Practice Areas - Personal Injury

February 5, 2012

PERSONAL INJURY

There is, perhaps, no more volatile area in maritime law than the defense of U.S. personal injury cases. Maritime work on or around vessels, whether by seamen, longshoremen or other marine workers, is often a hazardous occupation and continues to occasion a high incidence of injury. Seamen have no workers' compensation structure and, in order to legally recover from their employer due to personal injury, must commence a lawsuit against the employer. Longshoremen, although having compensation systems, will often file a third-party claim against the shipowner for injuries that occur on the vessels on which they are working.

We have considerable experience in litigating maritime personal injury cases through trial and appeal in both State and Federal Courts and have a record of successfully defending such cases. We have three partners with over twenty-five years of experience in the defense of personal injury cases, one partner with fifteen years of experience, and two partners with over ten years in the field.

Our approach is to provide as thorough a defense as possible in an economical way. This approach includes not only an intensive investigation as to the liability facts, but also a full examination of the medical aspects of the case. If our investigation indicates that a settlement is warranted, we promptly advise our client and seek authority to commence productive negotiations. If our conclusion is that there is no or questionable liability, or that the claimant's damages are exaggerated, then we are fully prepared to vigorously defend any litigation brought against our client. With this approach, not only have we avoided catastrophic results, but we have managed to turn away claimants with questionable claims.

Representative Cases