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Court sanctions Maersk's counsel in wrongful death case for misrepresenting availability of witness
This case arose from a tragic accident on the Houston Ship Channel when a recreational boater encountered the wake of the MAERSK IDAHO....
Jan 23, 2023


Mississippi River fleeter 100 percent at fault for barge breakaway. Towboats not negligent.
On February 22, 2020 barges broke away from Turn Services, LLC’s Mississippi River Dockside Fleet and struck and damaged...
Jan 16, 2023


Yacht owner allowed to pursue Hurricane Dorian insurance claim despite breach of warranty in policy
A 61-foot Viking Princess named the SERENDIPITY was destroyed during Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. SERENDIPITY’s owner filed an...
Jan 6, 2023


Jury awards Conrad Shipyard, LLC $7.5 million for breach of vessel construction contracts
On December 16, 2022, a jury awarded Conrad Shipyard, LLC $7,494,930 in breach of contract damages after one of Conrad’s customers asked...
Dec 21, 2022


Platform 15% responsible for personal injury damages after a recreational fishing boat ran into it
In the middle of the night, a 29-foot World Cat offshore recreational fishing vessel ran into the north side of the Main Pass 37 BE...
Dec 15, 2022


Recreational boater's personal injury claim against power company allowed to proceed
The plaintiff was running his flat boat powered by a 40-hp surface drive on the Tangipahoa river. He decided to explore some shallow...
Dec 2, 2022


Seaman's deposition testimony gets his Jones Act lawsuit dismissed
The seaman was hurt while feeding a mooring line over the side of the ROSS CANDIES. He felt pain in his abdomen around the site of a...
Nov 21, 2022


Court refuses to dismiss lawsuits of seamen killed while driving skiff back to towboat from bar
This case involves crew members getting drunk at a bar and then running a small skiff into the head of a large northbound tow while...
Nov 14, 2022


Limitation of Liability Actions: what are they and why do vessel owners file them?
Congress passed the Limitation of Shipowners’ Liability Act in 1851 to encourage U.S. shipping. Most agree the societal aims of the...
Nov 7, 2022


Injured maritime worker covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act
A maritime worker who does not qualify as a Jones Act seaman is likely covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act...
Oct 27, 2022


Injured Seamen: Jones Act Negligence, Unseaworthiness and Maintenance and Cure
Most land-based employees are entitled to workers’ compensation when they are injured at work. Seamen do not get workers’ compensation. ...
Oct 20, 2022


Court allows declaratory judgment action on maintenance and cure to proceed against seaman
The seaman complained of injuries to his neck and lower back after he was involved in an incident on January 18, 2022, near Chalmette,...
Oct 11, 2022


Court allows deckhand to bifurcate personal injury damage claim from limitation of liability action
This case shows how the plaintiff’s bar is using bifurcation in vessel limitation of liability actions to obtain a jury over the issue of...
Oct 4, 2022


Heaving anchors to get underway does not give ship navigational privileges
The ship in this Mississippi River collision case argued it was a privileged vessel under the Inland Navigational Rules such that the...
Sep 26, 2022


Hemp oil use triggers U.S. Coast Guard Suspension & Revocation proceeding and license suspension
The U.S. Coast Guard filed a Suspension & Revocation proceeding against a mariner for testing positive for marijuana after he used hemp...
Sep 15, 2022


Jury awards $3.4 million to Jones Act seaman
Here is an update about a recent jury verdict out of New Orleans federal court where a Jones Act seaman obtained close to $3.4 million...
Sep 12, 2022


U.S. Coast Guard suspends chief mate’s license for inappropriately touching and hazing deck cadet
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a senior ship officer's license for hazing and inappropriately touching junior personnel while serving as...
Sep 5, 2022


Court bars Jones Act employer from countersuing deckhand for fraud
At 3:30 in the morning, the DAVID G SERT and her eighteen barge tow of empties collided with dredge pipe being towed by the LA BELLE and...
Aug 30, 2022


Barge washer's Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act claim dismissed
The court granted Ingram's motion to dismiss the barge washer’s claim in this case because the barge washer was injured by a condition he...
Aug 22, 2022


Court addresses admissibility of post-incident improvements to platform in personal injury case
The roustabout claims he was injured when he tripped and fell while walking on a skid beam on the Lena Platform in the Gulf of Mexico. ...
Aug 16, 2022
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