Maritime & Boating Accidents

Photo of shipyard maritime chain

Maritime, Ship & Boating Accident Lawyers

Cargo Ship, Tug Boat and Cruise Ship Wrongful Death & Injury Law Firm

Kreindler & Kreindler’s maritime law practice dates back to the founding of the firm in 1950. For 70 years, the law firm has represented victims and their families following a wide gamut of wrongful deaths, personal injuries, and disasters at sea. 

 Our cases have included accidents involving:

  • Cargo ships
  • Tug boats
  • Cruise ships
  • Oil tankers and barges
  • Pleasure and Fishing boats
  • Party boats
  • Military vessels
  • Personal watercraft
  • Other private and commercial vessels
Avatar of Kreindler partner Daniel Rose
We use our knowledge and experience to focus on determining the best course of action to obtain the largest recovery for our clients.
~ Daniel O. Rose | Partner & U.S. Navy Veteran

Unlike other personal injury or wrongful death cases, the litigation strategies available in maritime cases must be sensitive to unique state and federal maritime laws. In many situations, our client’s interests are best served if we can establish the applicability of specific maritime statutes and principles of maritime law.

These maritime legal principles include: 

Helping Victims of Ship and Boating Disasters Throughout the World

Kreindler’s 70 years of legal practice has included injuries, plaintiffs, defendants, cases, and litigation involving over 50 different countries. No personal injury firm in the United States has handled more personal injury and wrongful death cases with an international component than Kreindler.

Our firm is experienced in all facets of maritime legal issues, both procedural and substantive, and our work routinely navigates challenges such as the Jones Act, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, Death on High Seas Act, admiralty jurisdiction, parallel proceedings, international law and enforcing cross-border judgments in order to collect compensation on behalf of our clients. 

Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Côte dIvoire, Dominican Republic, England, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guam, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Newfoundland, Niger, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sumatra, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Uganda, United States, Venezuela

Kreindler’s 70 years of legal practice has included injuries, plaintiffs, defendants, cases or litigation involving over 50 different countries.

Kreindler has Prosecuted Cases against Numerous Cruise Lines 

Kreindler attorney and Navy veteran Dan Rose has prosecuted claims against numerous cruise ship lines, including Carnival Cruise, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruise Line, including  including multiple claims arising from the listing of the Crown Princess on July 18, 2006 off the coast of Florida. 

Following the sinking of the Sea Diamond near Santorini, Greece, our firm represented 90 foreign nationals in the United States with claims arising from the disaster.  

Conception Scuba Dive Boat Fire Case
Partner Dan Rose on the use of the Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 in the Conception boat fire tragedy

We are involved in the litigation surrounding a California scuba dive boat tragedy in which the owner of the ship quickly filed a limitation of liability petition trying to limit his liability for the 34 tragic deaths to the measly value of the wreckage of the destroyed vessel. The captain of the ship has subsequently been indicted on criminal charges related to the tragedy. For more information and updates about this case, read Conception scuba dive boat case

Sinking of the El Faro Cargo Ship
Partner Dan Rose's statement regarding the successful ruling in the El Faro confidential wrongful-death claim settlement
Partner Dan Rose on CNN following the announcement that our client had reached a wrongful-death settlement

The El Faro, a Jacksonville-based cargo ship, sank on October 1, 2015, during Hurricane Joaquin off the coast of the Bahamas. There were 33 crew members, most from Jacksonville, FL, but others on board were from Maine and Poland. The ship was en route from Jacksonville, FL to Puerto Rico. All 33 crew members perished in the tragedy. Partners Anthony Tarricone and Dan Rose reached a confidential wrongful-death settlement on behalf of the families killed in the El Faro ship sinking.

Avatar of Kreindler partner Daniel Rose
Our client remains committed to seeing that a tragedy like the one that needlessly took the life of their beloved brother never happens again.
~ Dan Rose | Partner and Attorney
Tugboat Tragedy on the Hackensack River
Read U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet's 94 page opinion

Kreindler partner Dan Rose secured a multi-million dollar trial verdict on behalf of the family of a Moran Towing deckhand who was crushed to death in a capstan on a Moran tug. The three-week trial resulted in a 94-page opinion by the Honorable Judge Robert S. Sweet of the Southern District of New York, which was affirmed by the Second Circuit. In proving the case, Kreindler had to show that Moran’s theory that the deckhand, Ricardo Young, was at fault for his own death was wrong and establish what actually happened. 

