Honolulu Maritime Lawyers

The maritime industry is hugely important to the City and County of Honolulu, as well as the state of Hawaii as a whole. Honolulu Harbor alone processes over ten million tons in cargo every year. In an ideal world, maritime personnel would be able to perform their duties without fear for their physical safety—but in reality, they just don’t have that luxury. The tragic fact is that offshore and maritime personnel occasionally do become severely injured while on the job.

For employees in this vital but undeniably hazardous field, it’s essential to have ready access to legal representation with substantial experience and a dedicated focus on maritime law. At Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P., our team of maritime personal injury lawyers is available to provide the attentive legal assistance you need to prevail with your Jones Act claim or other personal injury matter.

Common Injuries from Maritime and Offshore Accidents

It shouldn’t be news to anyone that the maritime sector is a dangerous one, but most people aren’t aware of the full range of threats that employees in this industry must face on a routine basis. What follows is only a partial list of commonly occurring injuries and illnesses that afflict maritime workers:

• Spinal cord damage
• Skin burns
• Back injuries
• Lung disorders
• Broken bones
• Brain injuries
• Hypothermia
• Amputation
• Compartment Syndrome

If you have been hurt while performing your duties, our maritime injury attorneys will fight to help you get appropriate compensation.

Maintenance and Cure: The Basics

In general, injured seamen qualify for an elementary type of financial compensation called maintenance and cure. This actually consists of two distinct types of compensation:

•    Maintenance – Modest weekly payments that provide basic living expenses during the period of recovery

•    Cure – Compensation for medical bills and expenses

If you have been injured through the fault of your coworkers or employer, then you may be entitled to further compensation as well.

Other Kinds of Personal Injury Compensation

As one of the leading maritime law representing workers injured in Hawaii  and throughout the nation, we deal with many kinds of personal injury cases that arise in this industry.