$9.46 Million Verdict for Deckhand Burned in LNG Vapor Fire, 95 Percent of Fault on Vessel Operator
After trial: The verdict is the public figure and the final recovery is confidential. The jury returned $9,958,001 on November 4, 2025 and assigned 5 percent of fault to Galland, leaving $9,460,101.
Won by Broussard Knoll Law Firm.
Paul Galland was a deckhand doing repairs aboard an LNG-powered supply vessel at Port Fourchon. LNG vapor had accumulated near a vent on the fly deck. He lit a cigarette and it flashed. He escaped by jumping between decks, breaking his leg on the way down, and suffered severe burns.
What happened
On April 28, 2023 Paul Galland was working as a deckhand doing repairs aboard the Harvey Energy, an LNG-powered platform supply vessel, at Port Fourchon, Louisiana.
LNG vapor had accumulated near a vent on the fly deck, in a space where crew were working.
Galland lit a cigarette. The vapor flashed. He escaped the fire by jumping from one deck to another, breaking his leg on the way down, and he suffered severe burns.
Telling this case fairly means not leaving that out. He lit the cigarette, and the jury heard that he did. It then found Harvey Gulf 95 percent at fault and Galland 5 percent, because the question a Jones Act jury answers is not who struck the match but who allowed flammable vapor to collect in a space where crew were sent to work.
On November 4, 2025 the jury awarded $9,958,001, itemized as $5,000,000 for past pain, $3,800,000 for future pain, $197,964 in past lost wages and $960,037 for future earning capacity. Net of his 5 percent share that is $9,460,101.
Galland was represented by Aaron J. Broussard, Christopher Mann, Jerold Knoll and Laura B. Knoll of Broussard Knoll in Lake Charles.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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