Dockyard Worker Accident Lawyer

Ship and Dock Worker Injury Attorney Preston Easley Helps Longshoreman Injured While on a Ship or Boat Collect Maximum Compensation for Their Injuries in CA and HI

Visit any major port in Hawaii or California, and you’ll see longshoremen lifting and manipulating multi-ton shipping containers with the aid of massive forklifts and cranes. Much of the grunt work of modern marine commerce involves packing, loading, unloading and unpacking these 20- to 40-foot long containers, hundreds of which can be stacked on large barges and other marine vessels. Although the containers themselves are fairly standardized, their contents are not, ranging from clothing to machine parts to toxic chemicals which pose an added risk to unwary workers. If you were injured while working at a port, contact a dockyard worker accident lawyer for help.

Even on dry land, the operation of cranes and forklifts entails significant risks. These devices have numerous moving parts, and they’re extremely heavy, in order to counterbalance the multi-ton loads they’re designed to manipulate. If the operator of a crane or forklift is insufficiently trained, or if he’s using the wrong piece of machinery for the job, he can easily lose control of the load he’s attempting to move, and may even cause the entire vehicle to tip over. By the same token, an improperly maintained crane or forklift can, through no fault of its operator or crew, be involved in a serious or even deadly accident. Not only the crane or forklift’s crew is at risk, but anyone else working (or even walking) in the immediate vicinity.

Types of PACECO Equipment

All sorts of cranes and forklifts are used in shipping ports, but some types are so common that they’re practically a part of the average longshoreman’s vocabulary. The Transtainer crane, manufactured by PACECO, is a massive, four-legged piece of machinery that stacks shipping containers for storage and loads them onto trucks. Another piece of PACECO equipment, the Top Handler, is a truck-mounted crane capable of lifting multi-ton shipping containers, albeit one at a time. “Hammerheads” are especially difficult to operate; these giant cranes are cantilevered, and have a wide perimeter of operation. Finally, a Zodiac crane attaches to the end of a large boat, and is used to lift slightly less massive loads. Longshoreman Accidents Under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act

Longshoremen who are injured while operating forklifts and cranes have recourse to file for damages under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act (LHWCA), which entitles stevedores and dockworkers to the same legal protections as their colleagues on dry land. The LHWCA requires a longshoreman’s employer to pay two-thirds of his wages while he recuperates from an accident (whether or not that accident was caused by an identifiable party), and also allows an injured dockworker (or the relatives of a deceased dockworker) to collect damages for gross negligence or recklessness.

Call Today for a Free Consultation With an Experienced Longshoreman Maritime Accident Lawyer

While most claims for crane and forklift injuries have to be filed through the LHWCA, there is a notable loophole, which a seasoned maritime attorney will be certain to look out for. If it can be proved that the accident was the result of faulty equipment, the manufacturer of the crane or forklift can be sued in a third-party action, over and above any compensation received under LHWCA.  This loophole doesn’t apply, of course, if the crane or forklift doesn’t have any intrinsic mechanical defects, but has simply been improperly maintained or serviced by harbor management.

Attorney Preston Easley has personally handled numerous catastrophic maritime accidents involving cranes, forklifts, dredges, barges, tugboats, and defective products and equipment. At the appellate level, he has been a pioneer in expanding the rights of injured workers, frequently reversing lower court decisions and making new law. [Published Decisions]

Mr. Easley practices primarily in California and Hawaii and his clients include longshoremen, shipyard workers, tugboat crewmen, dredge crewmen, pile drivers, marine construction workers, merchant seaman and tour boat/recreational boat crews and passengers.

His background in the Navy, and hands-on experience working in the maritime industry gives him a unique perspective on maritime accidents. If you have been injured in a boating or ship accident, or while working on a vessel, or someone you loved was involved in a fatal accident you need an experienced maritime accident attorney to fight for you.

Preston Easley is an experienced dockyard worker accident lawyer with considerable expertise in handling federal and state cases.  He will aggressively seek the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to receive.  For a free initial consultation, call or email our law firm today.     

If you have been injured while loading, unloading a vessel, on a dock or boat or ship Attorney Easley may be able to help you. He takes cases involving maritime accidents throughout California, including, but not limited to: Channel Islands Harbor, Clipper Yacht Harbor, Crescent City, California; Humboldt Bay; Humboldt Bay Harbor Recreation & Conservation District; Huntington Harbour, Huntington Beach, California; Port of Long Beach; Port of Los Angeles; Marina del Rey; Morro Bay, Noyo Harbor; Port of Oakland; Port Hueneme; Port of Richmond; Port of Stockton; Port of Redwood City; Port of Sacramento; Port of San Diego; San Pedro Bay; Shelter Cove; Trinidad Pier and Coastline; Port of San Francisco.