Maritime Law
Summer Tragedies on Lake Lanier Compel Georgia Lawmakers to Craft Stronger BUI Laws
This US Army safety video makes the point that a boat operator under the influence of alcohol is 10 times more likely to die than a person who is sober. However, drunk boating accidents also have the potential to harm other people on the water, and a number of boating while intoxicated incidents recently compelled…
Read MoreUSCG Investigation Shows ‘Human Error’ Caused Tugboat Sinking
This WMTW-TV video shows the 55-foot BENJAMIN BAILEY tugboat capsizing and sinking in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on October 21, 2012. Two crewmembers were able to escape from the vessel after it became pinned against a barge at the Memorial Bridge construction site. On February 28, Foster’s Daily Democrat reported that an analysis by the US…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Attorneys Review Effects of Sequestration Cuts on USCG
Boston Maritime Attorneys Review Effects of Sequestration Cuts on USCG This video is United States Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Naplitano’s third annual State of Homeland Security Address, delivers on February 26 at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. After her remarks, the first question that moderator Elaine Kamarck asks Napolitano is what impact sequestration…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Trial Lawyers Look at Boater Identified in Wreckage on Florida Coast
Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Look at Boater Identified in Wreckage on Florida Coast On February 24, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission research team searching for right whales east of the mouth of the St. Johns River spotted boat wreckage floating in the Atlantic Ocean about 22 miles east of Jacksonville. According to the…
Read MoreTankers Collide in Texas Days After Tugs Collide in Alaska
Nobody was injured but many eyes may have been opened after there were two ship collisions in less than a week. According to KTUU-TV, two of the three tugboats that were supposed to tow the damaged Shell drilling rig Kulluk collided on February 15. US Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley told…
Read MoreCoast Guard Suspends Search for Overboard MV ICE RIVER Crewmember
Coast Guard Suspends Search for Overboard MV ICE RIVER Crewmember On February 20, the US Coast Guard suspended the search for a crewmember who reportedly fell overboard from the MV ICE RIVER approximately 50 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The master of the 478-foot merchant vessel contacted Coast Guard watchstanders to report that…
Read MoreOne Man Dies After Ferry Collides With Motorboat in San Francisco Bay
At the beginning of the month, we wrote about two people who had to be rescued after their sailboat collided with a tugboat and then sank into the San Francisco Bay. On February 16, one man was killed and another man remained hospitalized with severe injuries after a 22-foot motorboat collided with a Golden Gate…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Attorneys Examine Coast Guard Medevacs on Cruise Ships
Boston Maritime Attorneys Examine Coast Guard Medevacs on Cruise Ships During the four days that it took to tow the disabled CARNIVAL TRIUMPH to Mobile, Alabama, the US Coast Guard provided valuable assistance. On the evening that the fire in the cruise ship’s engine room resulted in the loss of power that left the TRIUMPH…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Trial Lawyers Say Recent Story Highlights Importance of Filing Lawsuit
Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Say Recent Story Highlights Importance of Filing Lawsuit A recent story from Canada’s CBC News discussed some of the struggles that single father Ian Reid has been facing ever since a workplace accident while working offshore with Hibernia changed everything. “I hurt my back,” Reid said. “And once I hurt my…
Read MoreCARNIVAL TRIUMPH Fire Leaves Thousands Stranded at Sea for Days
CARNIVAL TRIUMPH Fire Leaves Thousands Stranded at Sea for Days This video is Carnival Cruise Lines President and CEO Gerry Cahill speaking at a news conference on February 12. It was the first time that a company representative spoke publicly since a fire had erupted in the engine room of the CARNIVAL TRIUMPH while the…
Read MoreCoast Guard Rescues Injured Worker, Crew on Sinking Fishing Vessel
Coast Guard Rescues Injured Worker, Crew on Sinking Fishing Vessel On Wednesday, we discussed the US Coast Guard report in which the agency accepted responsibility for a fatal 2009 accident. However, we noted that the Coast Guard’s uncharacteristic negligence in that incident contrasted to the many lives that the agency saves on a daily basis.…
Read MoreCoast Guard Report Says Crew Responsible for Fatal 2009 Crash
Coast Guard Report Says Crew Responsible for Fatal 2009 Crash Two weeks ago, we noted that the US Coast Guard has saved 56,511 lives since 2000. The Coast Guard estimates that it saves 10 lives and assists 192 people in distress on an average day. While the men and women of the Coast Guard provide…
Read MoreFour Crewmembers Taken to Hospitals with Burn Injuries
The StarNews reported that four crewmembers aboard THE STAR FRASER had to be taken to a hospital with chemical burns after the 614-foot freighter docked the state port in Wilmington, North Carolina. The individuals suffered the burns during a chemical leak aboard the ship while it was at sea. THE STAR FRASER was en route…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Attorneys Take Closer Look at Florida Inner Tube Accident
