Articles about Maritime Law

As a maritime personal injury attorney, I have numerous cases against cruise lines.  Most of these cases involve my clients being hurt while onboard the ship.  However, some cases involve injuries sustained on excursions or even through crimes while at the port.  Below is a list of ports commonly listed

Recently, the US Supreme Court has accepted a case that will finally decide whether punitive damages are allowed for persons injured or killed while working at sea.  The case is McBride v. Estis Well Service and involves an incident aboard a barge with a truck-mounted drilling rig.  The rig toppled

The recent United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit opinion in Franza v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, LTD. now allows passengers injured as the result of medical negligence while onboard the ability to sue the cruise line based on agency theory.  This case effectively overrules the case Barbetta v.

Until just this month no one was allowed to sue the cruise lines for medical negligence. Ever! It didn’t matter if the cruise line doctor completely butchered you, the cruise line was totally exempt from responsibility (remember, this is the only doctor you could possibly choose on the ship as you

Just like accidents on land, you need two things to prove your case when the accident occurs on the water, liability and damages. However, the method of finding these (and their many subparts) is significantly different when vessels collide with either another vessel (collision) or when they collide with a

As an attorney who practices  maritime law, I often take cases against cruise lines.  These cases often involve trip or slip and fall where my client has been injured.  These cases are often very difficult to prove negligence on the part of the cruise line.  One such way is to

On September 9th, a boater was rescued by two Good Samaritans after his watercraft collided with a seawall in the Boynton Beach Inlet. Witnesses said the boater’s throttle was stuck, and he lost control of his boat. The man was pulled from the water by two bystanders after they heard

Last month the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee heard horrific stories from cruise line passengers recounting their experiences. The man behind this hearing was Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) the committee chairman.  Senator Rockefeller has been on a mission to hold the cruise line industry accountable for their dangerous practices regarding the

As a practicing maritime attorney in South Florida, I often get questions regarding maritime law issues. While each case is different, here are some answers to those questions I hear most often. 1.    What is the difference between maritime law and admiralty law? The difference between admiralty and maritime law