Maritime Injury Law Blog

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During the night of January 13, 2012, the 955-foot Italian-flagged COSTA CONCORDIA struck a rock and capsized near the coast of Giglio, Italy, resulting in great loss of property and life, including two Americans presumed dead. This tragedy has renewed focus on cruise ship safety and the rights of cruise ship passengers, particularly pertaining to the matter of legal jurisdiction, especially given the number of multinational passengers. Modern cruise ships are often referred to as floating cities now due to their enormous size, carrying thousands of passengers and crew.

A cruise ship ticket is also known as a “cruise ticket contract.” What makes a contract valid are four points: offer, acceptance, free will to enter the contract relationship, and equitable consideration. Those entering a contract are assumed to be aware of and in agreement with the contract details, and a court will usually uphold a contract which has met all the legal criteria. The exchange of consideration, such as exchanging money for a cruise ticket, touches on all four points of a valid contractual agreement between parties. The cruise ticket contract wording, in what most of us would call the fine print, is said to be on the ticket and is otherwise accessible to passengers. On the Costa web site, passengers are encouraged to read their cruise ticket contract. By purchasing the ticket, a passenger has arguably entered a contract and agreed to the conditions therein, which include a series of limitations and waivers in case of dispute. It does state that Costa will be liable for its negligence. The caveat is, any negligence must be proven by the claimant in court.

Continue reading "Costa Concordia Raises Issue of Passenger Rights of Recovery" »

A preliminary report for 2010, made this past August by the U.S. Bureau of Labor, shows that fishers and those in related fishing industry work continue to have the highest fatal injury rate of all employment categories in the U.S. This chart sums up the higher than average occupation-related death rate in the fishing industry:

Year - Fatalities per 100,000
2010 - 116
2009 - 200
2008 - 129
2007 - 112
2006 - 141
2005 - 118.

According to NTSB data, the death rate averaged 158 per 100,000 between 1992 to 2008 for the fishing industry, whereas the national work fatality average for that time period was four deaths in 100,000. Recognition of this unconscionable death rate, as well as the high rate of non-fatal injuries, and the financial and emotional costs involved in work-related death or injury has driven a focus on better fishing-related safety.

Continue reading "Focus on Fishing Industry Safety" »

BACKGROUND
In the matter of Samson Ili vs. American Seafoods Company, LLC, and American Triumph, LCC, et al, a Washington Federal trial case, Samson Ili worked as a factory processor aboard F/T AMERICAN TRIUMPH for four years until February 9, 2007, the date of his injury. AMERICAN TRIUMPH is part of the American Seafoods Company (ASC) fleet. He had received favorable work reviews during that time. His work duty consisted mainly of manually lifting and transferring pans of frozen fish from a plate freezer to a moving conveyor belt. The pans of fish weigh between 50 and 75 pounds each. This was often done while the ship was rolling, making balance an ongoing issue. There were no handrails or stable areas on which to lean, so Mr. Ili had fallen a few times over the years during unpredictable seas. Typically, Mr. Ili would take a wide stance, adjusting foot position as needed to compensate for the rolling of the ship.

Continue reading "Is There a Correlation Between Long Shifts, Too Few Crewmembers, and Unseaworthiness?" »

In March of 2011, in Tuyen Thanh Mai v. American Seafoods Company, LLC, the Washington State Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that American Seafoods Company (ASC) did not have the right to deny seaman Tuyen Thanh Mai maintenance and cure when she did not agree to ASC’s demand for an independent medical examination (IME) prior to her knee replacement surgery. The Court also held that Mai is entitled not only to the maintenance and cure that ASC had withheld from her, but also to compensatory damages and attorney fees, sending a strong message to employers that maintenance and cure are fundamental rights not to be denied a seaman.

Continue reading "Seaman’s Right to Maintenance and Cure Is Not Subject to Employer’s Demand for Independent Medical Exam" »

Last week the F/V RANDI capsized near the entrance to Coos Bay. Three men were aboard the boat, which was reportedly loaded with gear in anticipation of the opening of the dungeness crab season. Jim Peterson of Coos Bay was reportedly in the wheel house of the vessel when the capsizing occurred. Two other deckhands were saved, but Peterson was not found. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the accident. The Washington and Oregon dungeness crab fishery remains one of the most deadly and dangerous fisheries in the world.

The usual rule in litigation is that each party pays its own attorney’s fee. It’s called the “American Rule.” There are exceptions to this rule, however. One such exception has to do with maintenance and medical bills of a seaman who is injured while working. In a case pending in front of the Washington State Supreme Court, a case being handled by Beard Stacey & Jacobsen, LLP, all sorts of issues regarding an attorney’s fee award are being considered when the employer fails to pay maintenance and cure. Maintenance and cure is a fundamental right to each seaman who has been injured while in the vessel’s service. The OSCEOLA, 189 U.S. 158, 175, 23 S. Ct. 483, 47 L. Ed. 760 (1903); Vaughan v. Atkinson, 369 U.S. 527, 532, 82 S. Ct. 997, 8 L. Ed. 2d 88 (1962). This is a no-fault obligation that must be paid. Some employers, however, refuse to fulfill their obligation and willfully withhold maintenance and cure. The pending Washington State Supreme Court case, Clausen v. Icicle Seafoods, Inc., addresses what remedies are available to the seaman when the employer fails to fulfill his or her obligation to maintenance and cure.

Continue reading "Who Pays Seaman's Attorney's Fee When Employer Refuses Medical Treatment?" »

A pending case in the Washington State Supreme Court is one of the first in the nation to deal with when and how much in punitive damages can be awarded. Punitive damages are awarded to punish bad behavior. The case deals with one of a seaman’s fundamental rights: the right to maintenance and cure. Maintenance and cure are traditional remedies under maritime law. “Maintenance” is the daily payment to cover certain living expenses expected while on a vessel; “cure” refers to the payment of certain medical bills. They are designed to provide a seaman with food, lodging and medical care when one becomes sick or injured in the vessel’s service. The OSCEOLA, 189 U.S. 158, 175, 23 S. Ct. 483, 47 L. Ed. 760 (1903); Vaughan v. Atkinson, 369 U.S. 527, 532, 82 S. Ct. 997, 8 L. Ed. 2d 88 (1962). Maintenance and cure are no-fault obligations employers must fulfill so long as the injury occurred while in the ship’s service and until the seaman reaches maximum cure. West v. Midland Enters., 227 F.3d 613, 616 (6th Cir. 2000), Gardiner v. Sea-Land Serv., Inc., 786 F. 2d 943, 945-46 (9th Cir. 1986).

Continue reading "Expanding Seamen’s Rights By Pursuing Punitive Damages" »

A nineteen year old crewman has reportedly been seriously injured while working on the deck of the 38-foot fishing vessel KITTIWAKE. The accident happened on August 18th when a line under tension snapped, striking Daniel Cornelius in the head, causing facial injuries and knocking him unconscious. The United States Coast Guard airlifted Cornelius from the vessel. He was transported to Kodiak Island for emergency medical treatment and evaluation.

Continue reading "Crewman Seriously Injured On Alaska Fishing Vessel KITTIWAKE" »

The Coast Guard in San Francisco received a distress call from the crew of the 31-foot commercial fishing vessel TWO SONS, Wednesday, July 20, about eight miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. Reports informed the Coast Guard that the vessel was taking on water with two people on board. The boat operator reported that the rate of flooding far exceeded the rate at which the crew could discharge the water from the vessel using the onboard dewatering equipment.

Continue reading "Coast Guard Responds To Mayday Call From TWO SONS Off San Francisco " »