Boston Maritime Attorneys Take Closer Look at Florida Inner Tube Accident WSVN-TV reported that a 14-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy were injured in a boating accident on January 27. The girl was caught in the propeller of a boat after she fell off an inner tube in northern Biscayne Bay off the Julia Tuttle…
Read MoreBarge Strikes Bridge in ‘One of the Two Most Difficult Turns in the Mississippi River’
Barge Strikes Bridge in ‘One of the Two Most Difficult Turns in the Mississippi River’ The Associated Press reported that a tug was pushing two barges in a dangerous stretch of the Mississippi River on January 27 when one of the barges carrying 80,000 gallons of oil struck a railroad bridge and began leaking. The…
Read MoreSailboat Sinks After Being Struck by Tug and Barge in San Francisco
Two people had to be rescued after their sailboat collided with a tugboat near the Golden Gate Bridge and sank into the San Francisco Bay on January 26. KGO-TV reported that it was not clear how the two vessels collided or why they were so close. One of the people rescued was suffering from hypothermia.…
Read MoreFisherman Likely Drowned, But Foul Play Not Suspected
A construction worker discovered the body of 56-year-old commercial fisherman Carl Lewis that washed ashore north of the drawbridge in Chincoteague Island, Virginia on January 22, 2013. WITN-TV reported Lewis was last seen during dinner at a local restaurant the previous night. He was last working aboard the SUSAN ROSE, a privately owned fishing boat.…
Read MoreCoast Guard Airlifts Two Workers Injured on UK Tanker
Coast Guard Airlifts Two Workers Injured on UK Tanker The US Coast Guard issued a news release that stated its San Diego station conducted a medevac of two injured crewmembers from the ENERGY CONQUEROR, a United Kingdom-flagged tanker, on January 18, 2013. The two crewmembers, both Russian citizens, were injured when a cable split. According…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Trial Lawyers Discuss San Diego Whale Watching Tour Death, Passenger Injuries
Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Discuss San Diego Whale Watching Tour Death, Passenger Injuries KGTV-TV reported that 85-year-old Mary Ann Lanyon died after falling down some stairs on the MARIETTA, a 100-foot two-deck tour boat operated by San Diego Harbor Excursions. Lanyon’s husband, Wally was too upset to speak on camera with KGTV, but called the…
Read MoreTugboat Crew Still Stranded, Experienced Inspector Calls Unseaworthy Vessel ‘Worst By Far’
This December 2012 video from Canada’s Global News discusses the eight crewmembers of a Bolivian-flagged, American-owned tugboat who were stranded in the Novia Scotia city of Halifax after rough weather conditions. The Globe and Mail reported that Transport Canada inspectors refused to let the 69-year-old CRAIG TRANS leave Halifax because of “poor living conditions and…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Attorneys Emphasize Investigation in Recreational Boating Accidents
Boston Maritime Attorneys Emphasize Investigation in Recreational Boating Accidents A 35-year-old woman died after being crushed between a boat and the MacArthur Causeway on the Intracoastal Waterway in Miami, Florida. WTVJ-TV reported that Janette Africano was on an 18-foot vessel being operated by 35-year-old Javier Lorente on January 12, 2012. The boat was southbound when…
Read MoreTwo Bridges Struck by Tanker, Tow Boat on Same Day
Vessels struck bridges in two separate incidents on January 7, 2013. This video shows some of the damage after an empty oil tanker sideswiped a tower of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in California. The US Coast Guard warned the 752-foot OVERSEAS REYMAR that it was off course before the ship scraped a 30-to-40-foot section of…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Trial Lawyers Review Recent Fishing Accidents
Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Review Recent Fishing Accidents The Star-News reported that the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s Division of Law Enforcement investigators are calling the January 5, 2013, death of 34-year-old Wilmington resident Jeremy Myers a commercial fishing accident. Myers was net boat fishing off the coast of Oak Island when he became entangled…
Read MoreFeds Allege Employee Who Attacked Captain Put Towboat, Crew at Risk
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that federal prosecutors said a towboat worker’s attack on his captain on the MIRANDA PAIGE put the towboat traveling up the Mississippi River and its crew at risk. An affidavit filed by Coast Guard Investigative Service Special Agent Roger St. Germaine Jr. said that 30-year-old David Donnell Roberts pulled the…
Read MoreSEASTREAK Ferry Accident Injures 57 Passengers, One Critically
This New York Post video discusses the SEASTREAK WALL STREET commuter ferry that crashed into a pier in lower Manhattan on January 9, 2013. The New York Police Department said 57 people were injured, one of them critically. A spokesman for the New York Fire Department told the New York Times that the cause of…
Read MoreJones Act Attorneys Look at Drilling Ship Running Aground in Alaska
