Unseaworthy Vessel Cause Your Injury?

What Makes a Vessel Unseaworthy?

Call Our Maritime Trial Lawyers to Recover Your Damages

When a seaman is at work out to sea, the vessel on which he works is like his home. He should feel safe and protected on his home away, and general maritime law requires that the vessel´s owner provide a seaworthy vessel and seaworthy crew. This duty is absolute, and if the owner breaches that duty, the owner is liable for unseaworthiness when a seaman suffers an injury at sea.

Unseaworthiness is separate and distinguishable from negligence.

A vessel contains an "unseaworthy condition" if a piece of equipment, a piece of gear, an appliance or any of the vessel´s accessories or attachments is not reasonably fit for its intended purposes – even if the vessel as a whole is still fit. Unseaworthiness applies to any part of the ship, even crew members. A ship is unseaworthy with regard to seamen if the ship does not provide the seamen with safe and suitable equipment and with a safe and suitable place to work.

If you or a loved one was injured while working as a seaman aboard a vessel, all you must prove to have a claim for unseaworthiness is that the vessel or one of its parts was not reasonably fit for its intended purpose and that your injury was because of it.

If a vessel is unseaworthy and it causes an accident, the injured parties have the right to seek compensation from the owner. If you have been injured or a loved one killed while employed on a vessel because of an unseaworthy condition on a scallop vessel, dragger, tanker or tug, the advice of an experienced attorney with an intricate knowledge of maritime law is important.

The maritime attorneys at Latti & Anderson LLP have been providing effective legal counsel to those injured at sea for over 50 years. Our cases have included unseaworthiness claims suits involving:

  • Defective equipment, worn out or old equipment
  • Failure to have proper equipment or fixtures on vessel
  • Improper use of equipment
  • Improperly designed equipment
  • Lack of procedures or improper procedures
  • Lack of safety equipment and safety procedures
  • Incompetent crew, inadequate crew, not properly trained crew or dangerous crew
  • Lack of supervision
  • Dangerous and unsafe conditions on vessels from excessive noise, lack of stability, no non-skid on decks and areas, leaking pipes, damaged and defective lines and wires to dangerous levels of gases
  • Failure to comply with federal regulations

Defective equipment and unseaworthy vessels can cause a host of serious injuries, including:

In both injury and wrongful death cases, our maritime attorneys have the skills and experience necessary to build a strong case for unseaworthiness claims and to secure compensation for medical bills and treatment, past and future lost wages, maintenance and cure, and past and future pain and suffering and mental anguish.

If an unseaworthy vessel has caused you injury or if a vessel’s defective or dangerous equipment hurt you, contact the maritime trial lawyers at Latti & Anderson LLP. We serve clients nationwide, and we want to hear about your case. We can help – call now.