According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on-deck injuries account for 12% of all fatalities in the commercial fishing industry and the largest number of hospitalizations in non-fatal injuries. Most of these injuries (67%) occur on deck during the deployment and retrieval of fishing gear. In order…
During the last federal fiscal year ending on September 30, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that, for the first time in known history, no one died on the job while commercial fishing in Alaska. U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Phillip Thorne, chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard in Alaska, commented:…
News broke Thursday, June 25 of a tragic float plane crash near Misty Fjords National Monument, about 25 miles outside of Ketchikan, Alaska. The crash resulted in the deaths of all onboard, including eight Holland America Line passengers and the plane’s pilot. The sightseeing airplane ride had been arranged through…
IN ADMIRALTY FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW RE EVIDENTIARY HEARING ON MAINTENANCE AND CURE This matter came on for an evidentiary hearing, before the Court, sitting without a jury, on May 14, 2015. Plaintiff Jeffrey A. Hedges (Hedges) was represented by Robert M. Kraft, Richard J. Davies and…
In an order dated May 22, 2015, a Seattle federal court judge issued a ruling requiring Arctic Storm, Inc. to pay back maintenance payments to two fish processors injured on May 20, 2013 when a fire broke out on board the C/P ARCTIC STORM and also held that the processors’…
Seamen who are injured in the course of their employment in an incident caused by the negligence of their employer could file lawsuits against the employers seeking compensation under the federal Jones Act. However, those who are from Washington need to know the requirements that must be met for such…
As a personal injury law firm, we have growing concern that many people do not realize that their privacy settings are not properly set in Facebook and that anyone can see their posts, comments, and private photographs. In our experience, most of the people that claim that only their “friends”…
In a recent opinion by federal judge Ronald B. Leighton, Foss Maritime Company was ordered to pay for a spinal cord stimulator for an injured tug worker represented by Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC. Foss had refused to pay for the procedure for its injured employee, claiming that the procedure did…
Does a vessel owner have an obligation to promptly furnish maintenance and cure to a seaman injured in the service of the vessel? The short answer is yes and the maritime law prohibits vessel owners from creating artificial roadblocks to slow the administration of these maritime benefits. “The adequate protection…
Unlike shore-side workers’ compensation schemes, a seaman may be entitled to recover maintenance and cure for a cancer diagnosis as long as the symptoms of the cancer manifest or were aggravated while in the service of the vessel. Courts have long recognized that: “ . . the shipowner’s liability for…