Alaskan waters are home to all types of vessels. They are work platforms and sources of income and pleasure, but they can also be very dangerous. Alaska boating accident attorney, Elliott T. Dennis, has successfully represented numerous clients who were victims of boating accidents in the fishing industry, the marine transportation industry, and the marine tourist industry. He has extensive knowledge and experience related to marine accidents.
A special set of laws known as maritime and admiralty laws govern injuries and deaths that occur in or around navigable waters. These laws regulate the operation and use of a wide range of vessels, including commercial fishing boats, marine transportation vessels, recreational watercrafts and cruise ships.
Maritime law typically applies to all “at sea” injuries, whereas civil tort law typically covers injuries from an “on the beach” accident. If you are injured at sea, you need a knowledgeable and experienced Alaska boat accident lawyer to help you determine what remedies are available to you. For instance, a claim on behalf of an injured seaman can be made to recover “wages,” “maintenance and cure,” and damages. Damages can be recovered for permanent injury and wrongful death based upon the doctrine of unseaworthiness as well as negligence under the Jones Act. A passenger who suffers an injury at sea may be entitled to damages, but not maintenance and cure.
Alaska’s fishing industry includes many different types of vessels engaged in different activities: factory processors, long-line halibut and cod fishing vessels, trawlers, salmon trollers, purse seiners, salmon gill-netters, crab boats, herring seiners, scallop draggers and dive fishery vessels. Elliott T. Dennis is knowledgeable about the challenges and hazards faced by fishermen on a daily basis. He knows how to help injured fishermen recover maintenance and cure and the damages to which they are entitled if they suffer an at sea injury.
Alaska’s marine transportation industry employees thousands of seaman on container vessels and tugboats towing barges which transport goods to Alaska ports, oil tankers hauling crude oil from Valdez and Kenai to out-of-state refineries, landing crafts and barges hauling equipment and fuel to remote sites and the Alaska State Ferry system which makes up the Alaska Marine Highway. Employees injured within this industry, like the fishing industry, are to be dealt with under the federal maritime law and need to be represented by a maritime injury accident attorney.
The rise of the tourist industry in Alaska has caused tens of thousands of visitor to arrive in Alaska for short term stays on mammoth cruise ships. Moreover, many active tourists pursue adventure on fishing charter boats, whale watching cruises, glacier viewing vessels, river rafting and even flight seeing. When an injury is suffered during such adventures, an experienced Alaska boating accident lawyer is needed to sort out which law applies to the injury, maritime law, aviation law or civil tort law.
Maritime workers in Alaska who are injured in an accident at sea should contact an Alaska maritime accident attorney immediately. Due to the nature of maritime employment, accident sites are quickly disturbed and crucial evidence is often permanently lost. When this happens, it becomes difficult to present evidence of liability, impairing the injured maritime worker’s ability to recover compensation for his or her injuries. If the injured worker contacts a lawyer immediately following the accident, the lawyer can help preserve important evidence and ensure the injured worker’s ability to pursue civil litigation.
If you or a loved one has been hurt aboard a vessel and you need an attorney, call Anchorage boating accident lawyer, Elliott T. Dennis for a free consultation.