maritime safety’ Category
Complications in a Back Injury Claim
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Back injuries are some of the most frequent and common injuries in a maritime workplace. Much of maritime work involves strenuous physical labor, and the back very often bears the brunt of all that exertion.
Unfortunately, as common as these injuries are, workers may find that filing a claim based on a back injury can get much more complicated than they thought. That's because back injuries can be difficult to diagnose. In most back injuries, there is no physical evidence of a wound. Whether it is a sudden back strain from lifting a heavy object, or a back injury caused...
Confusion Marked Last Day of Deepwater Horizon
Friday, August 27th, 2010
The Wall Street Journal has a gripping account of the last day on the doomed Deepwater Horizon. The WSJ has taken Coast Guard hearings and witness accounts to present its version of what went wrong on the 20th of April.
There was much disagreement and confusion during the last hours of the rig. The confusion began with an e-mail sent by a BP engineer on the morning of April 20th. In the e-mail was a major change to a safety pressure test conducted to determine the well’s safety. According to the change, BP wanted to remove an extraordinarily large...
California Law Still Doesn’t Require Prescription Drug Testing for Pilots
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Apart from environmentalists and maritime lawyers, no one remembers much about the 2007 maritime accident involving the Cosco Busan in the San Francisco Bay.
More than 53,000 gallons of oil spilled into the ocean, when the container ship collided with a Bay Bridge Tower, in November that year. The investigation finally pointed to the impaired condition of the pilot in charge of the ship at the time. John Cota was on a cocktail of prescription drugs, including Vicodin and Valium. In the days before the accident, investigators found he had purchased hundreds of pills, including painkillers acetaminophen hydrocodone...
One Missing after Towing Vessel-Skiff Accident off Louisiana
Monday, August 9th, 2010
One person continues to remain missing after a maritime accident involving a towing vessel and a skiff near Morgan City,, Louisiana. The accident occurred on Sunday. According to the Coast Guard, officers with the Coast Guard in New Orleans received a report from crewmembers on the towing vessel the UTP Salvation, stating that they had been in an accident with the 17-foot Skiff.
The accident occurred in the Morgan City-Port Allen Alternate Route. The Coast Guard crew immediately launched a rescue effort. The effort included a response boat and a helicopter that were deployed to the scene to...
Mystery Continues to Surround Damage to Oil Tanker in Hormuz Strait
Friday, August 6th, 2010
There are still no plausible explanations for the damage caused to a supertanker, the M. Star as it traveled through the Strait of Hormuz last week. Just some of the possible exhalations include a maritime collision, an explosion, and a rogue wave. To add to all the confusion, a group that claims to be affiliated to Al Qaeda, has also claimed responsibility for the accident.
The Japanese oil tanker was damaged as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, and authorities in the United Arab Emirates, where the tanker has since docked, have no solid theories to offer. ...
Say No to Corporate Immunity in Texas
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
If there ever was a right time to give the idea of tort reform in Texas a decent burial, this would be it. Those who are not convinced about the need to hold companies accountable when their recklessness causes injuries, fatalities and environmental catastrophes, will never be convinced, if they haven't by now. If you're not yet convinced that BP and other corporations like it need to be held accountable when 15 workers are killed in a fiery explosion at a Texas City refinery, or when 11 workers die in an oil rig explosion in the Gulf...
First Personal Injury Lawsuit Filed over BP Chemical Dispersant
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Oil cleanup workers and maritime lawyers have been very concerned about the ill health effects of the chemical oil dispersant that BP has been using in its efforts to clean up the Gulf of Mexico. Those concerns were heard loud and clear in the first personal injury lawsuit involving the chemical dispersant, Corexit 9500. The lawsuit was filed in Alabama by two property owners, who alleged that the use of the product is causing people to get sick.
The lawsuit Wright versus BP, alleges that BP has sprayed the chemical from airplanes in the middle of the night. ...
Coast Guard Releases Audiotapes from Delaware River Duck Boat-Barge Accident
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
The US Coast Guard this week released audiotapes from radio traffic, recorded around the time that an amphibious “Ride the Ducks” tourist boat was struck by a barge on the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The tapes give some indication about the kind of mayhem that surrounded the moment when a barge plowed through a stalled tourist boat. The boat sank, and all passengers on the boat fell into the water. Two Hungarian tourists were killed.
As you listen to the tapes, the first indication of trouble comes from one shocked vessel operator who sees the barge plowing into...
Transocean Employees Now Focus of Oil Spill Investigation
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010
Employees of Transocean, who were on board the Deepwater Horizon-semisubmersible rig, have now become the focus of an investigation into the disaster. Two Transocean employees, chief engineer Stephen Bertone and chief engineer technician Mike Williams have been designated as parties of interest by a hearing panel consisting of the US Coast Guard and the Interior Department. With that, the number of Transocean workers who are likely to face charges in the accident, has increased to five.
If Transocean employees are found to have acted in a manner that contributed to the explosion, then they could face...
No Injuries in Shrimp Boat Fire in Galveston
Monday, July 26th, 2010Photo credit: click from morguefile.com Three people on a shrimp boat escaped serious injuries during a fire in the Galveston Bay. The accident occurred about 3 miles northeast of Seabrook. There's no information yet on what caused the fire. Fortunately, crewmembers of another boat, the Kemah Boardwalk Beast were able to rescue the crew members of the shrimp boat. The boat was severely damaged and sank. There were no injuries in this fire. A maritime fire can be an extremely dangerous situation for crewmembers. There are various challenges involved in dealing with a fire on a boat. For...
