Articles Posted in Injury at Sea

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter medevaced an injured crewman from the bulk carrier MYKONOS SEAS located approximately 75 miles southeast of Cold Bay, AK on November 16, 2014. According to the 17th District Coast Guard Command Center, they received a call from the carrier’s crew requesting medical help for the injured crewmember. The duty flight surgeon recommended a medevac, and the helicopter crew flew out of Cold Bay for the rescue mission. They flew 75 miles to the ship, hoisted the crewmember aboard the helicopter while grappling with 11 mph winds and 3′ seas, and flew back to Cold Bay where the crewman received medical care. He ultimately was flown to Anchorage for additional medical assistance.

75 miles southeast of the tip of Alaska is in the far reaches of the Bering Sea. We are fortunate that the Coast Guard is equipped with operating locations and equipment that can quickly respond to emergencies near and far. Beard Stacey & Jacobsen PLLC is one of the most experienced law firms in the country in handling crew member injuries aboard American ships in the Bering Sea. For more information, view our firm website and find Maritime Injury Claims.

An Alaska crab fisherman aboard the F/ V ICY MIST has been medivaced for medical treatment after a crab pot fell on him Sunday. The crew was reportedly loading crab pot gear 150 miles southeast of Sand Point, Alaska, when the accident happened. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted the crewman from the vessel and transported him to Cold Bay. The extent of the crewman’s injuries is unknown.

Working as an Alaska crab fisherman remains one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Fishermen typically work with crab pots that weigh 700 to 800 pounds, sometimes working in seas 20 feet high or more. If proper safety precautions are not followed in landing the pots, they can swing out of control injuring crewmen. Once aboard the vessel, the crab pots must be properly secured and tied down. Fishing vessel owners owe a duty to have their crew properly trained in safety procedures and provide their crewmen with a safe place to work. Because of the dangers associated with this type of work, crab boats must be kept seaworthy at all times to prevent injuries to the crew.

Beard Stacey & Jacobsen PLLC is one of the most experienced law firms in the country in handling crewmen injuries aboard crab boats. Crewmen injured while working in the Bering Sea are covered by the Jones Act. The general maritime law also provides that the employer pay all of a seaman’s medical bills, and provide a daily living expense while the seaman is recovering from his injuries. Fishermen who are injured as a result of negligence may be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, past and future lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and losses associated with their enjoyment of life.

According to reports, on June 10, about 90 miles south of Seward, Alaska, a 28-year-old crewman aboard OPTIMUS suffered a serious laceration from a fish hook, serious enough that the Coast Guard flight surgeon recommended a four-hour window for the medevac via Coast Guard helicopter to Anchorage for treatment. The medevac was completed in 2-1/2 hours.

OPTIMUS is 58 feet long and hails out of Sitka. Weather at the time was 10mph hour winds and four-foot seas.

This evening at around 7:13, the crew of SHIRLEY R requested a Coast Guard medevac for one of their men, who had sustained a head injury. The Coast Guard arrived at the scene, about 30 miles west of Grays Harbor, with a motor lifeboat and a Jayhawk helicopter, at about 8:30. The Jayhawk crew hoisted the injured man and set off to Hoquiam, where an EMS team took over. According to the report, the man was then taken in stable condition by ambulance to Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

On the evening of March 10, the Coast Guard received word that one of the MISS COURTNEY KIM crew had sustained numerous injuries when a crab pot fell on him. They were near Sanak Island, which is south of King Cove, when this happened. King Cove has the nearest clinic to that area, and is also the crew’s homeport, so 58-foot MISS COURTNEY KIM headed there pending a morning medevac.

The morning medevac was postponed until after an infant suffering from respiratory distress, in an unrelated emergency, was first medevaced from King Cove to Cold Bay. The Coast Guard helicopter crew then returned to King Cove for the crewman and transported him to Cold Bay. From there, the man was taken to Anchorage by commercial transportation for further medical treatment.

The man’s identity and current condition have not been released. Hopefully, both he and the infant are recovering well at this time.

On Tuesday, February 25, the Coast Guard was called in to medevac a crewman, aged 25-30, for a severe injury to his left hand. According to the record, the Coast Guard medevaced the man from OCEAN PHOENIX via helicopter to Cold Bay, and from there he was taken to Providence Medical Center in Anchorage.

Reports indicate that this happened about 85 miles northwest of Cold Bay. The crewman’s name and current condition have not been released. At the time of his medevac, winds were at 35mph winds with 10-foot seas.

OCEAN PHOENIX, a 680-foot fish processor owned by Premier Pacific Seafoods of Seattle, has had a slew of bad luck this month. On February 16, one of the crewmen was medevaced for an eye injury. On February 13, a 25-year-old crewmember was medevaced because she was experiencing chest pains.

About 34 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska, on Sunday morning, fish processor OCEAN PHOENIX crew members contacted the Coast Guard requesting a medevac for a 30-year-old crewmate who had suffered an eye injury. The Coast Guard arrived to medevac the injured man via Jayhawk helicopter for emergency care in Cold Bay. The man was then transported by commercial airline to Anchorage for further treatment.

Seas during the medevac were reported to be eight to ten feet with low visibility and 28mph winds, including intermittent squalls.

The man’s name and current condition have not been released.

Seattle-based factory trawler KATIE ANN had her windows blown out at around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 8, thanks to high winds in a storm which also caused damage on land over the weekend. KATIE ANN was working northwest of Unimak Island at the time.

KATIE ANN fortunately did not lose power and was able to head to Unalaska without Coast Guard assistance, reaching Unalaska that afternoon. According to reports, about six crew members were injured and were seen at the local clinic once KATIE ANN arrived in port; none required medevac.

On January 9, off Cold Bay, Alaska, a 50-year-old crewman aboard Seattle-based, 50-foot PAVLOF became ill and required a Coast Guard medevac for health care. The Coast Guard helicopter picked the crewman up about 55 miles northwest of Cold Bay and transported him to the Cold Bay Clinic, whence he was further transported to Anchorage. Apparently, the man was suffering from a staph infection. Weather at the time of his medevac was reported as two-foot seas and 17mph winds.

That same day, 74 miles southwest of St. Paul, Alaska, a crewman aboard PROWLER, which is a 109-foot vessel based in Petersburg, required emergency medical care for a left-eye injury. This man was taken aboard Coast Guard Cutter Munro for assessment, whereafter he was airlifted to St. Paul for treatment. Weather at the time of his medevac was reported as calm seas, 11mph winds, and rain showers.

Whether taken ill or injured while in the service of a vessel, the vessel owner is normally responsible for “maintenance and cure,” which covers a small daily stipend and all reasonable medical care until maximum medical cure has been reached. If you have been injured or taken ill while working on a fishing vessel and wish to learn more about your rights, please contact us.