Were you injured by or on a boat, barge, vessel or any other type of watercraft due to the negligence of someone else? A Charleston maritime injury lawyer can help.
A maritime injury case is one that occurs on or near navigable waters. It is a federal law that protects those who are injured on those navigable waters or near it and provides damage recovery for those that are injured.
This includes past and future wage losses, past and future medical care and treatment, as well as being compensated for injuries that produce damages like loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.
The Charleston injury lawyers at Christmas Injury Lawyers understand that you can be seriously injured or even killed while working, playing, or just being transported on the waterways of South Carolina. These cases fall under what is known as Admiralty Law.
If you have been injured in such an accident and are seeking legal compensation, consult with a knowledgeable Charleston maritime injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Maritime Injury Law
Personal boats and other watercraft make up the majority of accidents on the water in South Carolina, however, there are also many unintentional and intentional injuries that harm the citizens of South Carolina and those visiting the state year after year.
An individual should not make the mistake of thinking that they do not have a potential case. An experienced Charleston maritime injury attorney can provide an individual with legal counsel and advice regarding their case.
There are many ways that an individual may be entitled to recover money and medical damages from their accident. For example, all shipowners owe each passenger a duty or reasonable care. If they breach this duty and cause an individual’s injuries or death, they owe them damages to reimburse them for what they or their family have lost.
Common Claims
The most common claims that arise in Maritime injury cases are known as Jones Act Claims. The Jones Act is a federal law that covers workers or seaman that are injured while working on or near navigable waters. Many times, these accidents and injuries occur due to unsafe working conditions or inadequately maintained equipment on the vessel or barge.
The common injuries that would occur in these maritime injury cases would be anything from neck injuries, back injuries, arms, shoulders, hands, fingers, hips, legs and feet. Any part of the body can be injured as long as it occurs while someone is working on or near the navigable water. Such injuries will be covered under this federal law. This process can best be explained using a Charleton maritime lawyer.
Determining Negligence
Determining negligence in a maritime injury case is very similar to assigning negligence in other cases. There must be a duty owed to the seaman or the injured worker by the employer or the vessel, and there has to be some kind of breach of that duty. That requires that an individual be injured by an accident that happened because something that should have been done was not done, or in essence, a breach of duty.
If that breach is the cause for an individual’s injury, and they suffer damages in terms of lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, that person may be entitled to make a damages recovery in their case.
Jurisdiction to Maritime Injuries
Broadly speaking, jurisdiction of maritime claims exist in federal law, but are processed both in the federal and state courts depending on which one the injured worker wants to bring the case in. The location can be decided with the help of a knowledgeable maritime and admirality lawyer in Charleston.
In other words, they have the opportunity to bring the case in either federal court or state court. However, if they bring it to the court, federal law still applies, but they just get a venue and process in that state court that would differ somewhat state to state.
Any federal maritime law applies to all maritime injuries. Some cases may be processed in the state court, but federal maritime law always applies.
Benefit of Legal Counsel
A Charleston admiralty and maritime injury lawyer can help the injured worker develop evidence early on in the case to provide both liability or negligence to prove unseaworthiness. An attorney can also help the client obtain a qualified medical expert, and help them get their injury or various injuries that they have treated.
An experienced attorney can further make sure that the medical bills are taken care of, and that the maintenance is obtained at the proper rate.
Further, if there needs to be retraining for a new job, an attorney can help to ensure that there is proper vocational assistance from the vocational experts, and that vocational programs be provided. A maritime and admiralty injury attorney in Charleston can make sure that the individual’s benefits are obtained in a timely manner.
Role of An Attorney
An attorney has one objective when representing you, and that is to help you and your family make the fastest recovery in the shortest amount of time. A person should not trust the insurance company to treat them fairly.
A Charleston maritime injury lawyer can help you understand your rights and protect your interests. You should never settle in a maritime injury case, and owe it to yourself to hire a representative that can be your partner in helping to make a full recovery in your case.
A Charleston admiralty and maritime attorney knows that in order to protect those injured on the water, they have to bring the claim against those responsible for any injuries to recover all of the damages they have suffered as a result of their accident. When we do this, you and our law firm can help make the waterways of South Carolina safe for all of us that use them and help prevent future negligence and accidents on the water.
If you would like to know more, please contact a Charleston maritime injury lawyer today. A knowledgeable Charleston admiralty lawyer can give you straight answers to all your legal questions.
