What Evidence Do You Need After an Offshore Injury?

Why Evidence Matters So Much

Maritime injury cases are documents-driven. The vessel maintains logs and reports. The crew creates statements, JSAs, and safety meeting records. The company runs an internal investigation. Coast Guard reporting and chemical testing add further layers. Two to three years from now, when the case is in trial preparation, the question will be: what records exist, and what do they say?

The records that matter most are usually the ones created in the first hours and days. Many of them — text messages, voicemail, vessel CCTV, draft incident reports, daily communications — disappear quickly. The earlier you act, the better your evidence record.

Five Categories of Records to Preserve

1. Status and Employment Records

Because seaman status is frequently disputed, all records showing the worker’s relationship to the employer, the vessel, and any fleet matter:

• personnel file;
• offer letter or contract;
• job description;
• payroll records and time records;
• hitch schedules;
• crew rosters;
• vessel assignments and voyage history;
• training records.

These materials bear directly on whether the worker had the substantial vessel connection required by Chandris and whether the defendant is the proper Jones Act employer.

2. Incident and Liability Records

Materials showing how the incident occurred and what the onboard condition was at the time:

• incident reports;
• captain’s or master’s reports;
• witness statements;
• photographs and video;
• emails, text messages, and radio communications;
• safety meeting records;
• job safety analyses (JSAs);
• permit records;
• inspection records;
• maintenance and repair records;
• post-incident corrective-action documents.

3. Vessel and Voyage Records

Where the event may constitute a reportable marine casualty, voyage records become especially important:

• deck logs;
• engine logs;
• bell books;
• navigation charts;
• radio logs;
• crew lists;
• official logbooks;
• any other vessel records relevant to the incident.

4. Medical and Damages Records

On the damages side:

• onboard treatment notes;
• medic logs;
• telemedical consultation records;
• evacuation or transfer records;
• EMS records;
• hospital records and imaging;
• prescriptions;
• work restrictions and disability notes;
• wage and benefit records;
• any maintenance-and-cure communications, payments, or denials.

5. Drug and Alcohol Testing Records

If the incident is or may become a serious marine incident, chemical testing of directly involved personnel may be required. Test results, refusals, and protocol issues all become part of the record. Chain-of-custody documentation matters.

What to Do in the First 72 Hours

1. Get medical attention. Do not minimize the injury. Tell the medical provider how the injury happened.
2. Report the injury in writing if you can. Keep a copy.
3. Identify witnesses. Get names, contact information, and what they saw.
4. Photograph and video the scene, equipment, and any injury — if you safely can.
5. Save text messages, emails, and any communications about the incident.
6. Do not give a recorded statement to your employer’s insurance carrier without your own lawyer.
7. Keep copies of every form, payment stub, and communication you receive after the injury.
8. Call a maritime lawyer.

Bottom Line

The single most important thing you can do after an offshore injury — after getting medical care — is preserve the record. Phone calls, photographs, screenshots, copies of paperwork. The case you build later starts in the first 72 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. I can’t get to the vessel logs myself. Is that a problem?

No. Once a maritime lawyer is involved, the appropriate preservation letters can be sent to the employer, the vessel owner, the insurer, and other custodians. The earlier this happens, the better.

Q2. I’ve already given a recorded statement. What do I do?

Stop. Do not give any further recorded statements. Call a maritime lawyer. We work with the record we have.

Q3. Can the employer destroy or hide records?

Federal maritime law and federal civil procedure impose preservation duties on parties to litigation. Once a claim is reasonably anticipated, records subject to preservation obligations cannot be destroyed without legal exposure. A timely litigation hold is part of the maritime lawyer’s job.