PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress) & Offshore Incidents

[domer]

The "what if's" and questions rolling around in my mind after the few (mostly small) incidents I've seen on ships caused me to loose much sleep. Then there is the reports of the combat soldiers returning from iraq with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).

Has anyone been involved in a major incident? How did you deal with the stress?

I bring this up because I can't imagine what the Horizon crew members are going through at this very moment in time. Is there anything the gCaptain community can do to help the Horizon crew members that might read this forum?? Maybe just posting advice on this thread from those of you who've "been there, done that" might be helpful.

[seadawg]

I am aware that some mariners who have been abducted and held hostage in west Africia have recieved "treatment and compensation"..for the most part management keeps this very "low key"..could possibly be a career killer??

[Jones Act]

I am aware that some mariners who have been abducted and held hostage in west Africia have recieved "treatment and compensation"..for the most part management keeps this very "low key"..could possibly be a career killer??

Dea SeaDawg-

As you know we have been hired in this event due to a crew member being killed. Karl's Memorial Service was on Monday, May 3rd, 2010. At his service, there were many Transocean fellow crew members. It was extremely sad and especially so when Karl's 17 year old son took the podium to speak about his father. He did so very respectfully and, even as I type this, tears comes to my eyes when I just think about it. I remember Karl's wife turning to the Transocean crew and saying, "...you were his 'other' family, he spent half the time with ya'll and half the time with us."

Of course all of ya'll know exactly how tight you can become with your fellow co-workers. We have now also been hired by 2 or 3 additional Deepwater Horizon crew members to prosecute their claim for PTSD.

If you were a crew member on the DWH and you are experiencing some or all of the symptoms listed on this page: http://www.offshoreinjuries.com/CM/C...tic-stress.asp, I highly urge that you call a competent lawyer.

These symptoms will progress, if not treated properly, and they are clearly compensable by the Jones Act employer [Transocean] under the Jones Act. The value of the claims could range into from the hundreds of thousands into the millions of dollars depending upon the severity of the illness. These Post Traumatic Stress Disorder claims are VERY REAL and there are countless treatises, AMA Journal articles and studies providing support for the effects of treated , and untreated, PTSD.

When all this shakes out, the fault of this event is going to fall into the laps of the upper management of BP and Transocean on decisions that were made way before the actual event happened and the crew members that have lived, as well as the familly members of those brave 11, are going to pay for those decisions for the rest of their lives. That is why they need to pay these people a whole lot of money.

I want to close with this: Sometimes I hate what I do, because the law is so frail. It only allows people like us to get money for someone who has been hurt. I so wish that I could "click my heels" three times and undo what happened that fateful night but I can't. So, I, and others like me, are only left with one choice and that is to get the most possible money we can to help pay back what was taken from the injured and the affected.

[Mikey]

I am aware that some mariners who have been abducted and held hostage in west Africia have recieved "treatment and compensation"..for the most part management keeps this very "low key"..could possibly be a career killer??

Just recently theSeamen’s Church Institute (SCI) published Preliminary Guidelines: Post-Piracy Care for Seafarers, which we covered on the blog. It will be interesting to see if similar studies will be conducted on this and similar incidents.

[Jones Act]

Our firm has now been retained by two survivors of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon catastrophe and an additional three have reached out to us for advice as they are all, without any doubt whatsoever, beginning to experience the symptoms of what could develop into, if not treated properly, PTSD.

Deepwater Horizon causing PTSD will undoubtedly provide scientific and factual data on how the industry treats these suffering workers. As a practical matter, if they are truly suffering and diagnosed with PTSD [which takes a cetain amount of time to actually diagnose] their economic recovery in this disaster should be such as to provide them with an income stream suitable to their station in life without ever returning offshore if they desired to change careers. This is not good from the point of view that this is the profession that they obviously love and chose but it is some comfort for them as providers for their family.