A career as a maritime worker comes with unique risks and responsibilities. If your employer or coworkers aren’t looking out for you, you may find yourself in extreme danger. While there are laws in place that can help you get justice for maritime accidents, it’s not always easy to understand them. That is where our Madison maritime accident lawyers come in.
If you need help taking action after a maritime accident that took place on a cruise ship, chartered yacht, or recreational boat, you can connect with Diaz Law Firm. Our Madison personal injury lawyer can help you pursue the damages you need to recover from injuries caused by someone else’s negligence.
We’ve been fighting for the injured for years. Our efforts have recovered more than $500 million in damages on behalf of our clients. You can contact us today to learn more about the steps we can take to help you heal.
What Causes Common Maritime Accidents?
You can get into dozens of different accidents on the water, whether you’re at work or recreationally having fun. Explosions, wire and cable accidents, slips and falls, and transferring accidents can all devastate your physical health and leave you dealing with substantial economic losses.
What do these common maritime accidents have in common? More often than not, they stem from someone’s negligence. The people around you at work and on the water have a responsibility to uphold the duty of care that they owe you. Their failure to do so can put you in harm’s way and result in life-changing maritime accidents.
If you want to take legal action against someone after a maritime accident, you need to prove that they breached the duty of care that they owed you and caused you to suffer economic losses as a result. That gets easier to do when you have a maritime accident attorney in Madison on your side.
How to Recover From a Maritime Accident
If you want to streamline your recovery after a maritime accident, our legal team recommends that you:
- Get emergency medical attention
- Report your accident, usually to the ship’s crew or your management team
- Fill out an accident report going into detail about the extent of your losses, ensuring that you keep a copy
- Continue to work with medical professionals to physically recover from your losses
- Contact a maritime lawyer to discuss the nature of your accident and your right to recover, either by filing an insurance claim or pursuing legal action against negligent parties
- Gather evidence of the negligence that led to your accident, including photos, medical records, and witness statements
- File a claim for compensation
We recommend that you do not speak to boat rental representatives, cruise line staff members, insurance adjusters, or other applicable parties alone after a maritime accident.
One ill-placed word can see you accidentally waive your right to take legal action against the parties responsible for your losses. Wait until you have an attorney on your case.
What to Do After a Fatal Maritime Accident
If you lose a loved one in a fatal maritime accident, you deserve time and space to grieve. Our Madison maritime accident attorneys can afford you that time without putting your right to legal action at risk. The sooner you contact us, the sooner we can start building a case on your family’s behalf.
We can specifically invoke protections like the following to afford your family the right to recoverable damages following a fatal maritime accident:
- Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA): If your loved one died more than three nautical miles off the United States’ shoreline, and you can prove negligence caused their fatal accident, you can file a claim for damages under DOHSA.
- Jones Act: If you can prove that an employer or crew member’s negligence played a direct role in your loved one’s fatal accident, you can seek compensation for the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering, funeral expenses, and lost financial support under the Jones Act.
- Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act: If your loved one was not at sea at the time of an accident but did work as a longshoreman or harbor worker, you can argue that your family deserves damages for the losses they suffered in a fatal work-related accident.
You can also discuss your right to pursue a general wrongful death claim under Mississippi law with our legal team.
What to Expect From a Madison Maritime Accident Lawyer
Get Your Free Injury Consultation Today!
TALK TO A LAWYER NOWGetting in touch with a maritime accident lawyer in Madison, MS, does not obligate you to present a case for injury compensation to a civil judge, although you retain the right to do so. Our team can tailor our legal services to suit your accident and recovery goals. We are here as your allies and will not force you to pursue a specific road to recovery.
Your case consultation with us comes free of charge and lets you discuss what your goals are for your recovery. If you want to pursue damages under any of the acts designed to protect maritime employees from harm, we can help you file an applicable claim. We can also explore your right to legal action against private entities, be they corporations or individuals.
Call Diaz Law Firm Today
Do not wait to take action after a maritime accident. If you’ve suffered significant economic losses or if you’ve lost a family member, you have the right to demand compensation for the wrongs you’ve endured. You can contact a maritime accident attorney in Madison, MS, today to discuss how to approach your fight for support.
At Diaz Law Firm, we take your losses seriously. We understand general maritime law and can point to the statutes that entitle you to support based on the consequences of someone else’s dangerous, if not deadly, negligence. You can book a free case evaluation with us today to discuss your right to action in more detail.
Let our team fight for you.