A Seattle Federal Court Jury has awarded an Alaska Ferry worker and her husband 16 million dollars in total compensatory damages for injuries she suffered when a gangway she was working upon collapsed at the Port of Bellingham. Shannon Adamson, a Mate aboard an Alaska Ferry, was injured in an…
With the recent approval of the Washington State Maritime Cooperative’s new oil spill contingency plan, a seminar will be held Friday, October 24th, 2014 at the Doubletree Guest Suites Southcenter at 7:45 AM. The seminar is free, and intends to address the significant changes of the new plan. Attendees will…
Partially in response to Washington State’s tourism office being eliminated by budget cuts in 2011, two South Sound Congressmen have proposed a federal designation of Puget Sound as a heritage area. The 13 mile stretch of coast would not be subject to the same regulations as a wilderness or wetland,…
Earlier this year, the Washington State Department of Ecology approved of the Washington State Maritime Cooperative’s oil spill contingency plan, applying it to all vessels in Puget Sound and non-tank vessels in Grey’s Harbor. The WSMC website allows vessel owners to quickly enroll in the plan, laying out the regulations…
Orlando Coronel was injured while working as a fish processor for Fishing Company of Alaska (FCA). Coronel was involved in two separate accidents aboard the F/V ALASKA VICTORY, injuring his shoulder and wrist. Coronel retained the maritime lawyers Beard Stacey and Jacobsen, who filed suit against the Fishing Company of…
The Federal Appellate Court for the Fifth Circuit has entered an opinion, McBride et al v. Estis Well Services, approving punitive damages for seaman in cases involving claims of unseaworthiness. The decision is one of the first Circuit Court decisions to address punitive damages availability in a Jones Act or…
Beard Stacey & Jacobsen, PLLC has established a landmark decision for an injured seaman before the Washington State Supreme Court. The ruling yesterday declares that there is no pre-established arbitrary cap on a seaman’s right to punitive damages for the wrongful withholding of maintenance and cure benefits. Accepting Dana Clausen’s…
The history of piracy is a long one, and piracy remains a threat in modern times. The potential for pirate attack may exist in any waters, but during the past decade it is Somali pirates along the east coast of Africa and in the Indian Ocean who receive the headlines.…
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…
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…