Our Attorneys
Over $1 Billion RECOVERED For Maritime Accident Victims
Our Maritime Lawyers
Admiralty and maritime laws are unique, so anyone whose case falls under these laws should hire a lawyer who specializes in this area. There are not necessarily maritime lawyers in every city or even in every state. Most experienced maritime lawyers will have their main offices near major seaports
In addition to finding a lawyer who specializes in handling maritime cases, you will want your attorney to handle only cases for the plaintiff, or injured party. Lawyers who represent injured people usually don’t also defend lawsuits in this area. Check to see if your lawyer belongs to any trial lawyers groups like ATLA or is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law.
You will want to hire a lawyer on an hourly or a “contingency fee” basis. A contingent fee means your lawyer is only paid based a percentage of what you may collect, with no up-front fee and no hourly rate. You will owe us nothing unless we are able to recover a settlement or judgment in your case.
See Our Results
To see our case results, please click here. We have handled maritime injury cases for over 45 years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. In 2009, we recovered what is believed to be the largest single-incident maritime personal injury award of $17,570,000.00
Client Loans
Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. loans money to our clients. We charge no interest, and loans are repaid from your portion of settlement proceeds. If we do not recover money on your behalf, you do not have to pay back your loans. Loans are available to help clients survive financially during the pendency of their personal injury cases. Our firm only lends money for this reason and not to better a client’s financial situation or for any matters unrelated to your litigation. We make every effort to help our clients financially if we are able to during their cases.
Please call us NOW at 1-800-551-7149 or e-mail us NOW at info@smslegal.com to speak with a maritime accident attorney about our available client loans. We cannot promise any potential client a loan before they have signed a Power of Attorney and become our client. Our firm does not offer money to entice injured people to become our clients. We only make loans to clients after we determine the soundness of their claims.
We are not able to make client loans in states that prohibit attorneys from doing so, such as Florida, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and California. Third-party case funding may be available in your state even if attorneys are prohibited from loaning you money directly.
Types of Cases
We specialize in and handle cases relating to the Jones Act, LHWCA, DOHSA, Public Vessels Act, Maintenance and Cure, General Maritime Law, Maritime Piracy, Suits in Admiralty, Military Sealift Command, Admiralty Extension Act, and OCSLA. For more information on each case type, please click on the links.