Dock Owners Liability

Boarding and disembarking from vessels. Without a second thought, mariners do it day in and day out – – most of the time without... More

HIPAA and the Longshore Act

Part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”) addresses patient privacy.  Certain procedures must be followed when sensitive health information is transferred,... More

Alabama: Prior Longshore Settlement Not Determinative of Seaman Status

Purdue and Williams worked as line handlers for a shipping company that provided line-handling services to vessels docking and undocking at various terminals in... More

Failing to Participate in Proceedings Justified Dismissal With Prejudice

Plaintiffs, Atlantic Sounding and Weeks Marine, filed a declaratory judgment action seeking a declaration that they did not owe Maurice Fendlason, an injured seaman-employee,... More

9th Circuit: If Attorney Fees are Reduced More Than 30% the District Court Must Explain Why

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently addressed another attorney fee dispute in a Longshore claim.  The Claimant submitted a fee... More

Course & Scope of Employment

By its terms the Jones Act, which provides seamen with their right to bring suit against their employer for injuries sustained, the injury must... More

First Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment on Foreseeability Issue

Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant under the Jones Act and general maritime law after her husband fell and drowned after slipping from an obviously... More

Claimant Was Fired For Failing to Wear a Life Vest, Not Because He Filed a Longshore Claim

Claimant worked as a welder for Employer.  On June 4, 2010, Claimant injured his low back and groin while lifting an empty gas cylinder. ... More

Lowering the Bar for Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are recoverable in maritime property damage claims.  Based on decades of jurisprudence it has been widely accepted that in order to award... More

Fourth Circuit Addresses “Fraud on the Court”

In one of the first published opinions by the Fourth Circuit in the new year, the appellate court ruled against Claimant/Appellant, holding that an... More