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Fisher Maritime personnel have analyzed dozens of maritime casualties over the past 30 years, providing technical advice and expert witness services. The effectiveness of a Fisher Maritime expert report and/or expert witness deposition is evidenced by the fact that, in the majority of related legal cases, litigation has been settled or resolved before going to trial.
We have analyzed, reported on, been deposed and/or testified in many courts on topics such as mooring line and cable weights/strengths, proper use of machinery, industry regulations and guidelines, vessel navigation, communications, meteorology and more. We offer some insights gained from our analyses of tug-barge casualties below:
Many tug-barge personal injury claims involve incidents that occurred while working with vessel working lines or cables. We are often called upon to provide accurate information with respect to rope and cable weights, as well as industry standards regarding amounts of weight that a seaman may be reasonably expected to handle.
We have also been involved in many personal injury matters arising from incidents that occurred with specific towing operations, especially the rigging of push cables and the retrieval of an astern-towed barge. Our experts have first-hand experience with proper procedures for the safe accomplishment of such operations.
The tug-barge industry certainly has its share of slip and fall cases, many of which involve access or vessel ladders. We have, on numerous occasions, been called upon to identify the correct statutory requirements pertaining to particular incidents, along with the responsibilities of tug, barge and dock facility operators.
We have also participated in many cases that entail statutory infractions such as "Rules of the Road" violations. Our experience reveals that the two most commonly violated Rules are failure to keep a proper lookout and improper vessel speed.
It is often alleged that an employer has created an "unsafe condition" when the real cause of an incident was the failure of a trained professional seaman to properly perform a task. Our expertise includes well-researched knowledge of what a seaman's duties are and what an employer may reasonably expect from employed seamen.
Another common underlying cause in marine casualty matters is operator error or inattention, especially cases where a tug operator misjudges tide, current, wind, wave or other environmental factors. Our staff includes expert shiphandlers capable of identifying and documenting such errors.