★★★★★
Board-Certified · 45+ Years Combined Maritime Experience
Hurt on a Vessel
or Offshore?
The Jones Act
Is on Your Side.
As a seaman, you are not covered by workers' compensation. The Jones Act gives you far stronger rights — but only if you act fast and have a lawyer who knows maritime law. Your employer's attorneys are already moving. So should you.
Maintenance & cure starts from day one — we enforce it immediately
45+ years combined experience in Jones Act and maritime injury cases
Board-Certified trial lawyer — only 3% of TX attorneys qualify
Zero fees unless we win your Jones Act claim
Free Jones Act Case Review
Maritime injury · Offshore · Seaman rights · 24/7
🔒 Confidential · No obligation · Available 24/7 · $0 unless we win
45+
Years Combined Maritime Experience
1,500+
5-Star Client Reviews
Top 3%
Board-Certified in TX
$0
Unless We Win
Jones Act Attorney Brian White
Fighting for Injured Seamen and Maritime Workers Across Houston & the Gulf Coast
Why Injured Seamen and Maritime Workers Choose Brian White
The Jones Act Is Federal Law. Your Employer Knows It. Now You Need a Lawyer Who Does Too.
The moment you are hurt on a vessel, your employer's maritime lawyers begin building their defense. They will dispute whether you qualify as a seaman. They will argue your injury was your own fault. They will try to terminate your maintenance and cure benefits before you reach Maximum Medical Improvement. Houston is one of the top maritime cities in America — the Port of Houston, the third-largest marina in the country, and tens of thousands of workers on docks, ships, and offshore rigs. Attorney Brian White has spent 20+ years representing those workers against employers and insurers who know exactly how to minimize what they owe. He is Board-Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law — a credential held by fewer than 3% of Texas attorneys — and his firm has handled Jones Act, LHWCA, and general maritime injury cases across the Gulf Coast for 45+ combined years.
Brian White
Board-Certified · Personal Injury Trial Law · Houston Jones Act & Maritime Injury Attorney
45+ years of combined firm experience representing injured seamen, offshore workers, longshoremen, and maritime workers across Houston and the Gulf Coast. Member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. 10/10 Avvo rating. 1,500+ five-star reviews. Brian knows maritime law — and the employers and insurance companies on the other side know it too.
Board Certified
Jones Act Specialist
Multi-Million $ Advocate
10/10 Avvo
Available 24/7
We Handle Every Type of Maritime and Offshore Injury
What Kind of Maritime Injury Were You or Your Loved One Involved In?
Select the situation that applies. We handle every type of Jones Act, LHWCA, offshore, and general maritime injury case across Houston, the Port of Houston, and throughout the Gulf Coast.
Jones Act — Vessel Injury
Seaman, crew member, deckhand, or ship worker hurt on a vessel in navigation. Includes commercial fishing vessels, tankers, tugboats, barges, and offshore supply boats.
Jones Act · 46 U.S.C. § 30104
Offshore Oil Rig or Platform
Injured on a jack-up rig, semi-submersible, production platform, drillship, or fixed offshore facility. Coverage depends on location and job classification — OCSLA or Jones Act may apply.
Jones Act · OCSLA · General Maritime Law
Longshoreman or Harbor Worker
Dock worker, longshoreman, crane operator, ship chandler, or shipyard worker injured at or near a port. The LHWCA provides federal benefits separate from the Jones Act.
LHWCA · Federal Benefits
Commercial Fishing Vessel
Injured as a commercial fisherman, crew member, or worker on a fishing vessel. Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in America — and the Jones Act fully applies.
Jones Act · Maintenance & Cure
Employer Cutting Off Benefits
Your employer stopped paying maintenance and cure before you reached Maximum Medical Improvement. This is a violation of federal maritime law — and there are additional penalties for doing it in bad faith.
Maintenance & Cure Enforcement
Maritime Wrongful Death
Surviving family of a seaman or maritime worker killed at sea, offshore, or on a vessel. The Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) provide separate wrongful death remedies.
Jones Act · DOHSA · Wrongful Death
⚓ The Rights the Jones Act Gives You — That Most Seamen Don't Know About
1
You can sue your employer directly for negligence. The Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104) gives injured seamen the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer — including for the negligence of the captain, any crew member, or unsafe vessel conditions. This is instead of workers' compensation, which does not apply to seamen at all under federal or state law.
