Jacksonville Maritime Lawyer

If you work at the Jacksonville Port Authority, you face daily hazards and the possibility of injury.  Accidents are common, and if you find yourself injured after a workplace incident, you have a right to seek compensation. Jacksonville maritime lawyers can help you get what you deserve.

What Does a Jacksonville Maritime Lawyer Do?

Jacksonville maritime lawyers are experts in maritime law. They represent victims of maritime accidents and their families in Florida, helping them recover damages. Most clients are maritime workers, but maritime lawyers also represent injured passengers.

If you work in the maritime industry and are hurt on the job, laws give you the right to seek compensation. Working with a maritime lawyer gives you the best chance of recovering damages.

The Jacksonville Port Authority – Jaxport

Locals know the Jacksonville Port Authority as Jaxport. It is home to three cargo terminals and one cruise ship terminal, with space for large ships in both industries to dock and take on or remove cargo and passengers.

Millions of tons of cargo pass through Jaxport terminals every year. The kind of cargo that moves through the port includes containers, recreational boats, dry and liquid bulks, construction equipment, and oversized, military, and other specialized types of cargo.

Cargo ships move into Jaxport and out to the world, doing business with the Caribbean, South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The cargo that comes in here can be sent out to other parts of the U.S. by trucks on the nearby interstates or by one of several different railroads.

Accidents at Jaxport

As a major cargo hub and minor cruise port terminal, Jaxport is busy with many moving parts and big equipment. One mistake can multiply into a serious incident that causes workers to be injured or even killed.

If you work in the port or on the ships that come into dock here, you know how dangerous your work is. Unfortunately, there have been several examples in the past of accidents that cause equipment damage, injuries, and even fatalities.

Large Crane Accident

An accident at the port in 2008 illustrates how one seemingly minor mistake made by one person can turn into a significant catastrophe. A crane weighing nearly 1,000 tons skidded across the harbor, nearly 700 feet, and crashed into other large cranes, causing a huge mess.

Luckily, no one was injured in the incident, but it resulted in significant and costly damage. The crane had several brakes that should have been engaged.

At the time of the accident, a storm came through, and two of the brakes had not been engaged because of a damaged rail. The result was a disastrous accident.

Fatal Crane Collapse

Other accidents are more tragic. In 2011, a crane collapsed and killed a worker. The crane had been retired, and the worker had been scrapping it piece by piece when it came down on him.

The crane the man was using to dismantle the old crane may not have been up to the job, which could have contributed to the accident. It is possible that someone’s poor judgment regarding how to do the job led to this terrible accident.

Car Carrier Fire

A fire broke out on a car carrier docked in Jacksonville in 2020. The cause was later determined to be an improperly disconnected battery in a used car, which caused an electrical fault.

It took more than a week to put the fire out, but no crew members were injured. The investigation of the incident found that multiple cars on the carrier did not have disconnected batteries. The response to the fire was delayed because the fire detection system was not activated.

What Causes Port Accidents?

Genuine accidents may still occur, but these are inevitable. In nearly all accidents in ports, like the port in Jacksonville, a cause can be traced back to negligence, poor judgment, miscommunication, or another type of error made by a person.

Ultimately responsible for ensuring these accidents are prevented are the employers of those involved. If you work in a port, you are entitled to a workplace that is as safe as possible. This means that your employer has taken all reasonable precautions to prevent accidents. 

Several things make up the negligence and neglect that can lead to port accidents:

• One major issue is overlooking equipment maintenance and repairs. With big cargo cranes especially, lax maintenance can mean major disasters when a load gets dropped or a part falls off and hurts someone.
• A messy work area can cause trips and falls that hurt workers.
• Cargo not stored correctly in a warehouse or on docks can shift and fall.
• Walkways out to ships that aren’t maintained can cause workers to fall into the water.
• Inadequate training is also a big concern. Employers are responsible for making sure workers are trained to do their jobs. If they aren’t, mistakes can happen, and people get hurt.

Jacksonville Maritime Lawyers Can Help

If you have been a victim of one of these or any other type of workplace accident as a longshoreman or seaman, you have a right to compensation.

Your employer or your employer’s insurance company may try to deny you that compensation, even by blaming you for the accident.

If you work in the port and qualify as a longshoreman or harbor worker, you are entitled to a federal workers’ compensation program. You do not have to show that there was any negligence to get this money, which will help pay for medical expenses and lost wages.

Maybe you work on a ship that comes into the Jacksonville port. If this is the case, you may qualify as a seaman, which means you can refer to the Jones Act to get compensation in cases where negligence played a role.

Being able to determine which laws apply to you, how to file a claim to get money, and how to ensure you get the money you need is complicated. Rely on Jacksonville maritime lawyers to help you navigate the laws, file claims, and represent you in a fight against your employer for compensation.