It was the middle of the night when Columbia River Bar Capt. Debbie Dempsey fell overboard just west of the Columbia River Bar on March 5th. Capt. Dempsey had guided a grain ship over the treacherous bar and was climbing down a jacobs latter to return to the Pilot Boat…
Maritime Injury Law Blog
F/V LADY CECILIA Lost Off Washington Coast – Four Crewmen Missing
Early Saturday morning an EPIRB signal set off a search for the Warrenton-based fishing vessel LADY CECILIA and its four member crew. Coast Guard helicopters located a debris field, oil slick, and life raft just north of the Columbia River, 17 miles west of the Washington Coast. An extensive search…
Fishing Vessel Chevelle Crashes on Rocks at Newport
The fishing vessel CHEVELLE collided with the jetty near Newport, Oregon on Friday and is reportedly breaking up in heavy weather. One witness described crab pots shifting on the vessel after it took a hard roll while crossing the bar. The 70-foot crab vessel is owned by Chad Hall of…
Alaska Crewman Lost Overboard From Glacier Spirit
A crewman was washed overboard and presumed drowned from the 42-foot GLACIER SPIRIT on Friday. The accident happened near Sand Point, Alaska. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were reported to be 25 mph winds with 12-foot seas. The Coast Guard unsuccessfully searched a forty square mile area…
Responsibility of Ship Owners to Unarmed, Untrained Crewmembers Injured by Pirates
The history of piracy is a long one, and piracy remains a threat in modern times. The potential for pirate attack may exist in any waters, but during the past decade it is Somali pirates along the east coast of Africa and in the Indian Ocean who receive the headlines.…
Machine Guarding Aboard a Fishing Vessel is Federal Regulation
Too many casualties in the fishing industry, including amputations and death, are caused by unguarded machinery parts catching a worker’s fingers, limbs, clothing, or hair. Long hours with little rest, the fast pace of work, and rolling seas increase the risk when the moving parts of a machine are not…
The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society: Serving Those Who Serve Us
Beard Stacey & Jacobsen supports our local Navy service members and families through the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society (NMCRS). NMCRS is a non-profit organization and, as such, programs are funded completely through charitable donations. NMCRS case workers are trained to address the specific financial needs of service members, veterans, as…
Focus on Fishing Industry Safety
A preliminary report for 2010, made this past August by the U.S. Bureau of Labor, shows that fishers and those in related fishing industry work continue to have the highest fatal injury rate of all employment categories in the U.S. This chart sums up the higher than average occupation-related death…
Is There a Correlation Between Long Shifts, Too Few Crewmembers, and Unseaworthiness?
BACKGROUND In the matter of Samson Ili vs. American Seafoods Company, LLC, and American Triumph, LCC, et al, a Washington Federal trial case, Samson Ili worked as a factory processor aboard F/T AMERICAN TRIUMPH for four years until February 9, 2007, the date of his injury. AMERICAN TRIUMPH is part…
Seaman’s Right to Maintenance and Cure Is Not Subject to Employer’s Demand for Independent Medical Exam
In March of 2011, in Tuyen Thanh Mai v. American Seafoods Company, LLC, the Washington State Court of Appeals upheld the ruling that American Seafoods Company (ASC) did not have the right to deny seaman Tuyen Thanh Mai maintenance and cure when she did not agree to ASC’s demand for…