Category Archives: Admiralty Maritime
$200 Million Awarded To Family After Tragic Boating Accident
A Florida family recovered $200 million in damages from a boat rental company that failed to disclose a known safety concern with one of their water skiing boats. A 7-year-old child was killed in an ensuing accident. A Georgia jury returned a verdict of $200 million in favor of the family. The verdict also… Read More »
Parents Claim Their 3-Year-Old Daughter Was Assaulted On Cruise Ship
Disney Cruise Line is facing a $20 million lawsuit filed by the parents of a then-3-year-old girl who they believe was sexually assaulted by a 7-year-old girl. The parents have claimed they noted changes in their daughter’s personality after the incident and say that a video shows the assault on camera. However, the video… Read More »
Company Challenges Jones Act Seaman Status To Defeat Claim
Seamen have special protections under the Jones Act to file lawsuits against employers. Further, they have maintenance and cure rights that tend to exceed worker’s compensation benefits granted in their home states. For that reason, the what constitutes a “seaman” for these unique maritime protections is important. The courts have begun applying a new… Read More »
Lawsuit Alleging Ship Captain Died Of COVID, Settles
COVID lawsuits filed against ships is not necessarily news anymore, but the fact that the majority of these lawsuits have failed to result in positive outcomes for plaintiffs is telling. Right now, most state governments have enacted legislation that prevents businesses from being sued over COVID-19 infections. These rules, however, do not apply to… Read More »
Jones Act Lawsuit Shines A Light On Statute Of Limitations
A merchant marine who worked aboard vessels from 1944 to 1955 filed a lawsuit in 2017 after he developed an asbestos-related cancer. The defendants in the lawsuit filed for summary dismissal on the basis that the statute of limitations had run out. The plaintiff contended that the statute of limitations did not start ticking… Read More »
Jones Act Claims And Pre-Existing Conditions
If the shipping company/employer cannot beat your claim on the facts, then it will attempt to deflect some of the blame onto you. This is done in two ways: 1. You were partly to blame for the accident, i.e. you were not watching where you were going and that is why you tripped and… Read More »
Lawsuit Filed Against Vessel Alleges Seaman Injured While Following Order
A recent lawsuit filed against a vessel alleged that a crewman was injured after following an order from the vessel’s captain. According to the suit, the crewman and another were tasked with repairing a chafed stern line. The crewmembers removed the stern line and set the old one aside. According to the plaintiff, he… Read More »
Did The Cruise Line Lie About The Death Of A Crew Member?
The family of a South African crew member was shocked to learn that their loved one and daughter had inexplicably died of what they were told were “natural causes”. The cruise line told them that the crew member had been brought to the hospital after she was vomiting blood and then returned for her… Read More »
Stevedore Lawsuit Shines Light On Longshoreman’s Act
A lawsuit was recently filed under The Longshore Harbor’s Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) alleging that a longshoreman was injured due to dangerous conditions aboard the vessel. Under the LHWCA, a shipowner/charterer has a duty of care to turn over a safe vessel to those working at harbors. In this case, the worker fell off… Read More »
COVID-19 Claims Under The Longshoremen’s Act
The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented turmoil across several sectors of the market. One of the major sectors to be impacted was workers’ compensation insurance. In some cases, workers’ compensation insurers were denying claims related to COVID on the basis that the worker could not prove how or where they contracted the illness. This led… Read More »
