What To Do In The Case Of A Maritime/Commercial Fishing Or Recreational
Boating Accident
Commercial fishing or recreational boating accidents can be devastating,
career ending and or fatal. The underwriter of any vessel will be immediately
able to obtain statements of witnesses who are critical to your case. It
is important to hire an attorney immediately to investigate your accident
and to obtain corroborating statements from witness on the vessel. Often
crew members will disappear. Either they will move on to other vessels or
simply return to their land of origin. Therefore, the taking of statements
when your vessel is in port is critical. Please try and notify your attorney
of all possible eye witnesses who observed the condition which caused your
accident so an investigator may obtain statements from all possible witnesses
while they are in port.
Even though the burden of proof in a maritime claim is feather weight, it is
important to start out with a strong case by having proof of liability through
witness statements. Once liability is sewed up, then it is important to proceed in order to prove your damages. This typically involves the loss of past or
future earnings that a seamen otherwise would have earned "but for"
the accident. This could include future anticipated contracts of employment
with this or other vessels, or other work in the private sector.
In the meantime, regardless of liability, the injured seaman is entitled
to recover maintenance and cure regardless of fault. This shall continue
until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement according his or her
treating physician.
Often crews are required to work under onerous and hazardous conditions
in hopes of increasing the vessel's revenues. These conditions can lead
to serious injuries. If you were injured because of the negligence of an
employer or operator, or because of an unseaworthy condition aboard the
vessel, you may have a Jones Act claim which would entitle you to the recovery
of maintenance (temporary lost wages) and cure (medical care), and additionally
general damages. Your employer or the vessel's owners are required to provide
these benefits to you. Typically an injured crew member is entitled to recover
his wages, medical expenses and damages for pain and suffering and other
general damages providing one has been injured while on duty or during the
course of employment.
The recoverable general and special damages to one who is injured in a commercial
fishing or recreational boating accident may generally be the same as one
who is injured in a car accident. You are entitled to recover general damages
for your pain and suffering, inconvenience, loss of opportunity to enjoy
life, loss of and including the companionship of family members, loss of
services, emotional and psychological distress, death, disability, permanent
injuries, dismemberment, and all special damages, such as, medical bills,
wage loss, future wages, diminution in earning potential, and all other
out of pocket expenses.
Often a Jones Act claim may be confused with a worker's compensation or Labor
and Industries Claims. You should consult a lawyer immediately to determine
filing deadlines and other claim filing requirements to determine if your
claim is one of worker's compensation or one under the Jones Act from which
you are entitled to recover maintenance and cure.
Recreational boating accidents are governed by a myriad of laws including
common law negligence, the Rules of the Road governing inland navigable
waters, county and state laws, and perhaps municipal laws. Often the motor
vehicle Rules of the Road are applied by analogy to recreational boating.
Please consult an attorney for these nuances in the laws governing recreational
boating.
Robert Kornfeld handles both commercial fishing and recreational boating claims as explained above.
  
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