Jacksonville Florida Maritime Lawyers

2008-07-17T07:57:00.001-07:00

Merchant mariner John R. McGee has filed a lawsuit against Kirby Inland Marine for injuries he received more than two years ago while working aboard one of the firm's ships.

2008-07-10T10:03:00.001-07:00

A Las Vegas seaman serving aboard a vessel owned by the Overseas Shipping Group filed a Jones Act suit against his employer after hurting his back.Warren B. Barney Jr. claims he injured his back because the OSG Intrepid, the vessel he was serving on, was unseaworthy. Barney's suit was filed July 8 in the Jefferson County District Court.

2008-06-28T10:24:00.001-07:00

This is a good story below:

Dwayne

After serving for over 30 years as a merchant marine, 77 year-old Vernon McLaughlin has led a remarkable life. In addition to interesting accounts of his life at sea, Mr McLaughlin has the privilege of being the first and only non-officer to have received the Admiral of the Ocean Sea - an honour previously given to captains and chief officers.

2006-08-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

The Larimer County District Attorney's Office filed felony child abuse charges Thursday against Gil Smith in the death of his 2-year-old son last month at Carter Lake.

An arrest warrant was issued, and Smith, 44, turned himself in about 5:45 p.m. Thursday, said Eloise Campanella, spokeswoman for the sheriff's department.

Smith posted $25,000 bail and was released, she said.

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This is a really sad case.

Dwayne

Carbon Monoxide - An Invisible, Insidious Killer

2006-08-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

In the press lately there is no shortage of stories on injury and death from carbon monoxide poisoning around boats. The dangers have been well documented and warnings have been issued from many governmental agencies for years. We do, however, continue to see preventable injury and death from this silent killer.

In northern Idaho over the Memorial Day weekend, Jeff Meredith, his wife Natalie, their son, Jonathan, and one of his friends packed their boat and headed out into a lake for the weekend.

Two days later a sheriff’s deputy found the boat run aground and was partly submerged. Jeff Meredith, said Deputy Randy Herman, was still at the helm, slumped over in the driver seat. He was dead.

Near the open stern, would-be rescuers found three more bodies, dead in their sleeping bags. Herman speculated all four were dead before the boat ran aground.

Investigators later determined the family died from what is known as “station wagon effect.” Herman explained this happens when a boat travels at slow speeds with the rear loaded so exhaust is drawn from the exhaust pipes in the stern and accumulates in all low areas of the boat.

This is just one of the horror stories commonly heard every year on how insidious is carbon monoxide, a gas caused by incomplete combustion. Internal combustion engines, gas stoves and heaters, charcoal grills all emit carbon monoxide.

The U.S. Coast Guard, however, has issued warnings to boaters, especially those with swim platforms on their transoms. It notes a study that found houseboats, in particular, with swim platforms, keep carbon monoxide from dissipating into the air but gather and, eventually, creep over the gunwales into the deck areas.

In some parts of the country medical professionals are becoming involved in raising awareness.

“I am getting tired of hearing the same story one after another, ‘I didn't know,'” Robert Baron, emergency room physician at Banner Good Samaritan and Banner Estrella Medical Centers, said. After three people were rendered unconscious by CO on Arizona lakes during a recent July weekend, Baron decided something needed to be done to raise awareness.

Baron, who also serves as medical director for medics at Glen Canyon National Recreation area (Lake Powell), said his staff first raised awareness of CO poisoning involving houseboats.

“The number of deaths occurring around boats is far under-recognized as carbon monoxide poisoning because autopsies do not check for it as a cause of death,” Baron said during a press conference held at the Lake Pleasant 10-lane boat ramp.

Even experienced boaters and medically trained personnel, such as Phoenix Fire Captain Glenn Palmer, found out you can't be too careful around boats, after he succumbed to CO poisoning recently.

“I have been boating for 20 years,” Palmer said as he began to retell the story. “I met up with a buddy of mine and we parked our boats perpendicular as I began to refuel. His exhaust was going underneath my boat and you couldn't hear it. I was having a conversation with my wife and the next thing I knew I was on someone else's boat riding to the marina.”

