General Law
Drunk Boating Accidents Cause Damage Across Country
Earlier this month, we discussed the role that alcohol can play in some cruise ship injuries, but it is important to remember that operating under the influence is also a common cause of recreational boating accidents. Two recent stories in separate areas of the country demonstrate how piloting a private vessel while intoxicated not only…
Read MoreCrewmember Falls to Death on Cargo Ship in Thunder Bay Port
A crew member on the bulk carrier TECUMSEH died in the early morning hours of December 1, 2012, while the grain ship was docked in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Sources told the Chronicle Journal that it appeared the man slipped and fell into one of the boat’s grain holds. CBC News reported that the man…
Read MoreUVA Student Killed by Boat Propeller While Snorkeling on Final Stop of ‘Semester at Sea’
Casey Schulman was a University of Virginia (UVA) senior who was studying abroad as part of the school’s “Semester at Sea” program. The Washington Post reported that the 22-year-old spent 14 weeks visiting London, Portugal, Africa and the Amazon. On December 1, 2012, Schulman and other students were snorkeling during the ship’s final stop on…
Read MoreBarge Accident Kills Worker on Mississippi River
Barge Accident Kills Worker on Mississippi River This WISN-TV video reports on a crane accident on a barge in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that killed 35-year-old Joseph Bidler in July 2012. The Oshkosh Northwestern reported that it was the second crane fatality to occur during US Highway 41 construction this year, and Lunda Construction was at risk of…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Attorneys Discuss Danger of All-You-Can-Drink Packages on Cruise Lines
Boston Maritime Attorneys Discuss Danger of All-You-Can-Drink Packages on Cruise Lines On November 15, 2012, ABC News reported that Norwegian Cruise Line will be testing an all-you-can-drink package on three of its ships. As ABC noted, this is “a trend among cruise lines that appears to be gaining momentum.” The story pointed out that cruise…
Read MoreOne Worker Killed, Another Missing and 11 Injured in Another Explosion in Gulf of Mexico
Ann Rolfes, founding director of environmental health and justice organization the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, told the Times-Picayune that “the ink was barely dry” on a record $4.5 billion BP settlement when there was an explosion and fire aboard Black Elk Energy’s West Delta Block 32 production platform in the Gulf of Mexico. “This accident is…
Read MoreCarolyn Latti, David Anderson Among 2012 Top Maritime Law Attorneys in Professional Mariner Magazine
The Boston maritime trial lawyers at Latti Associates LLC were named in the 2012 Top Maritime Law Attorneys for the December/January double issue of Professional Mariner magazine. The article noted that Carolyn Latti and David Anderson “work on cases across the country and all over the world[,] and have successfully taken on huge multinational corporations.”…
Read MoreShipyard Worker Killed in Galveston Backhoe Accident
The Galveston County Daily News reported on November 6, 2012, that a 40-year-old contract employee was killed while operating a backhoe from outside the cab at Southwest Shipyard, L.P. on Pelican Island (seen in this video). John Florence of the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office told the Daily News that the crew was digging a…
Read MoreBoston Ferry Accident One of Many Reasons for Concern
Boston Ferry Accident One of Many Reasons for Concern Three stories about ferry accidents within a week’s time call attention to the dangers that not only passengers face on these ships, but crewmembers as well. On November 2, 2012, the Bellingham Herald reported that an Alaska Marine Highway ferry ramp operator was injured after a…
Read MoreUSCG Calls Off Search for Captain of Capsized Ship Near Cape Cod
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) issued a news release on November 18, 2012, announcing that it suspended its search (seen in this video) for a fisherman after the 42-foot F/V TWIN LIGHTS capsized approximately two miles north of Provincetown, Massachusetts, at around 11:30 a.m. that morning. The Provincetown Banner reported that 69-year-old Captain Jean…
Read MoreFisherman Saves Life of Woman Who Fell Off Pier After Railing Broke
This video shows Frenchman Bay in Bar Harbor, Maine, during a calmer, more serene time of year. The Mount Desert Islander reported that the waters were much chillier on the afternoon of October 25, 2012, when an unidentified woman fell from a town pier into the Bay. Bar Harbor Police Chief Nate Young told the…
Read MoreSecond Norovirus Outbreak on Celebrity Constellation This Year Leaves Hundreds Ill
BBC News reported on November 6, 2012, that the Celebrity Cruises vessel CELEBRITY CONSTELLATION delayed its departure from Southampton, England, after a suspected outbreak of norovirus. The United Kingdom’s Southern Daily Echo reported that a spokesman for Celebrity Cruises said that “a small number of guests experienced a gastrointestinal type illness,” but BBC reported that…
Read MoreFishing Workers Have Highest Rate of Fatal Injury, BLS Says
In a news release issued on October 25, 2012, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said that private industry employers reported nearly 3 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses last year. This resulted in an incidence rate of 3.5 cases per 100 equivalent full-time workers in 2011, and marked the first time in a…
Read MoreCoast Guard Suspends Search for Captain of Ship Sunk by Sandy
Coast Guard Suspends Search for Captain of Ship Sunk by Sandy This video shows the dramatic United States Coast Guard (USCG) rescue of 14 people from the 180-foot replica of the HMS BOUNTY sailing ship on October 29, 2012, that we wrote about last week. Reuters reported on November 2, 2012, that the HMS BOUNTY…
Read MoreMan Killed in California Shipyard Accident
