With its vast expanses of picturesque waterways, South Carolina truly is a boater’s paradise, not to mention a hub of commercial shipping activity. However, activities of this type can give rise to negligent acts and omissions capable of causing serious injury and worse, leaving victims to contend with crippling categories of loss.
If you are among those who have been harmed in a boating-related incident, a Mount Pleasant admiralty and maritime accident lawyer can offer essential legal insights and guidance. An experienced Mount Pleasant personal injury lawyer can help you pursue a claim for damages by reviewing your case. En Español.
Maritime and Admiralty Laws
There are several important distinctions in terms of the protections afforded to those injured on land and those provided to individuals who suffer harm on the waterways. A person’s status as a passenger or a worker aboard a boat is often pivotal in determining the sort of financial recovery for which they may be eligible, and it is wise to gain a clear understanding of the different types of compensation regularly sought in such cases through the assistance of a Mount Pleasant admiralty and maritime attorney.
What Recourse Do Injured Passengers Have for Compensation?
Those harmed while traveling on recreational vessels, cruise ships, personal watercraft are afforded the opportunity to pursue a personal injury action against a negligent party with a Mount Pleasant admiralty and maritime lawyer by their side.
As such, it may be possible for victims to seek payment for losses that include medical expenses, lost wages, disfigurement, pain, suffering and possibly even punitive damages in cases of reckless disregard for the safety of others.
Common Boating Scenarios
Boating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, improper maintenance, or failing to heed changing weather conditions are among the more common factors leading to such claims.
It should be noted that cruise lines and similar common carriers owe a special duty to passengers that exceeds one of reasonable care. When harm occurs, victims may attempt to obtain financial recovery from defendants such as ship owners, charter companies, operators, and ticketing agencies, depending on the circumstances.
Common scenarios that a Mount Pleasant admiralty and maritime attorney can help with are varied, and may encompass:
- Docking impact injuries
- Norovirus outbreaks
- Overboard falls
- Fire-related injuries
- Navigational errors
- On-board pool-related accidents
What Protections Afforded to Shoremen and Other Maritime Workers?
Passengers of sea-going vessels are not the only ones offered significant legal safeguards in the event of serious injury. Seamen can bring claims according to general maritime law, as well as under the federal Jones Act if they experience harm while on the job.
Laborers who sustain injuries while working in, on, or around a vessel are able to recover so-called maintenance and cure payment, without regard to fault. This provides resources for medical expenses as well as room and board during recuperation.
Jones Act Provisions
If a boating-related employer’s negligence or defective equipment utilized in their enterprise is deemed responsible for a worker’s injuries, it is possible for victims to obtain payment for medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering, emotional trauma, lost future earning capacity, and more with the assistance of a Mount Pleasant admiralty and maritime attorney.
The provisions of the Jones Act extend to individuals working on ferries, tugboats, ocean-going vessels, oil rigs, drilling platforms, commercial fishing boats, and similar watercraft.
Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Safeguards
An additional federal statutory protection offered to workers harmed while working to repair, build, unload, load, or otherwise attend to a water-going vessel is known as the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
Laborers claiming benefits under this authority often see greater financial recovery than would otherwise be available under traditional workers’ compensation frameworks, as they may be permitted to sue negligent employers if a ship’s crew, operator or owner is alleged to have negligently caused death or serious injury.
Seeking Assistance From a Mount Pleasant Admiralty and Maritime Lawyer
The complex realm of boating-related legal claims is one with which not every practitioner is sufficiently familiar. If you or a loved one has sustained real harm as a passenger, employee, or contractor on any type of watercraft, rig, ship or another kind of seaworthy vessel, a knowledgeable Mount Pleasant admiralty and maritime lawyer stands prepared to aggressively assert your right to the justice and financial resources you deserve.
