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Longshoremen Accident Lawyer

Longshoremen Accident Lawyer

California Longshoremen Injury Attorney Preston Easley Represents Longshoremen in Accident Cases Involving Maritime and Admiralty Law in CA, Throughout HI, and Abroad

Longshoremen—also known as stevedores and dockworkers—are the individuals responsible for loading and unloading ships in busy harbors. Until the 1950’s, longshoremen mostly dealt with irregularly shaped parcels of goods, which they had to lash down on the deck, or in the interior, of the ship—at which point the rapid adoption of multi-ton shipping containers made longshoremen’s jobs both simpler and more hazardous. If you were injured handling shipping containers, contact a longshoremen accident lawyer for assistance.

If you’ve ever been to a busy port, you probably have seen huge, 20- to 40-foot long crates being loaded and unloaded onto and off of massive ships and barges. The only way to manipulate multi-ton shipping containers is with multi-ton hoisting machinery, which can be extremely dangerous absent the proper training and safety precautions.

The Many Dangerous Duties Of Longshoremen

In addition to loading and unloading cargo, often in perilous weather conditions, longshoremen have to maintain the piers, docks and shipping terminals of the ports where they work; they’re also employed by shipyards to build and maintain ships.

As you can imagine, these activities come with their own risks, including falls from piers, injuries from construction equipment, and any of the other, sundry hazards encountered by the average factory worker or user of heavy machinery. It’s no wonder that dock workers are usually depicted in movies and TV as tough, rugged, can-do individuals!

Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act of 1927

Accidents suffered by longshoremen are covered under the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act of 1927. Basically, what this law does is extend the provisions of the Jones Law, passed seven years earlier to protect the rights of sailors and marine employees, to dockworkers.  Among other things, the Harbor Workers Compensation Act requires dock management to pay two-thirds of an injured longshoreman’s wages while he recuperates (whether or not management was at fault for the accident), and also allows an injured dockworker (or a deceased dockworker’s relatives) to collect damages for gross negligence or recklessness.

One wrinkle of the LHWCA is that it’s the only means for a dockworker to recover damages for his injuries; all claims against maritime employers, owners and fellow longshoremen have to be pursued under this act. There is a loophole, however: if a longshoreman’s injuries or death was caused by the negligence of a third party (the owner of a ship coming into port, say, or the manufacturer of a faulty shipping container that leaked toxic chemicals), it may be possible to file a third-party lawsuit against the responsible party (even if the worker’s injuries are already being partially compensated under LHWCA). Call today our longshoreman injury lawyer for free advice.

Longshore And Harbor Worker’s Compensation Attorneys

Serving All Of Hawaii And California • Free Consultation

The Law Offices of Preston Easley handles longshore claims involving maritime and admiralty law and actively fights for the rights of injured longshoremen, seamen, crew members, passengers, and injured maritime workers. As an attorney, Mr. 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 laws. [Published Decisions]

Preston Easley is an experienced longshoremen accident lawyer with considerable expertise in handling federal and state cases in the field of maritime law and admiralty law. He will aggressively seek the maximum amount of financial compensation you are entitled to receive for your longshore claim. For a free initial consultation, call or email our longshore attorney 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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