Maritime Injury Lawyer Blog

NEW ORLEANS, La. - BP's lawyer, Andrew Langan, argued to a New Orleans federal judge on Wednesday, May 25, that spill victims can only sue for economic losses under specific laws governing offshore spills and that lawsuits filed under other statutes should be dismissed.

"BP's position is not that every single claim needs to be dismissed," Andrew Langan, BP's lawyer, told U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier at the hearing. Claims that have been improperly filed or not yet presented to BP's trust fund should be dismissed, he said.

Continue reading "BP Argues to Dismiss Some Spill Claims " »

A tow-vessel operator, whose vessel was involved in a collision that left a 13-year-old boy dead, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The boy's father has also been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the collision between a commercial towing vessel and a bass fishing boat.

The boy was a passenger in his father's 19-foot bass fishing boat when it collided with a commercial towboat in the shipping channel on the James River. The boy sustained serious injuries, and was taken to hospital where he died.

According to local law enforcement, the boats were traveling at high speeds at the time.  Both, the boy's father and the operator of the towboat have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Law enforcement agencies in north Palm Beach County are searching for a man whom police say was operating a 23-foot boat on the Intracoastal Waterway Saturday night, when it collided with an illuminated channel marker. The impact caused severe head injuries for one of the passengers on board.

Kai Woodstock, 26, of Jupiter, who was flown by helicopter to St. Mary's Medical Center after the accident, which occurred around 9:46 p.m., according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Investigators say the boat operator fled the crash scene and had not been located nearly 24 hours later.

Continue reading "Critical injury incident alcohol related" »

Five crewmen abandoned a 60-foot yacht luxury Yacht NORDIC PRINCESS in the Gulf of Alaska after losing power and being battered by waves. The crew reported having electrical problems, losing steerage and being hit by a rogue wave. The vessel took on a list and eventually sank. The crew abandoned ship in survival suits and entered their life raft. The crewmen were airlifted to safety by a Coast Guard helicopter. The yacht had departed from Kodiak bound for Prince William Sound and encountered waves estimated at 10-12 feet.

Two crewmembers of the F/V ALASKA OCEAN have been cited for failure to obtain crew-member licenses. The citations were issued in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and bail of $260 was set for each of the crew-members. One crewmember resides in Washington and the other in Massachusetts. In most instances, crewmembers who are not strictly processors but are working as deckhands must get a crewmember license.

No injuries reported after a barge incident on the Mississippi River, but a portion of the river had to be closed down for several hours.

The accident occurred last week, and involved a tow that was pushing a massive barge formation. About 20 barges were involved, most of which were carrying grain, one of which collided with a moored barge. At least three barges are reported to have sunk.

Continue reading "Mississippi Levees Endangered" »

A deckhand, who suffered injuries after a fall accident on a barge, has filed a Jones Act lawsuitt in federal court in Louisiana against his employer, a construction company.

According to the lawsuit, the injury occurred in December 2010, when the man was working on a barge used by Boh Bros. The barge was being used in the construction of a bridge on Lake Pontchartrain. There was an open manhole or some other object on the barge that the seamen could not observe due to the darkness.  As a result, he fell and suffered injuries.

Continue reading "Deckhand Fall Lawsuit" »

On May 19, 2011 the fishing vessel Sandy Point, owned by Omega Protein was struck broadside and sunk by a 660 foot container ship. Three crewman remain missing.

The fishing vessel, Sandy Point, was a 163 foot pogy boat owned by Omega Protein which operates a processing plant in Moss Point. The vessel was carrying a load of menhaden fish, also called pogy.

Continue reading "Container Ship Sinks Fishing Boat, 3 Missing" »

NEW ORLEANS, LA - Hundreds of lawsuits against British Petroleum Plc (BP) have been consolidated in Federal Court in New Orleans alleging that the company is refusing to accept liability for losses due to the BP oil spill following the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010.

A $20 billion oil spill fund was established following the disaster and is being administered by Ken Feinberg. Hundreds of civil lawsuits have arisen from individuals and businesses living and working along the Gulf Coast who have suffered financial harm as a result of the oil spill.

Continue reading "BP Faces Civil Suits" »

WASHINGTON, DC -- The U.S. Government approved on Wednesday, May 11, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC plan to drill for oil in five locations deep under the Gulf of Mexico.

Over objections from environmental groups, the Shell plan is the second deep-water exploration plan approved in the Gulf since the government lifted a moratorium on deep-water drilling last October following the BP oil spill. At least six other plans for deep-water exploration in the Gulf are pending.

Continue reading "Drilling Plan Approved " »

One cruise-ship passenger was killed and another seriously injured in a jet ski accident in the Bahamas on Saturday, according to officials.

Carnival Cruise Lines said on Sunday the crash involved two passengers who had been sailing on the Carnival Sensation ship.

Continue reading "Cruise Jet Ski Death" »

The U.S. Coast Guard said it was searching early Wednesday for a woman who was reported missing from a cruise ship as it sailed from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to San Diego.

The Celebrity Millennium arrived in San Diego on Tuesday after an overnight cruise from the Mexican resort city, according to Petty Officer Levi Read. The 65-year-old was reported to the Coast Guard as missing early Tuesday afternoon.

A cutter began a search around early Wednesday for the woman. A daytime search by two Coast Guard aircraft yielded "negative" results, Read said. The FBI has joined an investigation into her disappearance.

BP has agreed to pay $25 million to settle charges related to spills from its pipelines in Alaska. It is the largest per barrel penalty levied against an oil company. The size of this penalty seems to indicate that BP can expect similarly substantial penalties for its role in the Gulf Of Mexico oil spill last year.

BP was found responsible for the spill that involved more than 5,000 barrels of oil leaking into the Arctic in March 2006. Later in August that year, the company was involved in a second smaller spill in the area. BP paid more than $20 million in criminal fines and restitution. The company was also ordered to perform repairs on its 1600 miles of pipeline across Alaska. Later, the Department of Transportation held that the company ha was not in compliance of orders to clean and replace miles of pipeline network. In 2009, the federal administration sued BP again.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently released new rules targeting safety for shipyard workers. The agency believes that the rule can help prevent at least 350 shipyard worker injuries every year.

The rule was published in the May 2 Federal Register, and updates several provisions in shipyard safety standards that were established in 1972. The new rules take into consideration changes in industry practices and technology and address hazards that did not exist earlier.

Continue reading "OSHA Shipyard Rules" »