With over 100 years of combined experienced our team of lawyers carries the knowledge you need on your side. We have successfully handled thousands of cases. Though Schechter, McElwee, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. is based in Texas we handle personal injury cases throughout the United States. The thousands of personal injury suits we have won for our clients speaks to the record of our success.

At SMSH we take on the toughest cases. Maritime and Jones Act cases, some of the most difficult to understand, are our specialty. Our experience in these cases makes SMSH the easy choice for injured maritime workers. At SMSH we work to protect every person injured while working at sea. We specialize in Jones Act/Seaman’s Injuries and are ready to help you if you have been hurt. Throughout the Gulf of Mexico, the coastal regions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and on inland waters, on-the-job injuries and deaths occur too often. Offshore workers routinely suffer injuries caused by dangerous conditions.

The Jones Act protects crew members of a vessel in the event they are injured. This law applies to inland river workers and offshore crew members who work on jack-ups, semi-submersibles, barges, drill ships, tugs and towboats, crew boats, dredges, floating cranes, tankers, cargo ships, fishing vessels, chemical ships, research vessels, construction barges, diving vessels, cruise ships, recreational boats, and other floating or movable vessels.  Whether you are a seaman, an officer, a harbor pilot, an oil worker, a technician, a helicopter pilot, work on a tugboat, casino boat, barge, ship, supply boat, semi-submersible drilling rig, jack-up drilling rig or if you become injured on or near the water, you should talk to a maritime law attorney before making a claim or as soon as possible thereafter.

Our attorneys represent injured workers and their families in serious injury and wrongful death claims governed by the Jones Act and related laws.  If a member of your family has been seriously injured or killed as a result of a maritime accident or offshore injury, it is extremely important that you get legal advice before you contact the employer or its insurance company.  Representing injured seamen, sailors, and offshore workers has always been at the heart of our law practice.  Since the inception of SMSH, our attorneys have repeatedly obtained positive results for seamen with Jones Act and general maritime law claims.

Our maritime attorneys have won hundreds of cases covered by the Jones Act, Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), and Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA).

If you think you may have a maritime law claim, please call us at 1-800-282-2122. We are a maritime law firm and we will confidentially speak with you about your injury and answer your questions about maritime law.  No matter where you live, SMSH can help you get the help you need.