|
Berschler Associates, P.C. Attorneys
at Law, Proctors in Admiralty specialize in Maritime and Admiralty Law.
Maritime Law, also referred to as Admiralty Law, is the law of the sea. It provides the rules under which all activity upon navigable waters are governed.
Originating during the Roman Empire, Maritime Law was refined throughout the Middle Ages in Europe and transmitted to the United States of America through the Admiralty Law of England at the time of the American Revolution: "Admiralty Law" appears in the United States Constitution.
While Maritime Law may have an international effect, each seafaring country's laws in this field vary. Nevertheless in the United States, Congress, the various state legislatures and the federal and state courts strive for uniformity of law and decision making principles so that, in theory, vessel owners and operators, crew and passengers and shippers of cargo may know what their rights and obligations are - what the rules are - no matter what the vessel's location or circumstances might be, and whether or not the voyage is a commercial one or one just for recreation.
For instance, the State of California has adopted the federal Rules of the Road that define how vessels encountering each other are to navigate. Also, all merchant mariners and commercial fishermen working for companies owned or controlled by Americans are protected by the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. section 688 for injuries suffered due to negligence, no matter the vessel or the seafarer was when injured.
Maritime Law's special application and special rules affect persons and companies in ways that are different from similar circumstances arising in a non-maritime situation; yet most non-lawyers and some lawyers are not aware of these differences and the effect is a poor result.
Special Applications and issues include, without limitation:
- Injured boaters might not have a claim for personal injury damages in states that apply an "Assumption of the Risk" defense; however, that defense generally is not accepted as valid under the Maritime Law.
- Merchant mariners and commercial fishermen injured and disabled while generally employed may automatically be entitled to both
transportation back to their shipping port and free medical care and a daily cash payment (all this is generally known as "Maintenance and Cure" benefits); however, when does this all apply and how much are they entitled to and for how long? Are these seafarers entitled to lost wages? To compensation for pain and suffering? How and when?
- Passengers injured on pleasure cruises face the issues of (a) Is there an especially short time allowed in which to make the claim? (b) If a lawsuit has to be filed in court, are there special rules that require the suit to be filed in a court quite far from the passenger's home - and are there exceptions to those rules?
- Who qualifies as a merchant mariner or a commercial fisherman at all?
- When two vessels collide, whose fault is it?
- When a vessel hits a stationary object (an allision), such as a submerged dredgeline, whose fault is it?
- What constitutes a "vessel"? Is a sailboard a vessel? A surfboard? An
innertube?
- Are there state waters to which Maritime Law does not apply?
- What special rules apply to vessels owned by the United States?
Arnold I. Berschler has provided legal representation in maritime claims and/or defenses against such claims to thousands of persons and/or companies. Further, many lawyers who do not have experience in the practice of Maritime Law have received legal advice from Arnold I. Berschler and/or referred their maritime clients to Mr. Berschler.
Maritime
Related Links
|