2
Maintenance and cure begins from the day you were hurt — regardless of fault. Your employer is legally required to pay your daily living costs (maintenance) and all reasonable medical expenses (cure) from the date of injury until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement. These rights exist even if you contributed to the accident. If your employer stops paying prematurely, they can face additional penalties under maritime law.
3
Unseaworthiness creates additional liability. If the vessel, equipment, crew, or working conditions were unsafe — faulty gear, inadequate crew, improper maintenance — you may be entitled to compensation beyond maintenance and cure: pain and suffering, lost earning capacity, and future medical care. This unseaworthiness claim is separate from and in addition to the negligence claim.
4
The Jones Act has a lower burden of proof than standard personal injury. You only need to show your employer's negligence played any part — even a small one — in causing your injury. You are entitled to recover even if you were partially at fault. Your compensation may be reduced proportionally, but your maintenance and cure rights are not affected at all.
Fast. Aggressive. On Your Side.
What Happens After You Call a Houston Jones Act Lawyer
1
Free Case Review — 24/7, Right Now
Call or fill out the form. A real member of Brian's Houston maritime team picks up any hour of the day. We assess your Jones Act, LHWCA, or offshore injury situation and tell you exactly what rights you have and what your claim may be worth. No pressure. No cost. No obligation.
2
We Enforce Your Maintenance & Cure Immediately
From day one, we put your employer on notice of their obligation to pay maintenance and cure. We track every payment, push back on any underpayment or early termination, and pursue penalties if they act in bad faith. You should not be fighting your employer for medical care while you are trying to recover.
3
We Investigate Before Evidence Disappears
Vessel logs, maintenance records, drug and alcohol test results, CCTV footage, and crew statements can be altered or destroyed. We move immediately to preserve everything. We conduct on-vessel inspections when possible, retain maritime experts, and build the strongest possible unseaworthiness case before the other side can clean up their records.
4
You Get Paid. We Get Paid Only When You Do.
Every Jones Act and maritime injury case we take is handled on pure contingency. You pay nothing upfront — no retainer, no hourly fees, no case costs. Our fee comes as a percentage of what we recover for you. If we do not win, you owe us nothing. That is our promise on every single maritime case we accept.
Real Maritime Injury Clients. Real Results.
1,500+ Five-Star Reviews from Injured Workers Who Fought Back and Won
5.0
★★★★★
1,500+ Verified Client Reviews
Google · Avvo · Facebook · and more
★★★★★
"I was hurt on a supply vessel offshore and had no idea what the Jones Act was. My employer told me I had no case and cut off my maintenance payments after six weeks. Brian White's team stepped in, got my payments reinstated the same week, and eventually recovered a settlement I never expected. He knows maritime law inside and out."
★★★★★
"I'm a commercial fisherman and was seriously hurt when equipment failed. The boat owner's insurance company offered me almost nothing and kept calling claiming it was my fault. Brian White took over, proved the vessel was unseaworthy, and what we recovered was many times what they originally offered. Do not settle without calling him."
★★★★★
"My husband was killed in an offshore accident and I didn't even know what DOHSA was. Brian White's team explained everything clearly, handled the entire process, and fought for our family through every step. The wrongful death settlement gave us a future when we had nothing. They answered every call every time."
Houston Chronicle
Best of the Best 2025
Best of the Best 2025
Avvo
10/10 Rating
10/10 Rating
Multi-Million $
Advocates Forum
Advocates Forum
Board Certified
TX Trial Law
TX Trial Law
Jones Act & Maritime Injury Questions
What Injured Seamen and Maritime Workers Ask Us Most
To qualify as a seaman under the Jones Act, you must meet two requirements. First, you must work on a "vessel in navigation" — a vessel that is afloat, capable of moving, and on navigable waters. The vessel does not need to be moving, and you do not need to be working offshore. A barge or tugboat docked in a Houston port qualifies. An oil drilling platform fixed to the seabed generally does not. Second, you must spend at least 30% of your working time on that vessel and contribute to its function or mission. Eligible workers include captains, deckhands, crew members, commercial fishermen, divers, offshore supply boat workers, and many others — including non-traditional roles like cruise ship bartenders and welders on jack-up vessels. If you are a longshoreman or harbor worker, you likely have rights under the LHWCA instead. Call us and we will assess exactly which maritime law applies to your situation.