Palmer's wife told him he just stopped talking in mid-sentence, his eyes rolled back and he fell from the platform to the water. When he came to, he had been unconscious for 10 minutes.

“Now, whenever I am docked or stopped, I turn off the engine,” Palmer said.

Some in the industry believe there should be design changes on boats such as catalytic converters.

“There definitely needs to be a design change. Why would you put a swim platform right next to the source of the carbon monoxide?” Baron asked. “Currently, there are no boats that have catalytic converters, which oxidize carbon monoxide; however, one manufacturer will be making a model with one in 2007. Even so, there are still all of the old boats in use without them.”

There have been many cases of CO poisoning in the press lately.

Two women suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while swimming at Lake Pleasant, underscoring the dangers posed by the gas especially for people engaged in boating-related activities, officials said.

The incident occurred Sunday while the women, ages 19 and 20, were swimming near a number of boats that were afloat in Humbug Cove at the far northern end of the lake, a popular partying spot, said Howard Munding, the Peoria fire marshal.

Boaters often gather there and leave engines and generators running, creating the potential for poisoning, Munding said.

In another incident three children who were exposed to dangerous carbon monoxide fumes.

The children were reportedly riding in the back of a boat near Cemetery Point. A 6-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl all suffered from the poisonous gas.

Authorities say the operator of the boat smelled something strange, turned around and saw the 10-year-old boy collapse.

Carbon monoxide is a silent and quick killer.

Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless. It’s released by boat generators, propane heaters and in dangerously high concentrations by boat engines. Most boaters aren’t aware of the hazard.

“Typically you don’t see the initial symptoms of headache or confusion because these concentrations are so high, that the person is there, talking, and then unconscious,” explained Jane MaCammon, former Director of National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety.

As noted above one boating exposure to carbon monoxide comes from something called the “station wagon effect.”

It happens when boats travel at low speeds with the rear loaded down and the bow in the air.

Exhaust is sucked and accumulates inside the cabin.

Another carbon monoxide danger can happen when boats are bunched together in a small area, the air can become deadly.

And then there’s teak surfing, holding on to the back of a boat. People breathe in deadly concentrations of carbon monoxide.

Experts recommend installing marine-rated carbon monoxide detectors.

One government study said 607 boaters have been killed from carbon monoxide.

Experts say fresh air circulation is the best way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, and obviously staying away from exhaust.

And here’s an important statistic: in 90 percent of all boating fatalities combined, the people were not wearing life jackets.

Boat U.S. says this “Recreational boat owners shouldn't be treated as second-class citizens. It's time for the Congress to take that same spotlight to those Coast Guard programs that are supposed to ensure that the boats and engines we buy are safe and can be used as intended and merchandised.”

The internet has a plethora of information and links about the danger of carbon monoxide.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has put out warnings and information as well as the EPA.

Also, it is always important to wear your life jacket. Many of those that are overcome by carbon monoxide fumes merely slip silently beneath the waves after becoming unconscious. There have been many cases where fellow boaters will report that a person was there one second and gone the next. This can happen suddenly and without warning. If boaters wear their life jackets then there remains some chance that they can be saved even if overcome by carbon monoxide.

The bottom line is to avoid boat exhaust fumes when ever possible and wear your life jacket. It may save your life.

Dwayne Clark

Kristen Watson

http://lawboat.blogspot.com

www.lawboat.com

Dwayne Clark and Kristen Watson are maritime lawyers and boating safety advocates.

2006-07-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

NTSB DETERMINES 2005 ETHAN ALLEN ACCIDENT CAUSED BY VESSEL'S INSTABILITY

2006-07-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

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NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 25, 2006

SB-06-42

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NTSB DETERMINES 2005 ETHAN ALLEN ACCIDENT CAUSED BY VESSEL'S INSTABILITY

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Washington, DC. - The National Transportation Safety Board today determined that the probable cause of the capsizing of the Ethan Allen was the vessel's insufficient stability to resist the combined forces of a passing wave or waves, a sharp turn, and the resulting involuntary shift of passengers to the port side of the vessel. The vessel's stability was insufficient because it carried 48 persons where post-accident stability calculations demonstrated that

it should have been permitted to carry only 14 persons.

