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Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. - When to make a claim
[GRAPHIC: When To Make a Claim... and When Not To.]
STEVE GORDON: This, this part of the tape is going to cover basically when to make a claim and when not to. When you--if you got hurt, you should report your injury. And don't be afraid to say what it is that was wrong. Because they're going to--you know, if you make a claim, believe me and if you, if you say well I did it all, they're going to try and shove that reported claim down your throat.
So if, if there was oil on the deck, if a piece of equipment broke, if somebody didn't put a hatch cover on, if you didn't have good lighting, whatever, think about it and make sure and put that on there. Now not putting it on there is not fatal to your claim, it just makes it a bit harder. So, you know, it's very important to report your claim. Plus, on, on most injuries at sea, the Coast Guard, the United States Coast Guard requires the reporting of a claim.
And so I'd like to talk about that once you make your claim, it's important for the employer to give you medical care. They have a duty to provide medical care to you. And some of it could be just something onboard the vessel, maybe some Tylenol or whatever. But if it doesn't put the pain away, you need to make sure and tell your employer about this, because they have a duty to get you to shore to get medical care.
Now, I will tell you that there--the employers do not like you to make claims. I mean, let's face it, they don't like it. Their insurance companies don't like it and they don't like it. But you have rights, and those rights are your rights and they are given to you under the Jones Act, which has been around for right now 89 years, almost 90 years. And then those rights were even dated back to the time of the Vikings. So the mariner's rights have been protected for centuries and centuries.
So I would ask you, do not let your employer, anybody at your employer, the insurance adjuster who might come and talk to you, intimidate you. With their law firm, with a law firm on your side, then you've got a bat also. In other words, so it's not just you being intimidated. They can intimidate them. And the goal here is to make sure that you're fairly compensated.
The law firm shouldn't make a mountain out of a molehill, but they should make sure and figure out whether you're completely--you know, what's hurt on you. You know, you, you may not know it, and you may have a herniated disk. If the law firm doesn't send you to a doctor that request an MRI to find out, you may settle your claim without even knowing you have a herniated disk. And once you settle your claim, that's it. Now, so, so that's the first factor.
The second thing is you're probably thinking, you know how, how am I going to pay my bills if I can't work. Now, at Gordon and Elias, they actually advance you money interest-free on your claim. In other words, we, we know that your claim is going to take X amount of months. We know that you're--because you're going to be receiving medical care, more the likely the doctor is going to have you not fit for duty. So we know this.
And, and, and so we sit down with you, we go over your bills and we make sure that you have the monthly amount of money to pay those bills. Don't think--oh, and by the way, there is no interest charged on that. And so we pay interest, we borrow the money, but we don't pass that interest on to you.
And that is a huge thing, and I, I, I really would ask you to--if you're contemplating hiring a law firm to check around to see if that law firm is willing to stand behind you and loan you, or advance you money interest-free for your necessary bills.
Finally, the process can take anywhere from about three months to about 18 months. And I think that it's important that you understand that the law firm of Gordon and Elias actually, you know, is like--becomes family to you. You call up and you speak to Jenny or you can call up and speak to me. You know, I, I try not to come into the office too much, but you can call me on my cell phone and you can call Todd on his cell phone. We really, really truly are like family.
[GRAPHIC: Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. Jones Act Injury Attorneys Call Toll-Free 800-773-6770 www.offshoreinjuries.com]