Maintenance and cure are the two fundamental rights all injured seamen have under general maritime law, completely separate from any Jones Act negligence claim. Maintenance is a daily payment covering your basic living costs — housing, food, utilities, transportation — from the date you left the vessel due to injury until you reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) or return to work. Cure covers all reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to your maritime injury, also until MMI. Your employer must pay both regardless of who caused the accident and regardless of whether you contributed to it. The rate of maintenance is often disputed — employers try to pay far less than actual living costs. If your employer terminates maintenance and cure before you reach MMI, or refuses to pay at all, they may face additional damages including attorney fees and punitive damages for "willful and wanton" disregard of your rights under maritime law.
Yes. The Jones Act uses a comparative negligence standard — and a significantly easier burden of proof than standard personal injury law. You only need to show that your employer's negligence played any part whatsoever in causing your injury, even a small one. If the vessel, equipment, working conditions, or crew training were unsafe, you may also have a separate unseaworthiness claim that does not require proving negligence at all. Even if your own negligence contributed to the accident, you can still recover — your compensation will simply be reduced by your percentage of fault. Critically, your maintenance and cure benefits are not affected by your own negligence at all. Do not accept your employer's characterization of what happened before speaking with a maritime attorney.
You have three years from the date of your maritime injury to file a Jones Act lawsuit. This statute of limitations can sometimes be extended for occupational illness or a latent injury that was not immediately apparent. However, you should contact a Houston Jones Act attorney immediately regardless — vessel logs, crew statements, drug test results, CCTV footage, and maintenance records can be altered, destroyed, or made unavailable if you wait. We have seen critical evidence disappear within weeks of a maritime accident. Preserving that evidence is often the difference between a strong case and no case at all.
Vessel owners have an absolute duty under general maritime law to provide a seaworthy vessel — one that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose, with adequate crew, proper equipment, and safe working conditions. If the vessel, its equipment, its crew, or its conditions are found to be unseaworthy, you can recover compensation beyond maintenance and cure without needing to prove the vessel owner was negligent. Unseaworthiness claims are strict liability claims — the owner is liable regardless of whether they knew about the unsafe condition. Examples include defective ropes, slippery decks, malfunctioning winches, inadequate crew size, unqualified crew members, and improperly stowed cargo. An unseaworthiness claim can significantly increase the total compensation you recover and is often run alongside a Jones Act negligence claim.
A successful Jones Act claim can recover: maintenance and cure benefits (ongoing until MMI), past and future lost wages and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish and emotional distress, future medical expenses and ongoing care costs, and if the vessel was unseaworthy, additional compensation under general maritime law. In cases where your employer acted in bad faith — denying or terminating maintenance and cure without justification — punitive damages may also be available. Wrongful death cases under the Jones Act can recover for surviving family members: lost financial support, loss of consortium, funeral expenses, and the deceased's pain and suffering prior to death. Every case is different. We provide a specific assessment of your claim's value during your free case review.
The Jones Act can apply to injuries in international waters and in some cases involving foreign-flagged vessels, but the analysis is more complex. Courts look at factors including the allegiance of the seaman, the flag of the vessel, the law of the country where the vessel is registered, the base of operations, and the connection of the injury to American maritime commerce. American seamen injured on American-flagged vessels in any waters generally have full Jones Act rights. Injuries to foreign seamen on foreign vessels raise more complex choice-of-law questions. The Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) provides a separate remedy for fatal injuries occurring more than three nautical miles from U.S. shore. Call us with the specific facts — international maritime injury is an area where getting the right lawyer matters enormously.
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Your Employer's Maritime Lawyers
Are Already Working. Call Now.
Free Jones Act case review. No upfront costs. No fees unless we win. Speak with Brian White's Houston maritime injury team any time — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every hour matters in a maritime case.
📞 (713) 909-7537Or scroll up to submit our free online case review form