There are many dangers that offshore workers face on the job

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has long been tracking outer continental shelf worker injuries. The federal agency has required all employers who operate in these waters to report any injuring incidents that caused workers to seek medical attention or miss one or more days from work since July 2006. Some factors cause more offshore worker injuries than others.

Some 28 collisions occurred on the outer continental shelf in 2008. This was the largest number of accidents that happened offshore between 2006 and 2017. While there weren’t any such collisions in 2014, BSEE data shows that there were 11 that occurred during 2017.

Lifting injuries are one of the leading ways that offshore workers got hurt in 2009. At least 243 of these individuals were hurt that year. During 2017, the most recent year reported, some 126 workers were hurt in similar instances.

Fires and explosions are another leading cause of offshore worker injuries. At least 148 individuals were hurt on the job in one of these types of incidents in 2009. A little more than half that number of workers were injured in similar incidents in 2017.

There were at least 70 injuring incidents involving evacuations and musters in 2015. This was the highest amount of all the years from 2006 through 2017. There were a reported 53 accidents of this sort in 2017.

Two other leading causes of offshore worker injuries during the better part of the last decade were spills and gas releases. At least 33 individuals employed in this field were injured in spills in 2008, whereas only 17 were hurt in similar incidents in 2017. Some 33 workers were injured in gas releases in 2009. This factor accounted for 16 employee injuries in 2017.

The deadliest years for offshore workers in recent history have been 2008 and 2010. There were 12 reported employee fatalities each of those years. There were none in 2017.

There are many dangers associated with being an offshore worker. This is why you must know what your rights are under the Jones Act. It may entitle you to medical care and lost wages. Only certain individuals qualify for such benefits though. An attorney experienced in the Jones Act can advise you of your right to compensation if you’ve been hurt on the job while at sea here in Manhattan or elsewhere in New York.