Litigation Against Vessels and Other Third Parties…
Although the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, limits an employer's liability to statutory benefit, which the employer pays without proof of negligence in return for immunity from tort liability, an important remedy now available to you, as a longshoreman or other harbor worker, injured in servicing your ship arises from the extension to you to sue the ship under the doctrine of unseaworthiness.
This is a right that has been traditionally enjoyed by seamen and exists wholly apart from any statute. Under the doctrine, the ship owner is liable to indemnify a seaman for any injury caused by the unseaworthiness of the vessel or its appurtenant equipment. The remedy afforded by the unseaworthiness doctrine as against the ship owner has been extended to numerous shoreside workers, including longshoremen, on the basis that, although employed by an independent contractor to work on the ships, they perform jobs formerly done by seamen.
The seaworthiness doctrine has in effect "gone ashore" so as to protect a wide variety of workers injured on the dock. (14 AMJUR TRIALS 563). Thus, a longshoreman who is killed after exposure to argon gas while unloading a container ship, or slips on materials that, in an unloading operation, have spilled onto the dock from defective cargo containers, or who is struck by cargo dropped on him by a ship's defective winch or forklift, or who is injured by defective equipment used in conjunction with a shore-based crane in cargo-unloading operations is entitled to bring an unseaworthiness claim against the owner of the ship. Thus the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act does not require you to elect between statutory compensation and tort recovery. You can both accept compensation and file a civil action against a third party tortfeasor, such as the vessel being unloaded.
Consultations are always free and we work on a contingency fee basis. Our lawyers and staff speak Spanish, Portuguese and French.
For more information, please contact us by calling 1-877-733-5878, e-mailing us at timnies@ymail.com or by completing the form below.
TIMOTHY C. NIES, ESQ.
Grossman Trial Lawyers
1098 NW Boca Raton Boulevard
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Palm Beach: 561-208-5585
Broward: 954-302-8919
Toll-free: 1-877-733-5878
timnies@ymail.com
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Our Florida Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act Attorneys represent injured workers in Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades, Jacksonville, Tampa, Port Canaveral, Miami, Fort Myers, Pensacola, Miami, North Miami, Miami Beach, Key Largo, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Hollywood, Cocoa Beach, Orlando, and all of Florida. Our workers compensation and LHWCA lawyers represent employees injured at Port Everglades, Port of Miami, Port Fernandina, Port of Tampa, Port of Jacksonville, Port of Pensacola, Port of Manatee, Port of St. Petersburg, Port of St. Joe, Port of Palm Beach and others. If you have been injured while working at a port unloading or loading ships, repairing ships, or working on vessels or containerships, call our lawyer Timothy Nies or attorney Howard Grossman for a free consultation. Our law firm litigates Longshore cases in Miami, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Duval, Collier, Brevard, Miami-Dade, and all Florida counties. Our lawyers speak Spanish and Portuguese. Our lawyers help clients injured at Port Everglades, Port of Miami, Port of Jacksonville, Port of Palm Beach, and all ports in Florida.
The seaworthiness doctrine protects a wide variety of workers injured on the dock. Thus, a longshoreman who is killed after exposure to argon gas while unloading a container ship, or slips on materials that, in an unloading operation, have spilled onto the dock from defective cargo containers, or who is struck by cargo dropped on him by a ship's defective winch or forklift, or who is injured by defective equipment used in conjunction with a shore-based crane in cargo-unloading operations is entitled to bring an unseaworthiness claim against the owner of the ship. Thus the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act does not require you to elect between statutory compensation and tort recovery. You can both accept compensation and file a civil action against a third party tortfeasor, such as the vessel being unloaded. Our longshore and harborworker lawyers and trial teams speak Spanish (Espanhol), Portuguese (Portugues) and French (Francais). Clients give us their hardest cases to try before a jury.