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Vessels in Navigable Waters
How the Jones Act Applies in Cases of Workers Injured While Employed on Vessels in Navigable Waters
The lawyers at Our Law Office represent seriously injured men and women, such as seamen injured while working on watercraft. Due to the hazardous nature of working on the water, the law takes special care of those injured while doing so. The law allows injured seamen to seek substantial recoveries for their injuries if they suffer those injuries while employed on “vessels in navigable waters.”
What is a Vessel?
Courts have broadly interpreted the word “vessel” as used in the Jones Act and other maritime laws. As a result, a vessel can mean just about any craft capable of navigating on water.
Before modern technology, determining what was a vessel was more straightforward. Today, the lines are blurred. Below is a list of just some of the vessels that are the bases for modern claims based on injuries suffered in navigable waters.
Movable oil platforms
Riverboat casinos moored to the shore
Cruise ships
Ferries
Tug boats
Commercial fishing boats
Tour boats
and many more
What are Navigable Waters?
Courts have also broadly interpreted the phrase “navigable waters.” Navigable waters are defined as “waters that provide a channel for commerce and transportation of people and goods.” Clearly, oceans, gulfs, bays, rivers, harbors, ship channels, and intra-coastal waterways fall under this definition. A court even found a shallow stream navigable by only a canoe to be a navigable waterway. The general rule is that if you can navigate a vessel from a body of water to the ocean, or from one state to another state, even if only in theory, then that body of water is “navigable waters.”
Why Does It Matter?
Only a seaman employed on a vessel in navigable waters can recover compensation under the Jones Act. The issue of whether an injured worker is a seaman is normally the most important issue when seeking recovery under the Jones Act. Importantly, the injured seaman need not be on a vessel at the time of the injury.
Did You Know?
Our Maritime Accident attorneys have won thousands of cases. Call us today to discuss your case.
*According to the Jones Act, “a ‘seaman’ means an individual (except scientific personnel, a sailing school instructor, or a sailing school student) engaged or employed in any capacity on a vessel.” A seaman can be male or female.
The United States Supreme Court has ruled that those employees who spend at least 30% of their working hours aboard vessels in navigable waters are seamen by definition. Those who do not spend at least 30% of their time aboard vessels in navigable waters can still be found to be seamen if they are “exposed to the perils of the sea.”
Our Law Office
The law related to injuries suffered at sea is a complex area. If you were injured while working as a seaman on a vessel in navigable waters, or if your family member was killed while working as a seaman on a vessel in navigable waters, you may have rights to significant compensation under the Jones Act and other laws. The lawyers at Our Law Office will work hard on your behalf to enforce those rights. Please call us if you have any questions or concerns about bringing a legal claim based on your or your family member’s injury.
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Finding a Good Medical Malpractice Attorney – Personal Injury Lawyers
What You Should Look For When Considering a Medical Malpractice Attorney
Did You Know?
Our medical malpractice attorneys have been fighting for medical malpractice victims` rights for over 20 years. Call us to discuss your case.
If you have suffered an injury that occurred from a physician/patient relationship, you have a right to recover for any out-of-pocket expenditures you have incurred. Physicians are held to the highest standards of care because of their high intelligence and the fact that we place our lives in their hands. Furthermore, if you have suffered an injury resulting from something such as misdiagnosis or surgical error, the impact on your health can be absolutely disastrous. The reason these types of injuries can be so life-shattering is that typically they require further medical care.
In the event that you need extensive medical attention, you will begin to rack up costly medical bills. Therefore, it is in your best interests to file a medical malpractice suit against the party that is responsible for this malfeasance. You may be unsure of what the first step is to take in determining what law firm or attorney you should choose to represent your claim. Obviously, your main priority should be the success of your cause of action so that you can alleviate the physical and financial burden that has been unduly placed on you because of the carelessness of a physician or hospital.
Here at Our Law Office, we have a great deal of experience handling medical malpractice lawsuits just like the one that you should be filing in order to gain the maximum recovery possible for your losses. There are a number of ways that you can seek competent legal representation, however, if you have read this far you need not look any further. The attorneys at Our Law Office have received many awards and honors for their excellence and honorable reputation in the legal community statewide. Therefore, we can say without reservation that we are fully equipped and capable of handling your medical malpractice claim to help ensure that you do not suffer for the rest of your life with excessive hospital bills and insufferable physical ailments.
What is a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
A medical malpractice lawsuit is a claim that is based on an act of professional negligence by your physician or a health care provider. Basically, these types of claims arise when the treatment that you receive deviates from what is accepted in the medical field and subsequently causes you injury or a fatality occurs. There are statistics that report that about 195,000 people die every year from medical mistakes in the United States. You, as the plaintiff will be the patient that was wronged. However, there are actions that you may take in medical malpractice that permit you to file suit on behalf of another party. This is typically a loved one that you are filing suit on behalf of and it will be in the form of what is called a wrongful death action.
What has to be Proven in a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit?
In this type of lawsuit, you have to prove several different things. This is why you need to find a good medical malpractice attorney, such as those that Our Law Office employs. Medical malpractice lawsuits are highly complex and have difficult burdens of proof that must be met in order for your lawsuit to be successful. Initially, a physician-patient relationship must be established.
This can be accomplished by showing that there was a duty on the part of the doctor. This is not a matter of the credentials and skills of your physician. It means that there must be some kind of contract. Once a physician-patient relationship has been established then the duty will come into existence. The duty will be one of ordinary care. However, if the doctor is a specialist in some particular field of medicine then the duty of care will be that of a particular specialist. Then there will have to have been a breach of that duty that proximately caused your injury, which is your damages. There has to be a causal connection between the breach of duty and your injury.
As you can see, this is a very intricate process. Finding an attorney that can successfully litigate your medical malpractice lawsuit can be challenging. However, you can rest assured that if you contact the attorneys at Our Law Office you will have succeeded in finding trustworthy and hard-working lawyers that are more than able to represent your case with expert precision. To discuss your medical malpractice claim and the particulars of your specific cause of action contact Our Law Office.
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