Containership Crew Man Suffers Finger Injury

The U.S. Coast Guard had to undertake a medical evacuation of a containership crewmember, who suffered a serious injury on the vessel. The man was a crew member on the 855-foot Antigua and Barbados-flagged vessel Mare Phoenicium. The 62-year-old man had suffered a severed finger on his left hand. There is no information about how the injury occurred.

Crewmembers of the vessel got in touch with the U.S. Coast Guard, which immediately dispatched a helicopter crew for a medical evacuation.

Some types of maritime injuries may be more serious than others. For instance, hand or finger injuries could severely impact the capacity of a crewmember to return to work after he has been treated. Most jobs on a containership or any kind of vessel are manual in nature, and some jobs specifically require manual or finger dexterity. This kind of dexterity may be lost in case of a serious hand injury or finger injury or other kind of disability.

In such cases, workers may suffer a severe financial loss, because they may be unable to return to their former job even after the injury has healed. Even if a worker does return to his former employer, he may have to settle for a less challenging job that does not pay as much.

A maritime attorney must take these factors into consideration before preparing to file a Jones Act lawsuit alleging negligence against an employer. Victims who have suffered a maritime injury must be compensated not just for their immediate losses like medical expenses and lost wages, but also the potential loss of income over the long-term.