A shipyard accident at the Port of Oakland in California lead to the death of a 51-year-old worker, according to NBC News. The accident occurred on October 25 when a crane crushed the man to death in the shipyard. Two workers were attempting to adjust a trolley that was holding the crane when one worker,…
Read MoreFerry’s Crew Criticized for Emergency Response
A recent ferry accident near Lamma Island in Asia claimed the lives of 27 people and injured many more, and now the conditions and emergency protocols of the Hong Kong Harbor are being questioned. A vessel carrying companies on an employee pleasure-cruise to watch fireworks collided with a passenger ferry. Hong Kong has long served…
Read MoreOSHA Breaks Down Fatal Shipyard Accidents
This video from the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes a look at some fatal shipyard accidents—how they occurred, what caused them and how they could have been prevented. This video does a great job of showing the very real dangers faced by shipyard workers every day, as well as…
Read MoreRescuers Recover Body of Airman Killed in Boating Accident
Rescue divers in Florida recovered the body of a 20-year-old airman who was killed in a boating accident on October 21, according to the Pensacola News Journal. The victim was identified by the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office as Colby Siegel. According to Stan Kirkland, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Siegel was…
Read MoreCruise Ship Performs Emergency Maintenance
P&O Cruises’ VENTURA ship sustained damage that required emergency repair in the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean in October, according to NBC News. The cruise ship was carrying 3,100 passengers when a crack was discovered approximately two inches wide above the water line below the pool deck, according to reports. Apparently, the weld…
Read MoreFisherman Critically Injured Aboard Vessel
A Massachusetts fisherman was rushed to the hospital after he fell 14 feet from a ladder to a deck on his boat in September, according to the Gloucester Times. The fisherman was working on the VENTURE fishing vessel at the time of the accident and was rushed by paramedics to the Lahey Clinic in Burlington.…
Read MoreOne Killed in Mississippi Fishing Accident
Mark Barhanovich, 54, died in a boating accident near his home in Biloxi, Mississippi, according to the SunHerald.com. Barhanovich was out on a 23-foot fishing boat when he accidently struck a submerged object in the Mississippi Sound. Following the collision, the motor ripped off the stern and flew into the boat, striking Barhanovich in the…
Read MoreFishing Accident Victim Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury
Jamie Hilton, 36, was injured this summer on a fishing trip in Hell’s Canyon, Idaho after she fell 12 feet and hit her head, according to the Huffington Post. Hilton, a former Mrs. Idaho, had to have an emergency surgery in which doctors removed 25 percent of her skull, storing it under her abdomen until…
Read MoreAlcohol Suspected Factor in North Carolina Boating Accident
Alcohol Suspected Factor in North Carolina Boating Accident Officials are still investigating a boating accident in North Carolina that left passengers with multiple injuries, according to officials. The accident occurred in the early morning hours of October 5, in the Intracoastal Waterway off the coast of Wrightsville Beach. A 20-foot boat collided with an 18-foot…
Read MoreThirty-Eight Killed in Hong Kong Ferry Accident
A boating accident in Hong Kong killed 38 people on October 3, according to sources. A ferry owned by Hong Kong and Kowloon Holdings collided with a vessel. The ferry was damaged but managed to make it to port. The vessel, the LAMMA IV, was half submerged and retrieved by a salvage crew. Approximately 100…
Read MoreSouth Boston’s Black Falcon Port Set to Break Records in 2012
Cruiseport Boston is on pace to set a record for the number of passengers using the South Boston “Black Falcon” terminal as a point of departure or call in 2012, with over 350,000 estimated passengers. Black Falcon first opened to cruise ships in 1986 and was recently renovated for $11 million in 2010. The port’s…
Read MoreGloucester and New Bedford Ports Appeal 2010 Federal Regulations
In our last blog, we discussed how the federal government opened the door to $100 million in emergency funds to aid New England fisherman, but the money must first pass Congress. In the meantime, fishermen are struggling with the 2010 federal regulations regarding sector allotments. The new rules implemented in May 2010 allows for individual…
Read MoreWill the Federal Government Offer Funding to Aid the Fishery Disaster?
Three weeks ago, the U.S. Commerce Department declared a national fishery disaster in New England, but what does that mean for struggling commercial fisherman? It may be the first step to receive $100 million in federal aid, but the money is not yet flowing. The Commerce Secretary understands that fish stocks are expected to be…
Read MoreChoosing a Maritime Attorney
Choosing a Maritime Attorney If you find yourself dealing with an attorney death during an ongoing maritime lawsuit, you have an important decision to make: who will represent you going forward? Although your previous attorney’s estate may work out a deal with another lawyer or firm, you have the right to choose who will represent…
Read MoreYou Always Have the Right to Choose Your Own Attorney and Discharge Your Attorney
If you have filed a maritime lawsuit against a negligent employer, drunk boater, irresponsible cruise line or other party, and your attorney passes away while the case is pending or you are no longer happy with your current attorney’s representation of you, you have the right to choose new legal representation. You always have the…
Read MoreWhat Do Clients Do After an Attorney Death?
If you are in need of legal representation, you are always are able to choose what attorney will represent you at all times. This is particularly true during the uncertain period after an attorney passes away with open and ongoing cases. Massachusetts law allows for clients of a deceased attorney to be transferred or “sold”…
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