Lockport is a shipbuilding town. Sitting on Bayou Lafourche in eastern Lafourche Parish, it is home to one of the best-known names on the bayou — Bollinger Shipyards — and to the welders, fitters, riggers, painters, machinists, and vessel crews who build and repair boats for the offshore, marine, and government fleets. It is skilled, physical, dangerous work, and when a shipyard worker is seriously hurt, the yard’s insurance team moves quickly to limit what the company pays. You should have someone moving just as quickly for you.
Kopfler & Hermann has represented injured South Louisiana workers since 1977, from our office up the bayou in Houma. We know the shipyards, fabrication yards, and vessels that Lockport families depend on, and we know how much turns on whether an injured worker is covered by federal longshore law, the Jones Act, or state comp. Call (985) 851-3311 for a free, confidential consultation. There is no fee unless we win.
Shipyard injuries fall under federal maritime law far more often than most workers expect, and the framework that applies changes what you can recover. The main ones:
Because a single shipyard injury can involve more than one of these laws, it is worth confirming your deadlines with a lawyer early.
From Houma we represent injured workers and families across Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, and St. Mary parishes — Lockport, Larose, Raceland, Mathews, Cut Off, and the communities up and down Bayou Lafourche. We travel to you when you cannot come to us, and we work on a contingency fee, so you pay no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
Is a shipyard injury covered by state workers’ comp or federal law? Most shipyard workers building or repairing vessels are covered by the federal LHWCA rather than Louisiana comp, and the benefits are generally better. If your job connects you to a vessel in navigation, the Jones Act may apply instead. The details of your work decide it.
The yard has its own doctor. Do I have to use them? Under the LHWCA you generally have the right to choose your treating physician. It is worth understanding those rights before you commit to a company-directed provider.
What does it cost to hire you? Nothing up front. We handle these cases on a contingency fee — no attorney fee unless we recover for you.
If you or a loved one was hurt in a shipyard or on a vessel, call Kopfler & Hermann at (985) 851-3311 or come see us at 306 Grinage St, Houma, LA 70360. The consultation is free and confidential, and there is no fee unless we win. Helping Houma since 1977.
This page provides general information about Louisiana and maritime injury law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Kopfler & Hermann. The laws and deadlines that apply depend on the specific facts of your case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
