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Hawaii Maritime Accident Lawyer

Maritime Injury Attorney Preston Easley Represents Seamen and Longshoremen in Maritime Accident Claims and Wrongful Death Cases Involving Workers and Employees in Honolulu and Throughout HI

Part of what makes Hawaii such a thriving tourist destination are the opportunities it offers for marine recreation. People visit Hawaii to bask in the sun, go scuba-diving, explore reefs in flat-bottomed boats, sport-fish in deep Pacific waters, sail on yachts, and take sightseeing tours and leisurely cruises around the islands. A large part of Hawaii’s infrastructure is devoted to catering to this tourist trade, and thousands of people around the islands either staff, own, or captain these boats. If you’ve been injured in a maritime accident, a skilled Hawaii maritime accident lawyer can help.

Maritime Accident Lawyer Preston Easley is a Graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. You Can Rely on His Expertise in Maritime Law to Protect Your Rights. Contact Him Today For a Free Consultation About Your Case.

With all this activity going on, it’s inevitable that a certain number of people are injured, and some are even killed, during marine excursions every year.  It is important to hire an attorney who is devoted to maritime accidents because United States maritime law is a special area of law that distinguishes between two types of victims:

  • Tourists and passengers; and others covered under state and civil tort laws; and
  • Crew members, dockyard and shipyard workers, and other workers covered under federal maritime law.

Tourists and passengers who are injured or killed during Hawaiian maritime excursions are entitled to sue the responsible parties for damages, just like any other U.S. citizen. However, the claims of crew members and dockworkers are treated under the Jones Act, which entitles maritime employees to receive compensation for their injuries and time out of work.

Tourists / Passengers

If you are a tourist, or island resident who has been injured on a maritime excursion due to the recklessness or negligence of staff, you will almost certainly be entitled to compensation. The operators of yachts, fishing boats, catamarans, jet skis, motorboats, etc. are required to maintain a certain level of safety, including issuing personal flotation devices to every passenger on board (or at least clearly indicating where this gear can be found.)  Captains have an obligation to navigate their boats safely and not put their passengers at unnecessary risk, and crew members should make sure that tourists are properly equipped for the task at hand and trained to use specialized or dangerous equipment.

Crew members who are injured during tourist excursions also have recourse, under the Jones Act, to recoup damages. If the owner of a tourist boat fails to keep it properly maintained and serviced, makes his crew work punishingly long hours, or simply doesn’t staff the vessel up to an adequate margin of safety, he may be held accountable for for injuries and fatal accidents resulting from negligence.

In fact, not only can negligence or operating an unsafe vessel expose the owner or captain liable for any accidents under mainland liability laws for passengers and tourists, it also exposes him to damages under the Jones Act if any of the crew members or dockworkers in his employ are injured, or killed, in the line of duty.

We can help you if you were injured on any waterway, port or harbor in Hawaii, including:

  • Ala Wai Harbor
  • Hanalei River
  • Honolulu Harbor
  • Kaneohe Bay
  • Kawaihae
  • Kewalo Basin
  • Pearl Harbor
  • The Pacific Coast

Hawaii Tour Boat Passenger Accident Lawyer

Free Consultation •  No Fee If No Recovery

Hawaii Maritime Accident Lawyer

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 and he may be able to help you recover for your losses if you were injured on any waterway, port or harbor in Hawaii.  For a free initial consultation, call or email our law firm today.

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Cases We Handle

  • maritime worker working on ship

    Longshoremen & Shipyard Workers

    Longshoring and shipyard work are very dangerous occupations. Workers in these fields, along with marine construction workers, are covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, a very generous no-fault workers’ compensation system. It covers medical expenses, temporary disability, permanent disability and vocational rehabilitation.