To help prove the case, Kreindler created a very detailed animation that explained how the incident occurred and why Moran’s theory blaming the deckhand, Ricardo Young, was wrong.

Watch the animation that was used at trial

Read more about the Moran Towing Tugboat Case

Fatal Collision involving Navy Vessel and Barge on James River
Kreindler won the appeal of the case

Partner Dan Rose secured a significant trial victory on behalf of the Navy seaman who was tragically killed when a 17-foot training vessel was run over by a 600-foot eight-barge flotilla on the James River in Virginia. The complicated and cutting-edge case received significant coverage in legal papers and throughout the tugboat industry and resulted in tug operators changing their “lookout” procedures. The $1,250,000 award was affirmed by the 4th Circuit. 

Determining All Sources of Financial Recovery

Kreindler maritime attorneys are adept at analyzing the factors of jurisdiction, liability, and damages to ensure the strategy that best suits the demands of a given situation is utilized. Our goal in all cases is to maximize the financial return to victims of maritime and boating accidents under every available theory of liability. 

A large ship being nudged by a tugboat

Winning Results

Kreindler combines experience handling highly complex maritime law claims with our dedication to our clients and their families and works to win each case we take on.

Handling Maritime Workers Injury Claims Nationwide 

Injured workers and families with fatal accident maritime claims can recover compensation through federal laws, including the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. These are specific areas of maritime law designed to protect the rights of injured seamen and their families. It would help if you chose an attorney who is highly knowledgeable on the different types of benefits available to workers with offshore and onshore injury claims.

Experience Pursuing Maximum Compensation in Maritime Cases

Kreindler’s maritime law attorneys are committed to securing a full financial recovery for injured maritime workers and their families with fatal accident claims. We will take every measure possible to help you get back on your feet with the compensation you or your family are entitled to for any past and future lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, vocational rehabilitation, and lost earning capacity.

At Kreindler, we have decades of experience handling work-related accident claims throughout the United States. We know the type of benefits injured workers and families with fatal accident claims can recover depending on where the accident occurred and other critical factors. 

To recover compensation through these federal laws, we will prove fault against the employer or one of the crew members. Kreindler’s maritime law attorneys conduct thorough investigations focused on identifying all sources of liability. We consult industry-leading maritime law experts who are invaluable in helping us determine if there is a valid liability claim.

To best understand the series of events that lead to the incident, our attorneys and investigators interview members of the crew and other involved personnel. Our legal team reviews employment records, training requirements, safety requirements, and other sources of information that may help us identify the cause of the work-related accident, such as:

  • Inadequate safety measures
  • Failure to follow or implement safety requirements
  • Failure to properly train personnel
  • Failure to hire qualified workers
  • Failure to properly maintain equipment

Kreindler is committed to securing a full financial recovery for injured maritime workers and families with fatal accident claims.

Referring Counsel: Let’s Discuss Your Client’s Case

Kreindler lawyers regularly partner with attorneys who have a relationship with victims and their families. If there is an award, we share our fee while allowing referring attorneys to be as involved as is appropriate. 

Lawyers unfamiliar with the complex challenges of maritime and boating accident law may miss key issues, and therefore opportunities to secure and maximize compensation. We have the resources to dig deep and challenge even large international companies in court.

Call 800-331-2782 to learn more.

Call on Our Experience

Since 1950, our attorneys have served as leading counsel in nearly every major commercial aviation disaster litigation. Kreindler’s vast experience covers victims of aircraft accidents and maritime accidents in the Gulf of Mexico, on the Great Lakes, in state waters, and on the high seas. Our maritime and boating attorneys litigate case laws, including the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, general maritime law, and state negligence law. Kreindler is one of the largest and most distinguished maritime accident law firms in the world. Our partners have authored numerous highly acclaimed books, articles, and treatises. 

ml>