Seattle Injury Lawyer Blog
Our law firm regularly represents fishermen, deckhands, tug workers, officers, and other seamen who work out on the water on boats. These workers are covered under the federal Jones Act and, to collect most damages, must show that the vessel was unseaworthy or that their employer was negligent in causing their injury.
A frequent issue that arises in these cases is an accident report filled out by the seaman that does not give sufficient detail of the event or reasons for the injury. If you are injured at sea, it is important that you carefully describe how and why the incident occurred. Get the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witnesses to the event. You will need these witnesses later to prove how your injury occurred. Why did your injury occur? Was a piece of equipment faulty? Give as much detail as you can in the accident report. If you do not and leave out important information, the company will try to capitalize on this lack of information later and argue that if the incident had occurred the way you described that you would have written it down in the accident report. Although not always possible, you may want to consult with an experienced maritime injury lawyer about the accident report. We may be able to provide you with the correct language to make certain that the accident report is accurate and fully describes how you were injured. Let us know if we can help. Call us at 1-866-377-0191 anytime.