Contributing to the cause of the accident was the failure to reassess the vessel's stability after it had been modified because there was no clear requirement to do so.

On October 2, 2005, the Ethan Allen, a tour vessel carrying

47 passengers and one crewmember capsized in Lake George,

New York. As a result of the accident, 20 passengers died.

"This tragic accident highlights the need for clear requirements to verify a vessel's stability after any modifications are made to the vessel," said NTSB Acting Chairman Mark V. Rosenker.

In 1964, the Ethan Allen, a 40-foot fiberglass excursion vessel operating under a different name, was certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry 48 passengers and two crewmembers. In 1979, the boat was purchased by Shoreline Cruises, Inc. and relocated from Connecticut to New York where it came under the jurisdiction of the state. New York state officials established the same load restrictions for the vessel as the U.S. Coast Guard. In 1989, an all-wood canopy with Plexiglas windows was installed on the Ethan Allen. The state's file on the vessel contains no record of inspections and/or stability assessments relating to modifications to the boat's canopy between 1979 and 1991.

As a result of the Safety Board's investigation of the accident involving the Ethan Allen, the following recommendations were made:

To the United States Coast Guard:

Provide guidance to the States on U.S. Coast Guard standards for and assessment stability of small passenger vessels.

To New York State:

Address safety deficiencies identified in the investigation of the Ethan Allen accident and issue technical guidance to vessel owners on the inspection requirements for modified vessels, stability assessment and criteria, means for determining maximum safe load conditions, drug and alcohol testing, manning, and safety briefings.

Discontinue the use of capacity plate data associated with the U.S. Coast Guard's noncommercial boating standards for determining passenger loading on public vessels that carry more than six passengers and adopt the Coast Guard small passenger vessel inspection standards.

A synopsis of the Board's report, including the probable cause and recommendations, is available on the Board's website, www.ntsb.gov. The Board's full report will be available on the website in several weeks.

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Media Contact: Terry N. Williams

williat@ntsb.gov

202) 314-6100

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Vincent Rutowski - Update

2006-06-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Ga. Child Killed by Fla. Airboat

Vincent Rutowski - Airboat Death

2006-06-14T09:39:00.000-07:00

Funeral services will be Thursday for a 6-year-old Dacula boy killed in an airboat accident last week on the St. Johns River in Florida.

Services for Vincent Rutowski are scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel in Buford. Rutowski died after he was run over by the airboat on which he was riding.

Fish and Wildlife and the Coast Guard are investigating this tragic accident.

Dwayne

Two boating deaths under investigation / Boat Strikes Barge on Missouri River Near Tekamah

2006-06-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Two boating deaths under investigation

An investigation continues into the deaths of two people who were killed Sunday when the boat they were in struck a barge in the Missouri River near Tekamah, Neb. Killed were Colton Peterson, 20, a 2004 Blair (Neb.) High School graduate, and Morgen Wees, 19, a 2005 Ralston High School graduate.

Dwayne

Fatal Boating Crash Goes to Trial in Fla.

2006-06-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

A man went on trial Wednesday in a fatal boating crash, after the victim's father paid for a computer animation of the wreck that the prosecutor couldn't afford.

Defense attorney Stephen Greer told jurors Wednesday that the computer-generated video is flawed and misleading, partly because it ignores some descriptions of what happened after the 14 boats took off for the Working Man's Bass Club tournament.

We have found that computer animations can be very persuasive in maritime cases. When well done viewers often accept the animation as reality. Most judges expect that there be an accurate factual foundation for the animation and it must comport with the facts or usually is excluded. There is a body of law on admissibility of these types of animations.

This is an interesting case.

Dwayne

Hitler's Sunken Secret?

2006-05-09T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is a Nova program on an interesting sea story.

