Jones Act lawyer’
Coast Guard Orders Ship to Remain at Washington Port after Captain Found Intoxicated
Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010
No maritime lawyer would dispute that safety of passengers and crewmembers are at a high risk when vessels crews, especially pilots and masters, are operating under the influence of alcohol. Last month, the Coast Guard was forced to order a cargo ship to remain in Washington Port, after an inspection found that the captain was under the influence of alcohol.
The Coast Guard boarded the vessel in the Strait of Juan De Fuca. It was a routine boarding, but an inspection quickly found that the vessel’s master showed signs of being under the influence. The Coast...
Jones Act Seaman Files Lawsuit over Back Injury
Friday, June 18th, 2010
A seaman has filed a Jones Act lawsuit against an employer over a back injury that he suffered during the course of his employment on one of the company's barges.
According to the lawsuit, the injury occurred on July 23, 2008, when the seaman was performing heavy labor. He sustained injuries to his back and other parts of his body. According to the seaman, he was performing the tasks without the help that he needed. The lawsuit further claims that the employer was aware of the injury risks from the seaman performing extremely strenuous tasks on his own, but allowed...
Smith versus Weeks Marine: Maritime Lawyer Discusses Court Decision on Question of Unseaworthiness in Assault
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
A Louisiana appellate court has upheld a trial court's earlier decision in favor of a seaman who was injured in an assault by two crew members.
In June of 2005, seaman Clarence Smith was woken up from his sleep by two crewmembers, who then proceeded to drag him out, and beat him up. He suffered a head injury, several lacerations, a retinal tear, hemorrhage in the left eye, and multiple abrasions. He also suffered several broken teeth, a temporomandibular joint injury, as well as shoulder and lower back injuries. As a result of the incident, Smith developed post-dramatic stress disorder,...
BP Oil Spill Will Break All Records
Saturday, June 12th, 2010
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By the time the BP well is capped and this spill is blocked, the Exxon Valdez spill will seem like an open kitchen faucet in comparison.
The latest estimates about the size of the BP oil spill are off the charts. Scientists are now estimating that approximately 2 million gallons of crude oil a day, could have been spilt from the well before engineers managed to implement a capping maneuver that is catching some of the flow. That means that since the spill began, approximately 100 million gallons of crude oil have been spewed...
BP Never Visited Our Family, Says Brother of Worker Killed in Rig Explosion
Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Not even the most hardened lawmakers could hide their astonishment when Chris Jones, whose brother was one of the 11 workers killed in the BP-Transocean rig explosion last month, informed them that BP had never bothered to contact the family after the explosion. There had been no phone call and no visits home by representatives of the company. Jones was speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
As a maritime lawyer, this saddens me, but I don't understand why it should surprise a lot of people. For most oil and gas companies, workers are merely a number....
Approximately 100 People Sickened with Norovirus Poisoning on Cruise Ship
Tuesday, June 8th, 2010
There has been yet another outbreak of Norovirus poisoning on a cruise ship. This week, close to 100 people fell sick on a Princess Cruises liner.
The outbreak broke out on board the Sapphire Princess which was on a seven-day cruise of Alaska, and was returning to Seattle. At least 96 people were confirmed sickened by the virus. The epidemic was serious enough to require a quarantine of several passengers who were confined to their rooms throughout the journey to prevent a mass outbreak. Princess Cruises believes that the virus was brought on board by an unsuspecting passenger...
New Jersey Fishing Industry Focuses on Safety after Series of Maritime Accidents
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
The New Jersey fishing industry has seen a bad couple of years, with a series of fishing vessel accidents, as well as huge losses last year. Now, in response to these accidents, fishing vessels aided by the Coast Guard, are stepping up safety efforts.
According to the Coast Guard, more and more crew members are actually demanding better safety measures from fishing vessel captains. Even in a bad economy, when the fishing industry sustained severe losses in 2009, vessel crews have been demanding better safety processes. The Coast Guard is also stepping up its efforts, including enforcement of safety regulations...
LECO V. MARTIN OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, L.P. ET AL: Seaman’s Claim Dismissed After He Signs off Rights
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
To an injured worker, the pressure to quickly settle with his employer can be enormous. Unfortunately, such pressure often results in the worker signing away his rights to a claim in the future.
Anthony Leco Jr. worked for Martin Marine as a seaman. He injured his arm and lower back after an accident on a vessel. The company paid for his treatment, and then got him to agree to a settlement of $10,000 to close his claim. Leco took up the offer, and signed the settlement papers. Later, he filed a Jones Act claim of negligence against Martin Marine.
The company...
Seaman Loses Rights to Jones Act Claim, Maintenance and Cure: Why Concealing Injuries at Time of Employment is Never a Good Idea
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
As a maritime lawyer, I cannot stress this enough - crew members must disclose all previous injuries or medical conditions at the time of employment. Concealing such injuries and medical conditions can negatively impact a Jones Act seaman’s claim.
In ATLANTIC SOUNDING CO. INC. V. PETREY, Timothy Petrey, an employee of Atlantic Sounding Company Incorporated, was injured on the job. Atlantic Sounding moved to deny maintenance and cure payouts to Petrey, because his injuries were the result of the dislocation of a pre-existing prosthetic hip Petrey had not disclosed that he had a prosthetic hip at the time...
BP Faces Criminal Probe
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
It was an announcement that offshore injury lawyers had been expecting. Yesterday, US Atty. Gen. Eric Holder announced that the federal administration would initiate civil and criminal investigations into the BP oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico. Atty. Gen. Holder made the announcement in New Orleans, and said that several agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation would be involved in the probe.
The spill is now well past its 40th day, and there's still no end in sight. Almost every measure that BP has taken to plug the leak, has failed. Last week, the company...
