One of the many potential hazards maritime workers face daily is working with large, heavy, complicated machinery and equipment. Defective equipment can lead to accidents and injuries. If you are a maritime worker and you have been injured because of a defective piece of equipment, you have rights and can seek compensation.
Product Liability and Maritime Law
In any workplace or any area of life, consumers can seek damages from manufacturers when a product is defective. The maker of the product is considered to be liable for injuries and damage caused by a defect.
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For normal product liability, suing for damages is fairly straightforward. Seeking damages can be a little more complicated in the maritime industry. The injured party may be required to submit more proof.
This is where maritime attorneys become so important. These professionals help workers navigate the law and determine how to proceed when a defective product has caused an accident.
A Supreme Court case from 1986 (East River S.S. Corp v. Transamerica De Laval) determined that maritime product liability should be separate from general product liability. The same rules couldn’t apply to maritime defective products and accidents caused by them, so this case set the new standard.
To have a right to collect damages from a defective maritime product, the injured party has to prove that the injury happened while on navigable waters and that it occurred while maritime-related work was being done. Of course, the product was defective according to the governing rules.
Under the specific rules for maritime products, the item in question is considered to be defective or to have defects, if:
- It has a flaw in its design.
- There is a flaw in the materials from which it is made.
- There is a flaw in its construction.
- The manufacturer did not include adequate labeling to warn that safety equipment must be used to operate it correctly and safely.
The Danger of Defective Products
If you work in the maritime industry, you put yourself at risk in many ways. Working on a ship, on an offshore rig, or as a longshoreman are all dangerous jobs.
Maritime workers face rough waters, the risk of drowning, bad weather, strenuous physical work, long hours, and many other hazards, including working with specialized equipment.
Even when this equipment is not defective, it is easy to have an accident and be injured. A part could be broken and go unfixed, a worker might be inadequately trained, or someone might make a mistake, and the consequences can be severe.
When any one of the products in a maritime workplace is defective, it puts everyone at risk. From trawler winches to loading cranes, personnel movers, fishing nets, fish processing equipment, engine room components, and electronic systems, defects can cause accidents and injuries.
In the worst cases, these defects may cause accidents that lead to fatalities. If you expect a piece of equipment to work correctly and use it accordingly, you may end up with serious injuries when it doesn’t behave as expected.
When equipment malfunctions, it could be due to neglected maintenance or repairs or a defect from the manufacturer. Regardless of the underlying cause, it can be disastrous when equipment malfunctions.
These are just a few examples of what can happen when maritime equipment is defective:
- A defective electrical system could cause a fire, leading to illness from smoke inhalation, burns, and even a sunken ship.
- A malfunctioning conveyor belt could catch a worker’s clothing and drag them into the fish processing equipment. Workers have lost limbs in these kinds of accidents.
- With huge cranes used to load and unload cargo, a defect could cause a large load to drop on workers, which can be deadly.
Liability for Defective Maritime Products
When a product malfunctions, there could be any number of reasons. If a defect in the product is to blame, liability goes to the manufacturer in most cases.
It is the responsibility of the maker of the product to ensure that they are selling fully functioning, safe products. Claiming not to know about a defect is not an adequate defense. A manufacturer is expected to have quality control to ensure defects are caught before products go out to consumers.
It may also be possible that an employer holds some liability if a worker is injured by a defective product.
If an employer knows about a defect in a piece of equipment, a worker has to use to do a job but allows workers to continue to use the equipment anyway; they share some of the blame. They can also be held liable in a lawsuit by an injured worker seeking compensation.
Legal Help for Injured Workers
If you work in the maritime industry, you face many risks in your daily work. There are inherent risks in this kind of work, but you also have a right to a workplace that is made as safe as possible. It is your employer’s responsibility to create a safe work environment.
A manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that the products you work with are free from defects and safe to use. If anyone fails you in either of these regards, you can expect to be owed compensation to cover medical costs, lost wages, and more.
When you seek compensation in the wake of an equipment failure that caused you to be injured, you can expect to face pushback. Your employer and the manufacturer of the product may try to blame each other to get out of liability, or they may even try to blame you.
It is essential that you have professional guidance and strong representation to stand up to your company and the manufacturer. Maritime law and product liability can be confusing, but an experienced maritime lawyer can help guide you through everything you need to do to get the compensation you deserve.