Dwayne

Boaters need to Understand the Jones Act

2006-05-09T13:39:00.000-07:00

In general I think the theme of this article is correct. If in doubt talk with your local maritime lawyer and / or marine insurance broker. A little consultation up front may save you a bundle down the river.

Dwayne

2006-05-01T15:15:00.000-07:00

We posted this article below on failure to render aid.
Here is a generic law blurp on the rescue doctrine. There is a similar rule in maritime cases.
Below is some language on the doctrine from a maritime case. This should clear it up for the reader:
We believe that the maritime rescuer's perception of the need for immediate action must be evaluated under the same wanton and reckless standard. In rescue situations, perception and response are inextricably linked. The same standard governing conduct that saves the lives of seamen must apply to the perception that generates the act. By definition, the perception of danger requiring prompt action is formed under the same stress and on the same imperfect information as the rescue itself. If rescuers will not be charged with the simple negligence of their acts "in the excitement and confusion of the moment," it is anomalous to charge them with a failure to prudently verify that immediate action is necessary. See Wagner v. International Ry. Co., 232 N.Y. 176, 133 N.E. 437 (1921) (in the rescue context, "the law does not ignore the reactions of the mind in tracing conduct to its consequences. It recognises them as normal.")
Dwayne

2006-04-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Boating deaths in Florida rose 2005 to the highest number reported in 10 years, but Lee and Collier counties reported only one fatality each among their 74,000-plus registered boats.
"We are very concerned about the upward trend in boating fatalities," said wildlife commission Capt. Richard Moore, Florida's boating law administrator. "Especially given the fact the vast majority of these are easily preventable."
Polk County had the highest number of fatalities in boating accidents in 2005, according to a report released this week by the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Volusia County ranks sixth for boating accidents in the state.
Boating deaths and accidents surged in Florida Keys waters in 2005, keeping Monroe County in its dubious spot at the top of Florida's maritime mayhem.
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The number of boats are rising with this State’s population and thus we can expect more of this unless boaters are educated and follow the rules.
Dwayne

2006-04-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

CBS4 News) VIRGINIA KEY The US Coast Guard has suspended its search for a young New York Man who went overboard while boating in Biscayne Bay Tuesday.
According to officials, the women boating with him originally found the man face down in the water but thought he was joking around. Upon returning to pick him out of the water, they realized it was an accident.
Dwayne

2006-04-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Boating Deaths in Florida

The ocean drowning of two brothers was among 30 boating deaths statewide related to people falling or going overboard. And that was the leading cause of Florida in 2005 having the largest number of boating deaths in a decade, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's 2005 Boating Accident Statistical Report.

ROUGH WATER AHEAD??

People dying in connection with falling overboard was a leading cause of Florida having the largest number of boating fatalities — 80 — in 2005, state reports show. Thirty of those died from falling overboard, a 53 percent increase from 2004. There were five deaths along the Treasure Coast. Of the 30 deaths:

• 93 percent drowned, despite 63 percent being swimmers.

• 100 percent of the drowned were not wearing a life jacket.

• 79 percent fell were from an open motorboat or some small unstable craft.

• 69 percent occurred in calm, inland waters.

• 53 percent were more than 50 years old.

By the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

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As you can see from the stats, accidents and deaths occur even in calm inland waters and life jackets were not being worn in 100 per cent of the drowning deaths.

Dwayne

Bloglines - Expect the unexpected

2006-04-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Bloglines user Lawboat (lawboat@comcast.net) has sent this item to you.

Boating - Topix.net
News on Boating from Topix.net

Expect the unexpected

As spring creeps into the Seacoast, many area residents will launch into Seacoast waters, and I'm worried sick about it.

2006-03-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

This link is to the Dept. of Labor site on the Longshore / Defense Base Act. The page gives the following information:

The Defense Base Act provides workers’ compensation protection to civilian employees working outside the United States under a contract with the U.S. government. This page contains currently available information regarding the Defense Base Act (DBA) that may be of interest to the Longshore community.

For example, civilian contractors injured in Iraq may be covered under these acts.

Dwayne