Bourg sits along Bayou Terrebonne just southeast of Houma, and like most of lower Terrebonne Parish it is an offshore town at heart. Its families supply deckhands, roustabouts, welders, and crew-boat captains to the Gulf oilfield, and its driveways fill with trucks headed to the Houma Navigation Canal, Amelia, and Port Fourchon. That work pays the bills — and it puts people on decks, rigs, and vessels where a single company mistake can leave a worker badly hurt.
Kopfler & Hermann has stood up for injured South Louisiana workers since 1977. Our Houma office is minutes from Bourg, and we know the vessels, the fleets, and the maritime law that decides whether a hurt worker is treated fairly or pushed aside. Call (985) 851-3311 for a free, confidential consultation — no fee unless we win.
An offshore injury is rarely a simple workers’-comp claim. Depending on where you worked and what you were doing, several distinct bodies of federal maritime law may apply — and the company’s insurer knows exactly which one helps them most.
Which law applies changes everything about your case, and getting it wrong can cost a Bourg worker the full value of a claim.
The Jones Act generally gives an injured seaman three years to file suit (46 U.S.C. § 30106). But that window does not apply to every offshore worker. If your injury falls under the LHWCA — as many dock and fabrication-yard injuries do — you generally must report the injury within 30 days and file your claim within about one year. Those two systems are easy to confuse, and assuming you have three years when you actually have one can end a valid claim before it starts. If your case is not maritime at all, Louisiana’s personal-injury prescriptive period is two years for incidents on or after July 1, 2024. The safest step is to have your specific situation reviewed early.
From our Houma office we represent injured workers throughout Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes and across the coast — Bourg, Montegut, Chauvin, and the offshore fleets working out of the Houma Navigation Canal and Port Fourchon. We come to you when travel is hard.
Generally, yes if you have a substantial connection to a vessel or fleet in navigation — often around 30% or more of your work time aboard. Crew-boat and supply-vessel crews frequently qualify; dock and yard workers often do not and fall under the LHWCA instead. We can look at your actual duties and tell you where you stand.
Usually not. A factual incident report is normal and often required. The real concern is different: recorded insurer interviews, minimizing your injury, or signing documents that assign fault or settle your claim. If you stuck to the facts, you are likely fine — call us before you say anything more.
A seaman generally has the right to choose their own physician for the cure they are owed. If a company-selected doctor cleared you while you still have symptoms, that is a reason to call us, not to push through the pain.
Nothing up front. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee — no fee unless we win. The consultation is free.
Not necessarily. Many claims resolve without a trial. Filing suit is a tool we use when it serves your recovery, not a requirement in every case.
If you or a loved one was hurt working offshore or on the water near Bourg, talk to a lawyer who knows this coast and this law. Call Kopfler & Hermann at (985) 851-3311 for a free, confidential consultation. Our office is at 306 Grinage St, Houma, LA 70360 — helping Houma since 1977.
This page is attorney advertising and is provided for general information only; it is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Kopfler & Hermann represents injured workers and families across South Louisiana. If you are in a nearby community, we can help there too:
