Georgia Maritime Lawyer

If you work in the ports of Georgia or on the ships that come and go from them, you face daily dangers. With a Georgia maritime lawyer, you can be sure that if you are hurt on the job, you will have an experienced partner ready to represent you and help you get the compensation needed to get back on your feet.

Who Needs a Georgia Maritime Lawyer?

Maritime workers often benefit from working with maritime lawyers. Georgia maritime lawyers specialize in maritime law and are familiar with the state’s maritime industry. They help local injured maritime workers navigate the legal system and recover damages under maritime law.

A maritime lawyer can also help families of maritime workers who die on the job. They also work with passengers injured or killed in maritime accidents involving negligence.

Georgia’s Ports

Although Georgia has only a small slice of the Atlantic coastline, it takes full advantage of that position with two major ports:

• The Port of Brunswick
• The Port of Savannah

With quick access to trains, the interstate, and a central coast location for incoming ships, this area has become an international hub for importing and exporting containers and cargo.

Savannah’s container terminal is the second busiest in the country and the largest of all single-operator container facilities on the continent. It is the fourth-largest and fastest-growing port, serving over 100 shipping lines.

The Port of Brunswick, south of Savannah, is the country’s biggest car importer. It receives more than 16% of all cargo for the East Coast.

The state of Georgia is a big player in the maritime industry. Thousands of workers are needed to keep these busy ports and terminals running. Longshoremen, stevedores, ship repairers, crane operators, forklift operators, truck drivers, and electricians work daily in thriving ports, warehouses, docks, and ships.

The Dangers of Working in a Port

Port workers face risks every day, especially in busy cargo and container ports like those in Georgia. Working in a crowded place with heavy equipment and oversized cargo is dangerous, and just one seemingly minor mistake can lead to a catastrophe.

Unfortunately, some of these mistakes cause accidents that injure workers or even kill them. Causes of port and maritime accidents include things like:

• Inadequate training for workers
• Poor equipment maintenance
• Lack of safety equipment or training
• Miscommunications between workers
• Human error and mistakes in judgment

Many possible accidents can occur in ports, from slips, trips, and falls to toxic chemical exposure. One of the biggest risks that lead to the most severe consequences is that a large piece of equipment or cargo will strike and injure or kill a worker.

Cranes of various sizes lift cargo and move it on and off ships. If something goes wrong, the crane or its load can hit someone. Cranes have been known to collapse and injure or kill workers, and dropped cargo can also cause severe injuries and fatalities.

Accidents like these are expected in a work environment with many different moving pieces, from cranes and trucks to ships and even the water.

Port and shipping line employers should take all reasonable precautions to prevent accidents. They are responsible for ensuring workers are trained, equipment is maintained, and cargo is secured correctly.

When things go wrong, there is almost always a reason and someone to blame. Negligence is behind many of the accidents that sideline or kill port workers.

Maritime Accidents in Georgia

Georgia’s ports have seen many accidents over the years that led to worker injuries and deaths.

Longshoreman Fatality

The Port of Savannah saw a tragic accident in 2008 when a longshoreman was killed on the job. Lee Fluker died after he was struck by tubular steel transported by a forklift at the Ocean Terminal dock.

While working on the dock, Fluker was hit by the steel on one forklift and knocked into the path of another forklift. That forklift driver hit the brakes with the best intentions, but the motion caused his load of steel tubes to fly forward and strike Fluker again.

He died on the spot, nearly instantly. It can be hard to know where negligence may play a role in such an accident, but it could have been that the steel was not secured correctly or there was a lack of communication between the workers.

Forklift and Cargo Fatalities

Another tragic year for the Georgia port was in 1994 when two different accidents led to the deaths of two longshoremen. In one incident, a worker was run over by a forklift while unloading some cargo from a ship.

In the other incident, a bale of cotton, with a weight of nearly 500 pounds, fell on a worker at the Ocean Terminal docks. Both longshoremen died on the scene.

Capsized Cargo Ship

A South Korean freighter capsized shortly after leaving the Port of Brunswick in 2019. The crew were safely rescued from the ship, but cleanup of the accident took more than two years. Cleanup efforts have been risky for the environment. One incident in July 2021 led to a significant oil spill.

The cause of the accident was a miscalculation by the chief officer. Errors in entering ballast amounts led to an incorrect stability calculation, and the ship left port without meeting the stability requirements. Open ballast doors worsened the accident, causing the ship to flood after capsizing.

Legal Rights for Georgia Maritime Workers

If you work in Georgia’s maritime industry, you don’t have to be told how dangerous it is. You face daily hazards as a longshoreman or other worker in the port area or as a seaman on a ship.

This is why federal maritime law was created: to ensure injured workers in the industry could get the money they need to recover and return to work after an accident.

These laws can provide money for medical bills, wages lost while off the job, and other costs, such as any future lost earning capacity related to a permanent injury.

Workers in the maritime industry can also be at ease knowing that their dependent loved ones have rights, too. If you are killed on the job in an accident, your loved ones have the right to your benefits through these laws. The money can help pay for funeral expenses and the wages they depended on while you worked.

Georgia Maritime Lawyers

You don’t have to fight for compensation after an injury alone. You might find that when you get hurt, your employer’s insurance company is reluctant to pay or may want to offer you less than you deserve.

Instead of signing your rights away, taking the first deal, or trying to fight the insurance company to get more without any guidance, rely on a maritime lawyer to help you.

With an experienced lawyer, you can be sure that you are not making mistakes, that you haven’t missed any deadlines for filing claims, and that you are filing a claim under the correct law that applies to you. Only with a lawyer can you know you will get everything you owe under the law.