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Offshore Personnel Transfer Accident Lawyer

Transfer of maritime workers from offshore installations to crew boats and docks is accomplished by various means, including helicopters, rope systems and personnel transfer baskets. Unfortunately, serious accidents can occur when standard practices, procedures and safety protocols are not followed.

If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed in a personnel transfer accident, please contact Bohrer Brady LLC, for an informative consultation about your rights and legal options.

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To discuss your situation, contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-800-876-3911.

Standard Procedures

Advance preparation and planning is absolutely essential before using a personnel transfer basket. Elements of this plan include:

  • Authority to initiate use
  • Delegation of duties
  • Plan for radio or other communication
  • Planning for various weather conditions

Optimum care in transferring maritime workers may be exercised in the following ways. All personnel should be trained in the safe use of transfer methods. Supervisors should ask users if they have used the transfer basket or other method before, or been trained to do so. Instructions should be repeated immediately before transfer. An experienced user should accompany a new user. Transfer baskets must be solidly constructed, and have both non-slip surfaces and effective hand-holds.

Maritime workers can be injured by falling, lateral or vertical impact, or immersion in the sea. Typical causes of personnel transfer accidents include:

  • Crane operator error
  • Slippery surfaces
  • Defective equipment
  • Ineffective communication during transfer
  • Motion of boats in the sea

When representing workers injured in such accidents, our attorneys may retain experts to provide testimony on the policies and procedures that should have been followed.

Contact Bohrer Brady LLC. You may also email us. We offer free confidential initial consultations with an experienced lawyer.

Drilling Rig Helicopter Transportation

Crew transfers from shore to a drilling rig often involve a helicopter. While it is an effective, quick way to manage personnel transfers, it can sometimes be dangerous. The lawyers at Bohrer Brady LLC help people who have been injured in helicopter accidents.

Helicopters are an integral method of transportation in the maritime industry. Helicopters are used to deliver supplies and crews to barges, drilling rigs, offshore platforms, oil production facilities, and other vessels in the Gulf of Mexico and other waters. They are often used in search and rescue missions and for medical evacuations. However, helicopter accidents can cause serious injuries and death.

A helicopter can develop trouble for a variety of reasons including equipment failure, pilot error, rough weather. All of these factors can contribute to a hard landing, ditching in the water, or a crash landing. Any helicopter accident can result in serious and often catastrophic injuries, and death.

When a helicopter accident causes a wrongful death due to pilot error or rough water, family members need to understand what happened and make a claim for wrongful death. Our law firm can help.

If you have suffered an injury in a helicopter accident, or if a family member has died in a fatal maritime helicopter accident, tell us about it. We will make sure you understand the laws and your rights. You do not have to deal with this alone.