Your Personal Injury Toolkit

5 Most Common Mistakes When Injured at Sea

Here is our list of 5 things you should not do after being injured at sea.

Waiting too long to report your injury.

A common mistake among maritime workers is that they do not immediately report their injury to their employer, either because the injury seems minor at the time, or they try to work through the pain. No matter how minor the injury seems at first, it must be reported to your employer right away. Continuing to work without reporting the injury could cause you to be more seriously injured and could later be detrimental to your claim.

Not talking to a maritime attorney about your rights.

Your employer may try to discourage you from talking to an attorney. You might hear, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you.” Even if you trust your company to do the right thing, you can be assured that it has its own legal team working behind the scenes to advance its own interests. By talking to an experienced maritime attorney who is on your side, you can make sure that all of your rights are protected.

Waiting too long to file a legal claim.

All legal claims have time limits. In maritime law, these time limits vary based on the specific situation and can be quite short. For example, some claims must be brought within 6 months or the case will be barred forever. This is another reason why retaining an experienced maritime attorney, sooner rather than later, will benefit you.

Asking for too much, too little, or nothing at all.

An experienced maritime attorney can help you determine what sum of money is reasonable to ask for in your case, depending on the unique facts of your situation. You ought to avoid impractical expectations, but you also don’t want to ask for less than precisely what the legal system allows for. Maritime laws are there for your safety and to compensate you if you are hurt. Don’t make the mistake of asking for too much, too little, or nothing at all.

Not telling the truth.

Honesty really is the best policy when it comes to maritime claims. Telling lies or exaggerating never works – and can even result in the loss of a case that otherwise should have been won. If you have any concerns about the facts of your case, it is best to discuss them with your attorney, who can help you navigate the issue truthfully.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

The above “Top 5 Mistakes” may have no application whatsoever to your particular situation. Only after a written fee agreement do we commit to discussing strengths, weaknesses, mistakes or otherwise with a client. Matters that are listed above as “mistakes” may, in fact, be perfectly proper or correct in your particular circumstance, and the above should not be taken as advice in any particular case. For example, under some circumstances, it may be perfectly proper for a claimant to ask for nothing at all, decline to pursue a claim, or otherwise avoid claims representation. Please see our Disclaimer, which applies to the above. Selection of an attorney is an important decision, potentially affecting significant rights, and selection of a claims representative should not be made based on advertising alone, including specifically this Web page or Website.