Zehl & Associates Secures Largest Maritime Settlement in Texas for 2025

$16 million Jones Act recovery for injured offshore drillship worker recognized by TopVerdicts as the top maritime injury settlement in Texas

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last year Zehl & Associates secured a $16 million settlement on behalf of an injured offshore worker — a result recognized by TopVerdicts as both the largest reported Jones Act maritime settlement in Texas for 2025 and one of the most significant legal recoveries in the state across all practice areas for the year.

The Case

The recovery stemmed from an offshore accident involving a floorhand working aboard a drillship in the Gulf of Mexico. The worker suffered significant injuries after an incident involving equipment in the vessel’s moonpool area.

Following extensive litigation and trial preparation, Zehl & Associates secured the settlement shortly before trial.

“Offshore workers do some of the most physically demanding and dangerous work in the world. When the companies they work for fail to give them a safe place to do that work, we hold them fully accountable” said Zehl & Associates founder Ryan Zehl.

A National Leader in Maritime and Jones Act Law

The recovery strengthens Zehl & Associates’ standing as one of the country’s preeminent maritime and offshore injury law firms. Lawdragon has recognized both Mr. Zehl and trial lawyer Eric Allen among the nation’s leading maritime lawyers. The firm represents injured seamen, offshore workers, contractors, and their families in matters involving the Jones Act, general maritime law, drillship and platform accidents, vessel explosions, and catastrophic workplace injuries throughout U.S. waters.

About Zehl & Associates

Zehl & Associates PC is an undefeated Houston-based personal injury law firm representing accident victims across Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and the United States. The firm has secured billions of dollars in record-breaking verdicts and settlements against the largest trucking, oil and gas, maritime, and petrochemical companies in the world. Practice areas include truck and 18-wheeler accidents; oilfield accidents; maritime and Jones Act claims; refinery and plant explosions; and catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases nationwide.

For more information, visit zehllaw.com.