Seth Blackledge

Introduction

Seth Blackledge is a maritime and offshore injury attorney at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers, representing plaintiffs in Jones Act claims, unseaworthiness cases, maintenance and cure disputes, industrial accidents, and oilfield injuries across Louisiana. His background on the defense side at major national firms gives him direct insight into how corporate defendants and insurers build maritime defenses. He now uses that knowledge on behalf of injured workers and their families.

Notable results

Mr. Blackledge’s verdicts and settlements range from $85,000 to $388,000 across commercial trucking, motor vehicle, and premises liability cases. Recent results include:

• $388,000 — A commercial truck turned left across a two-lane highway and blocked both lanes, forcing our client’s 18-wheeler to swerve and crash while the truck drove on without stopping.
• $158,000 — The at-fault driver struck our client from behind while our client had a green light.
• $132,000 — The at-fault driver, later arrested for driving under the influence, ran into the passenger side of our client’s vehicle at high speed.
• $130,000 — The at-fault driver turned left into our client’s path while entering a private driveway and never saw our client.
• $125,000 — A commercial truck struck our client from behind.
• $118,000 — A commercial vehicle struck the car our client was riding in from behind.
• $116,000 — Our client was a passenger when the at-fault driver ran a red light and struck the vehicle on the passenger side.
• $110,000 — The at-fault driver struck our client from behind.
• $87,000 — The at-fault driver made an improper lane change and collided with our client.
• $85,000 — Our client lacerated his hand on a broken mirror in a gym locker room, and the gym removed the mirror the next day.

Your results may vary.

Practice focus

Maritime and offshore injuries under the Jones Act, unseaworthiness claims, maintenance and cure disputes, and industrial and oilfield accidents on the water and in offshore settings. Mr. Blackledge brings specialized knowledge of vessel operations, crew duties, and the regulatory framework governing offshore and maritime work. In these areas the law differs substantially from ordinary personal injury practice.

Background

Mr. Blackledge earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law in 2021, then completed a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Admiralty Law at Tulane University in 2022. His graduate work culminated in the Edward A. Dodd Jr. Award. Before joining Morris & Dewett, he worked on the defense side at defense firms in New Orleans, Louisiana. There he represented insurance companies and corporate defendants in maritime and civil litigation across state and federal courts. That defense-side experience taught him exactly how defendants build cases, where evidence is decisive, and how to counter the strategies that insurers rely on.

Honors and recognition

Mr. Blackledge earned the Edward A. Dodd Jr. Award from Tulane University’s Maritime Law Center in recognition of outstanding achievement in the graduate study of admiralty law.