Legal Rights for Injured Commercial Fishermen

Are you a commercial fisherman? If you work in the maritime industry, you should know that commercial fishermen have one of the highest occupational fatality rates in the country, often due to safety lapses on the part of employers and ship owners.

Commercial fishermen work on boats including clamming vessels, offshore lobster boats, crab boats, seiners, gillnetters, trawlers, long liners, trollers and processing vessels. When an fisherman is working, he or she can be put at risk for an injury or death if an employer operates a vessel that is not sea worthy or allows negligent acts to occur.

Our maritime injury attorneys have represented commercial fisherman who have been injured because of poor equipment maintenance, a lack of safety procedures aboard vessels and human errors. These fishermen have served in various capacities on vessels, as we have represented captains, mates, engineers, deckhands, processors, cooks and lumpers.

If you are an injured commercial maritime worker, you should know that you have certain legal rights. Under admiralty laws, including the Jones Act, fishermen can seek compensation if they can show that they were hurt during the course of their employment and that an employer’s negligence caused an injury.

Coast Guard Rescues Four Stranded Oregon Fishermen

We bring up commercial fishing because recently it was reported that a U.S. Coast Guard swimmer rescued four fishermen who were stranded near a vessel in Cape Blanco, Oregon.

According to KOIN-TV, the swimmer swam 1,750 yards in 5-foot seas and 30 mph winds to rescue the anglers. The vessel had reportedly lost power and was taking on water for unknown reasons, forcing the fishermen to abandon the boat and stay on survival rafts near it, awaiting a rescue.

Prior to the swimmer’s rescue, the Coast Guard attempted to lower a hoist from a helicopter to reach the fishermen; however, the attempts failed. The rescue worker then went into action, swimming each of the four fishermen to shore individually, where other emergency workers treated them.

The incident remains under investigation. It remains unclear if any of the fishermen suffered significant injuries.

Our Maritime Attorneys Help Injured Commercial Fishermen

As this incident shows, employers often place commercial fisherman in danger through negligence. Because of this, our maritime trial lawyers represent injured commercial fishermen from across the United States.

In the video above, attorney David Anderson explains the importance of obtaining legal counsel following a maritime accident.

Our firm has been assisting commercial fishermen who have been injured at sea since the 1960s. Contact us by calling the number located on this page or by filling out the free online review form.

Latti & Anderson LLPNationwide Maritime Attorneys

Source: http://koin.com/2015/07/21/coast-guard-swimmer-rescues-4-oregon-fishermen/