Maritime law is a broad, and particularly complex, area of law that can cover a range of issues. Whatever your specific need, selecting your maritime lawyer will be critical to the success of your claim or transaction. Here are some important issues to consider when meeting a potential maritime attorney for the first time:1. What is Their Specif...

Read More >>

If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans living with a medical implant such as an artificial joint or surgical mesh, you probably assumed the device was well-tested for safety. In most cases, you’d be wrong. According to Consumer Reports, most medical implants and other high-risk devices aren’t safety tested before hitting the market...

Read More >>

A final set of federal safety regulations were issued last week for offshore drilling. The rules are a fine-tuning of the emergency measures enacted after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. The rules deal with how wells are designed and the testing of the cement and barriers that are used to secure them. The go...

Read More >>

Maritime accidents are a special type of case. A person’s right to a maritime claim for an injury that occurred at sea can vary by the status of the person, whether the injured person is a passenger or a crewmember of the vessel on which the injury occurred.The legal issues involving accidents covered by maritime law can be totally different fro...

Read More >>

The International Maritime Bureau on Monday reported a 54 percent drop in maritime piracy in the first six months of the year. The group attributed the decline to anti-piracy operations by international navies off Somalia, increased vigilance, and the use of armed guards by private ships. The new numbers show that 177 attacks were reported worl...

Read More >>

A crew member has been reported killed in a deadly fire that raged through a tugboat near Prince Edward Point, Ontario. According to earlier news reports, the man, a chief engineer on the vessel, had sustained serious injuries. He has now succumbed to those injuries. At the time of the accident, there were six people on the vessel, including th...

Read More >>

A seaman his filed suit in a New Orleans federal court, claiming he sustained disabling injuries from a fall after slipping on a vessel’s wooden floor. The Jones Act lawsuit accuses Big R Towing Inc. of negligence for failing to maintain the vessel and her appurtenances in a safe and reasonable state of repair.  The lawsuit also claims the defe...

Read More >>

When a person who has suffered a head injury comes into consistent, close contact with the chemical herbicide paraquat, he has a heightened risk of developing Parkinson's disease. According to research conducted by scientists at the University of California Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, both head injury and paraquat on their own...

Read More >>

On May 8, 2010, the passenger ferry Andrew J. Barberi crashed into the St. George Terminal at Staten Island in New York. The accident resulted in serious injuries to dozens of passengers on board. The National Transportation Safety Board blames loss of propulsion control on the ferry for the accident.  The board also blames the accident on the ...

Read More >>

In the wake of the Costa Concordia cruise ship tragedy, attention has been focused on what seems to be the despicable behavior of the captain, Francesco Schettino. He currently faces charges of manslaughter in the tragedy that has confirmed to have killed more than 11 people. However, it is his behavior in abandoning his vessel while passengers ...

Read More >>

Three seamen have filed an $11.5 million lawsuit against their employer, Dredge Operators Inc., claiming they suffered brain and lung injuries after being exposed to epoxy and acid. The lawsuit was filed Aug. 3 in federal court in New Orleans. The men said they suffered brain injuries and permanent disabling injuries to their lungs and other bo...

Read More >>

The questions of liability for workers injured in a maritime environment and the jurisdictions of the courts that may properly hear such maritime claims is complicated by issues such as state versus federal jurisdiction and liability for injuries that arise in areas where state versus national versus international territorial waterways may not b...

Read More >>

A coalition of environmental groups from five states filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court claiming the Environmental Protection Agency rules on chemical dispersants used in oil spill cleanups do not adhere to clean water standards. The lawsuit says the EPA has not published regulations on acceptable use of such dispersants in response to oil...

Read More >>

A crew member died after falling into the cargo bay of a cargo ship docked in the Houston Ship Channel on Thursday morning. The worker fell from the deck into the cargo hold about 12:30 a.m. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship was docked at Texas Terminal NO. 37 near Patrick’s Bayou. The man was pronounced dead after being rushed to Mem...

Read More >>

If you have sustained a maritime injury, knowing where to turn can be quite difficult. This is especially true for individuals who are not familiar with maritime injuries, as trying to learn more about this type of injury and how it might affect you can be easier said than done.The most important thing after suffering an injury is to have a stro...

Read More >>

A new study finds that up to 30% of the American workforce is sleep deprived. Maritime attorneys believe that the situation is not much different on water. Seamen are at a high risk of suffering injuries when they are forced to work continuously without sufficient breaks.  The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates th...

Read More >>

A sightseeing vessel ran aground in Alaska’s Glacier Bay, filling the vessel with water. Seventy-six people were rescued, but none were seriously injured, U.S. Coast Guard officials said. The boat was stabilized after the accident, and there were no signs of spills or other pollution. Most of the passengers were transferred to a Holland America...

Read More >>

Electricity is an integral part of the modern workplace, and therefore, workers in all kinds of industries may be exposed to electrical injuries. However, maritime workers may be at an especially high risk of serious electrocutions or electrical injuries, because they work in an environment that constantly brings electricity in contact with wate...

Read More >>

Several crew members were reported injured after a vessel ran aground near the Sabine Jetties near Port Arthur, Texas, recently. According to the Coast Guard, its officers from Sector Houston-Galveston were asked to respond to the site of the grounded vessel. The MV Ms. Pearl ran aground on the west side of the Sabine Jetties. There were four c...

Read More >>

Some of the more frequent injuries that maritime lawyers come across are fractures. Most often, these occur during falls on the same level or from a higher elevation. Fractures can also occur when a maritime worker is struck by flying debris, or a falling object. An accident involving heavy machinery can result in a broken bone. Workers can fall...

Read More >>