This video is a montage of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) rescue of crewmembers aboard THE KULLUK, a conical, Arctic-class drill ship weighing nearly 28,000 gross tons. Reuters reported that the ship owned by Shell Oil Company broke away from its tow lines on New Year’s Eve and ran aground just off Kodiak Island…
Read More‘Challenging Rescue’ of Seaman Injured on Bulk Freighter
‘Challenging Rescue’ of Seaman Injured on Bulk Freighter The Canadian daily newspaper The Province reported that a seaman injured on a ship off the coast of British Columbia was rescued December 13, 2012, in a “challenging” operation by a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) helicopter rescue team. The crewmember was performing maintenance below deck on…
Read More‘Virtually Zero’ Chance Six Missing Sailors Alive After Cargo, Container Ships Collide
‘Virtually Zero’ Chance Six Missing Sailors Alive After Cargo, Container Ships Collide This BBC video discusses how Dutch rescue teams said it was unlikely that six missing sailors would be found alive after a cargo ship collided with a container ship in the North Sea on December 5, 2012. While 13 members of the 24-man…
Read MoreCoast Guard Suspends Search for Two Fishermen Presumed Lost at Sea
Coast Guard Suspends Search for Two Fishermen Presumed Lost at Sea This video from WCVB-TV discusses a rescue capsule discovered in a Saugus marsh. The Gloucester Times reported that the pod, marked Foxy Lady II on the side, was found around the same time that the US Coast Guard (USCG) called off the night’s search…
Read MoreHappy New Year From The Boston Maritime Attorneys At Latti Associates LLC
The Boston maritime trial lawyers at Latti Associates LLC hope all of our readers and their families have a happy and safe 2013.
Read MoreBoston Maritime Trial Lawyers Encourage All Boaters to Celebrate Responsibly
Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Encourage All Boaters to Celebrate Responsibly During the holiday season, numerous advocacy groups and public service announcements call attention to the dangers of drunk driving. However, with tonight being New Year’s Eve and alcohol being consumed on boats as well as on land, it is important to remember that boating under…
Read MoreBoston Maritime Attorneys Examine Crushed Arm Accident, Dock Worker Dangers
Boston Maritime Attorneys Examine Crushed Arm Accident, Dock Worker Dangers A dock accident in Western Australia on December 15, 2012, calls attention to some of the extraordinary dangers maritime workers face on a daily basis. The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) told the Brusselton-Dunsborough Mail that a man’s arm was crushed while working at the…
Read More‘How Long Will It Take to Settle My Jones Act Case?’
‘How Long Will It Take to Settle My Jones Act Case?’ Many clients have an understandable concern about how long it will take to settle their Jones Act cases. Because a variety of maritime injuries and circumstances are involved in a Jones Act case, resolution times vary. Some Jones Act cases can be settled in…
Read MoreHappy Holidays from the Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers at Latti Associates LLC
The Boston maritime attorneys at Latti Associates LLC would like to wish all of our readers and their families a happy and safe holiday today.
Read MoreCrewmember Injured Because of Poor Communication with Machinery Operator
An article in the January 2013 issue of National Fisherman magazine provides a detailed account of an accident this past February in the Bering Sea. The story demonstrates one of the most common causes of maritime accidents: a machinery operator on deck failing to make sure an area is clear and no crewmember is in…
Read MoreOne Man Killed in Recreational Boat Accident on Atlantic Ocean
One man died in a recreational boat collision on December 8, 2012, in the Atlantic Ocean about a mile and a half south of Long Branch, New Jersey. The Princeton Patch reported that 31-year-old Eric Kim died after his 18-foot pleasure craft was struck by the NO SURRENDER, a 36-foot pleasure craft piloted by 44-year-old…
Read MoreJones Act Lawyers Explain How Federal Law for Seamen Differs from Workers Compensation
If seamen or maritime workers sustain injuries because of slip and falls, line breaks or other accidents resulting from employer’s negligence while working on a vessel, the Jones Act and general maritime law allows these individuals to pursue compensation that can be more substantial than workers’ compensation. The Jones Act and general maritime law not…
Read MoreDrunk 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 MoreMaritime Amputation Victim? Jones Act Attorneys Have Recovered Millions
Suffering an injury on the water which requires the amputation of any part of your body is devastating. For the injured party, not only does the person have to deal with the physical pain but with the psychological aspect of losing a part of your body which can be overwhelming. It is very important with…
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 MoreBoston Maritime Trial Lawyers Discuss Spate of Florida Boating Accidents During Thanksgiving Weekend
Boston Maritime Trial Lawyers Discuss Spate of Florida Boating Accidents During Thanksgiving Weekend This video from ABC News discusses the large wave that hit the CORAL PRINCESS on Thanksgiving day, capsizing the 45-foot catamaran and throwing 21 passengers and two crewmembers in to the waters off Pompano Beach, Florida. The Sun-Sentinel reported that 54-year-old Nina…
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…
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