Pain And Suffering Damages For Injured Crewman, Commercial Fishermen And Fish Processors
Even the best crewman and fisherman sometimes suffer serious and permanent injuries while working doing their jobs aboard ships and fishing vessels at sea. These injuries can cause life long physical and emotional pain and suffering which impacts the injured crewman the remainder of their life. In many cases chronic pain associated with injuries may lead to life long disabilities and impairments of the crewman’s wage earning capacity.
Under federal maritime law and the Jones Act injured commercial fishermen, fish processors and vessel crewmen may recover money damages to compensate them for the pain and suffering, and psychological and emotional distress damages caused to them by the negligence of their employer or that is the result of the unseaworthiness of their vessel.
We Understand The Complexities Of Maritime Law
Whether the pain and suffering of your injury last a lifetime or only a few months, federal maritime law recognizes your claim for compensation. How much compensation you will receive for your pain and suffering damages depends upon the facts of your case.
In serious injury cases, it is recommended that an injured crewman, commercial fisherman or fish processor consult with a qualified and experienced maritime lawyer. An experienced maritime lawyer can assist the crewman in getting fair and full compensation for past and future pain and suffering damages, lost wages, lost wage-earning capacity, and medical expenses.
Our Attorneys Have Over 80 Years’ Combined Maritime Law Experience
For over 30 years, maritime injury lawyer James M. Beard has been helping injured crewmen, commercial fishermen, and fish processors recover fair compensation for their pain and suffering damages. Explaining and presenting evidence of your pain and suffering damages is critical to getting full and fair compensation for your injury. Attorney Beard and his team at Trueb Berne & Beard, LLP, have recovered millions of dollars in compensation to compensate their maritime injury clients for the pain and suffering associated with their maritime injuries.
Trueb Berne & Beard, LLP, hasn’t handled just a few maritime cases involving pain and suffering claims; the firm has handled hundreds. The attorneys’ experience includes representing catastrophically injured crewmen including claims involving: brain injuries; burns; paralysis; amputations; partial amputation of the hands and fingers; post-traumatic stress; loss of vision; ands back, neck, shoulder, knee and ankle injuries.
You Deserve To Have Your Injuries Fully Evaluated And Treated
If you have been injured working at sea, it’s important that the pain caused by your injuries be fully evaluated and treated. It is part of the vessel owner’s duty to pay medical bills associated with pain treatment that is designed to increase the function of injured crewmen. Treatments such as physical therapy, work-hardening, tens units and spinal cord stimulators are now all recognized and accepted pain treatments.
Many hard-working crewmen have preexisting injuries. It is important for injured crewmen to understand that under federal maritime law a preexisting injury is not a bar to damage claims for past and future pain and suffering, lost wages, or medical expenses.
The Jones Act And Pain And Suffering Damages
The Jones Act and the general maritime law both recognize that pain and suffering damages are recoverable in a maritime injury claim. However, there is no schedule, formula, or specific methodology in the law that determines the amount of pain and suffering compensation that should be awarded for any particular injury. Injury accident victims are frequently misled into believing pain and suffering damages are calculated based upon three to five times the amount of medical bills or past lost wages. Maritime injury claims for a crewman’s pain and suffering are not limited by any formulas or schedules.
In evaluating the value of a maritime pain and suffering claim some of the questions that will be asked include: Do you have pain every day? How intense is your pain? What activities impact your pain and/or help decrease the pain? Does the pain impact your ability to work and enjoy life? How does your pain impact your family relationships? Are you suffering from anxiety or depression? How long does your pain last each day? And how long will it last in the future?
Contact Us For A Free Consultation
If you have questions about your rights to compensation for pain and suffering damages contact Mr. Beard and his partners at Trueb Berne & Beard, LLP, for a free initial consultation to discuss your claim. Call 425-403-1900 or send us a message online today. Never sign a release without fully understanding your rights to compensation.