to?

A fall overboard that results in near-drowning, cold water exposure, or traumatic injury during the fall or recovery is a serious maritime injury claim. You are entitled to maintenance and cure from the date of injury through maximum medical improvement, a Jones Act negligence claim for any employer negligence that contributed to the fall, and an unseaworthiness claim if absent or defective guardrails or deck conditions contributed. If you experienced a near-drowning event, get a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation — anoxic brain injury from oxygen deprivation during near-drowning can produce cognitive deficits that may not be apparent in your initial post-rescue medical evaluation.

I slipped on stairs inside the vessel, not on deck. Is that covered?

Yes. The Jones Act and unseaworthiness doctrine apply to conditions throughout the vessel — not just on the main deck. Interior stairways, ladder wells, passageways, and work areas below deck are all part of the seaworthy vessel requirement. A defective ladder, worn stair tread, or slippery interior passageway that causes a fall is as actionable as an exterior deck condition.

My fall happened while I was off watch in my bunk room. I fell getting out of my bunk. Do I have a claim?

Possibly. The Jones Act protects seamen from injuries sustained ‘in the service of the ship’ — a broad standard that includes injuries that occur while the seaman is on the vessel, even during off-duty time. An injury that occurs because of a defective bunk, an inadequate ladder to an upper bunk, or slippery flooring in crew quarters may qualify as a Jones Act claim. The specific facts determine whether the injury occurred in service of the ship.

Contact a Louisiana Offshore Slip & Fall Lawyer

Whether you slipped on a wet deck, fell on a defective ladder, or went overboard in the Gulf of Mexico or Louisiana’s waterways, The Maritime Injury Law Firm is here to fight for what you’re owed. Call today — free and confidential.

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

Let us help you right the ship.

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