Crab Boat Injury Claims
For the past 30 years, James Beard’s law practice has emphasized injured Alaska commercial fishermen. He and his team understand how injuries occur onboard crab fishing boats and know how those injuries could have been prevented. He understands you, your job, and how your injuries will impact your ability to make a living in the future.
Our experienced maritime injury law attorneys have a long history of successfully representing Alaska crab fishermen. There simply aren’t many jobs aboard a crab boat that our attorneys don’t understand. Don’t accept blame for a serious injury that wasn’t your fault. Let Beard and his partners at Trueb Berne & Beard, LLP, explain to you the legal obligations under federal maritime law that an employer and vessel owner have to protect a crewman from injury. Profits and speed should never have a priority over crewman safety. The vessel owner owes you a duty to provide a safe place to work. The employer is responsible for the negligence of a fellow crewman that results in your injury.
James Beard is one of the most experienced maritime lawyers in the nation in handling Alaska Crab fishing injury accidents and crab boat sinkings
Millions Recovered For Injured Alaska Commercial Fishermen And Crab Boat Deckhands
Beard and his partner Lanning Trueb have handled all kinds of Alaska crab boat injury cases including vessel sinkings, bait chopper amputations, crab block accidents, line bin accidents, pot launcher injuries, accidents caused by icing, docking accidents, pot stacking accidents, crane accidents, picking boom accidents, falls while stacking pots, line bin injuries, faulty and defective equipment, working in heavy weather, lack of safety procedures, fellow crewman negligence, etc. They have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for Alaska crab fishermen.
Even the best crab fishermen are sometimes unexpectedly stricken by injury. A moment’s negligence or lapse in judgment by a fellow crewman or vessel captain may lead to a career-ending injury aboard a crab boat. When injury accidents happen to crewmen aboard crab boats, they are protected by federal maritime laws. The Jones Act permits a crewman to sue his employer for negligence that causes injury. The general maritime law requires a vessel owner to provide his crewmen with a safe place to work and a seaworthy vessel. Under these two legal doctrines, injured seamen may recover compensation for pain and suffering, disability, past and future lost earnings, retraining costs, lost earning capacity, and medical expenses. Don’t guess about what your case may be worth; discuss your potential claim with a maritime lawyer who has been handling crab boat injury accidents for his entire legal career. Never sign a release of your claims without first getting proper legal advice about your rights and the true potential value of your claim. Don’t sell your claim short.
You May Be Entitled To Benefits
Almost all injured crewmen are entitled to “maintenance and cure” benefits. This requires your employer and vessel owner to pay your medical expenses associated with a shipboard injury or illness. The willful and wanton failure to pay an injured crewman proper maintenance benefits may create a claim for punitive damages. When a fisherman becomes ill or injured aboard a crab vessel and cannot complete his contract, he is entitled to be paid for his complete contract.
From the day you are injured aboard an Alaska crab boat, your company’s insurance company begins defending to work against you to limit the amount of compensation they must pay you for your injuries. The insurance company may be directing you to medical doctors of their choosing. They may try to rush you back to work at a job you no longer can safely do. They may ask your doctors to recommend therapy instead of surgery. You are entitled to the best reasonable medical care to allow you to recover from your injuries. The best care is not the cheapest care the insurance company can find for you. Hiring an experienced maritime lawyer to be on your side levels the playing field and protects your rights. Why shouldn’t you get the fair compensation you need and the compensation that is permitted by the Jones Act and general maritime law?
We Are The Pacific’s Premier Maritime Injury Lawyers
At Trueb Berne & Beard, LLP, Mr. Beard is always on the side of the injured fisherman. He never represents the vessel owner or their insurance company. Ask Mr. Beard about the Alaska fishing accidents he has handled. His experience includes representing the families of crewmen lost in the sinking of the crab boats Vestfjord, Amber Dawn, Pacific Apollo, Pacesetter and others.
The reality is that crab-fishing vessels are bought and sold. There is no guarantee that an employer is going to have continued employment for you in the future. If you are a crab fisherman, then you know; vessel owners have little loyalty to a crewman who has been injured aboard their vessels. They are more concerned about the costs of their insurance than the welfare of their crewmen. If you have suffered a permanent and career-ending injury, the way to get fair compensation is to have an experienced maritime injury lawyer on your side. Don’t risk working with a serious injury that puts you and other crewmen at risk of injury or death.
We Are Here To Help You
To learn about your legal rights as an injured Alaska crab fisherman, contact James Beard and his partners at Trueb Berne & Beard, LLP. Call 425-403-1900 or send us a message online for a confidential case review. Let us explain your rights to compensation under federal maritime law and the Jones Act. Attorney Beard has a 30-year history of getting injured Alaska fishermen fair compensation for their injuries.