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  • sea vessel docked at US shore

    Jones Act Seamen

    A seaman is a member of the crew of a vessel or group of vessels under common ownership or control. The vessel can be anything from a raft to a cargo ship. We represent seamen who work aboard recreational vessels, tugboats, dredges, barges, skiffs, workboats and cargo ships. We also represent seamen who are marine construction workers

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  • Diving

    We represent people who have been injured in SCUBA diving accidents and Commercial diving accidents. We also handle diving boat accidents. Diving can be very dangerous. We successfully represented a commercial diver who was seriously injured while cleaning the propeller of a U.S. Navy ship at Pearl Harbor

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  • accident at construction site and hard hat on floor

    Construction & Industrial Accidents

    Construction and industrial sites can be very dangerous. Although you generally cannot sue your own employer for a construction site or industrial accident (generally workers’ compensation is your exclusive remedy against your employer) there are many circumstances in which you can file a third party lawsuit against an entity other than your employer for an unsafe condition at a work site which causes you to be injured

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  • Forklift and Crane Injuries Lawyer

    Crane & Forklift Accidents

    The Easley firm has extensive experience with crane and forklift accidents and workplace accidents involving dangerous equipment and machinery. These accidents can be caused by operator error and they can be caused by the unsafe and defective condition of the equipment

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  • auto accident involving two cars on a city street

    Motor Vehicle & Truck Accidents

    Motor vehicle accidents can result in serious injury and death. These kinds of accidents can involve automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians and unsafe road design and unsafe road conditions

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  • Catamaran Injuries Attorney

    Passenger Vessel Accidents

    Passenger accidents are common on recreational vessels, catamarans, tour boats and cruise ships.  They are frequently caused by rough sea conditions and unsafe conditions aboard the vessels.  The Easley firm has extensive experience in the field of maritime law.  We have made new law in the field of maritime law with numerous precedent setting decisions in the State Appellate Courts, the Ninth Circuit Federal Court

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  • Defense Base Act

    The Defense Base Act is an extension of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act which covers civilian employees of U.S. defense contractors injured overseas, including war zones. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensations Act as extended by the Defense Base Act is a very generous no fault workers’ compensation system

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Areas Where We Practice

Preston Easley is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He served five years of active duty as a Naval officer — three years as a deck officer on a fast frigate and two years as a patrol boat skipper. Mr. Easley also served aboard a tank landing ship in the reserves.

waves

California

Hawaii

Let Us Get You The Compensation You Deserve

Preston Easley is an experienced lawyer with considerable expertise in handling federal and state personal injury cases. He will aggressively seek the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to receive. Attorney Easley represents victims of serious and fatal accidents involving cars, trucks, construction projects and maritime work.

Construction Workers We Help

  • Crane and Forklift Operators
  • Pile Drivers
  • Scaffold Workers
  • Iron Workers
  • Carpenters
  • Electricians
  • Operating Engineers
  • Electricians

Maritime Workers We Help

  • National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) Shipyard Workers
  • Manson Construction Company Workers
  • Manson Dredging Workers
  • Dutra Dredging Workers
  • Commercial Divers
  • Scuba Divers
  • Commercial Fisherman
  • Government Maritime Claims Against the Navy, Army Corps of Engineers, or the US Coast Guard, etc.
  • Marine Construction Workers
  • Offshore Oil and Gas Workers
  • Seamen
  • Shipyard Workers
  • YYK Enterprises, Inc.
  • Pacific Tugboat Service
  • Long Beach Container Terminal
  • Tugboat, Dredge, Longshoremen, and Ferry Workers
  • Barge Crews and Barge Workers
  • Marisco Limited
  • HL Welding
  • SSA Marine
  • Catalina Express
  • R.E. State Engineering
  • Shimmick Construction
  • Nova Group
  • American Scaffolding
  • Safway Scaffolding
  • Kirby Tugs
  • Crowley Tugboats
  • P&R Water Taxi
  • Continental Maritime
  • Pacific Ship Repair
  • Seaward Marine
  • Healy Tibbitts
  • General Construction
  • BAE Shipyards
  • South Coast Welding
  • Matson
  • Pasha
  • Hawaii Stevedores, Inc.
  • McCabe, Hamilton & Renny
  • Young Brothers
  • Sause Bros.
  • Foss Maritime
  • Fenix Marine Services
  • ITS
  • Total Terminals
  • TraPac
  • PCMC
  • Maersk
  • Yang Ming
  • China Overseas Shipping
  • Evergreen

Boating Accidents

  • Catamaran Accidents
  • Charter and Tour Boats
  • Cruise Ship Accidents
  • Passenger Accidents
  • Jet Ski and Personal Watercraft
  • Motorboat Accidents
  • Recreational Accidents
  • Scuba Diving Accidents
  • Speed Boat Accidents
  • Yachts and Sail Boat Accidents
  • Repair Accidents
  • Crew Accidents
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