Miami Maritime Lawyer

Port Miami is a busy and dangerous workplace. Accidents aboard ships that come into the Port in the city and accidents that occur in the docks area, the harbor, the warehouses, and other areas of the Port can often injure or kill workers. If you get hurt on the job at the Port, a Miami maritime lawyer can help you recover damages. 

What Does a Miami Maritime Lawyer Do?

Miami maritime lawyers represent people involved in maritime accidents. They also help families of people who die in maritime incidents. Maritime lawyers specialize in this complicated area of the law. They give victims the best chance of recovering damages for medical and other expenses.

Port Miami

Miami is a major port city, not just for the state of Florida but also for the country and internationally. PortMiami is a place where container ships come and go, bringing cargo in and shipping it out to the rest of the world.

Thanks to its location, Miami is a central hub and point of connection for trade, commerce, cargo, tourism, and travel between the U.S., the Caribbean, Central and South America, and even Europe and Africa. The Port is known as the “Cruise Capital of the World” and the “Cargo Gateway of the Americas.”

The Dangers for Seamen

Whether you work as a seaman on ships that dock at Port Miami or as a longshoreman in the Port itself, you do dangerous work every day simply by being a part of the Florida maritime industry. Maritime jobs are hazardous, with commercial fishing leading the way.

While the most dangerous fishing jobs tend to be near Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, any commercial fishing vessel poses risks to workers. You could become injured while trying to maintain your deck footing while out on rough waters, in a tropical storm or hurricane, or while working with the complicated machinery involved in fishing.

As a seaman on a container ship, you face other dangers:

• There are the same worries regarding weather, rough waters, and cargo.
• Some cargo ships put workers at risk of exposure to dangerous chemicals.
• Fires can quickly erupt and put everyone on board in danger.
• You could be injured by shifting or falling cargo.
• You may also be injured in a fall moving from one level of the ship to another or in an electrical accident.

One terrible example of the dangerous work that seamen do occurred in late 2015. The El Faro container ship, which was full of cargo, left Florida and was lost in a hurricane.

When the ship left Port, the weather report warned of a tropical storm, but it was upgraded to a hurricane by the time they had gone.

For days no one knew what happened to the ship, only that communication had been lost. Eventually, the cargo was found floating in the water, and reports stated that the ship had sunk in the hurricane and that all 33 crew members were lost.

Longshoreman Accidents

While jobs aboard ships are hazardous for workers, so are the jobs people do in the Port. Port workers can be victims of accidents involving:

• Falling cargo
• Faulty machinery
• Crane operator errors
• Falls onto ship decks or into cargo holds
• Falls into the water

Working as a longshoreman may mean that you are responsible for operating large cranes, moving cargo by hand, driving a truck, repairing or maintaining ships, or working in warehouses moving cargo, cleaning, doing maintenance, or working on electrical systems.

Longshoremen have experienced many accidents at the Port of Miami. For instance, in 2011, a longshoreman died in Miami when part of a refrigerated container assembly fell on him and crushed him.

The worker made an error in removing the chains that secured the container. He was crouching under it when it fell.

Also, in 2011, a longshoreman died after being crushed between a vehicle and the ramp of a ship in port. He was working on the boat and had just removed binders to secure a container for the vessel. As a vehicle went by him on the ramp, it shifted the container, pinning him between the vehicle and a bulkhead.

Both of these incidents illustrate how dangerous a longshoreman’s job can be. Even for experienced workers, mistakes are too easy to make.

The Special Risks to Cruise Workers

As the “Cruise Capital of the World,” Miami’s port sees millions of passengers annually. The Port has more cruise passengers than any other port in the world. There are 42 berths in the Port designated just for cruise ships.

Cruising is a big industry that comes with big risks. Passengers can be victims of accidents, but workers are especially vulnerable as it is their job to try to ensure the safety of the passengers when something goes wrong.

Cruise Ship Fires

Fires are a considerable risk on cruise ships. Fire on any ship can be dangerous because people on board are in a confined space with few options as to where to go to escape the fire. A fire on a ship can lead to burns, smoke inhalation injuries, falls overboard, and fatalities. There are many examples of fires that have occurred aboard cruise ships.

In 1984, a ship called the Scandinavian Sun, which had embarked from Miami, caught fire at night. Workers did not respond quickly enough to close vents, and many people aboard suffered injury from smoke inhalation.

One crew member and one passenger died. In another example of a cruise ship fire and disaster, 14 crew members and eight passengers died aboard Ecstasy after an engineering room fire. The fire spread to several decks of the ship shortly after it left the Port in Miami.

Cruise Ship Illnesses

Other unique risks for workers on cruise ships include illness. With so many people aboard a ship, illnesses can spread quickly. Many times, the illness is food-borne. One misstep in the kitchen can infect thousands of people on the ship with norovirus or other stomach illnesses.

Cruise Ship Violence

Assault is another particular risk for cruise workers. Angry passengers, intoxicated passengers, and workers can start fights or be victims of assault. It happens more often than cruise companies would like to admit.

Recreational Boating Accidents in Miami

Maritime workers are not the only people who can be injured or killed in maritime incidents. Recreational boaters are also at risk. Nearly 30 people were injured in a collision between two boats in Miami in early 2024.

A tour boat carrying more than 30 passengers collided with another recreational boat, causing the injuries. Thirteen of the passengers had to be hospitalized for their injuries. Many of these victims are suing for damages with the help of local Miami maritime lawyers.

Legal Resources for Miami Maritime Workers

If you work in the city, in the Port, or on ships in the area as a maritime worker, you have all these risks and more to consider every day you go to work.

Any day on the job could be when you are the victim of an accident that leaves you sick, injured, or even killed. If you become ill or injured, federal maritime laws are in place to ensure you can get compensation. If you are killed, your dependents are entitled to those same benefits.

You need the best legal resources to help you get the money you deserve. A Miami maritime attorney can help you file the right claim and represent you if your employer denies or fights your claim.

While you are entitled to compensation in most situations, figuring out how to get it can be complicated. With the guidance of an experienced lawyer, you can ensure you get access to everything you are owed.