Outdated maritime injury laws can mean accident victims are denied damages that are available to those who suffer identical injuries on land.
Our part of the country may not invite visitors with postcard images of long oceanfront beaches or whale-watching tours, but both Illinois and Indiana have important and strong ties to the nation’s maritime industry, with both its commercial and recreational activities.
The Great Lakes region is a huge component of the domestic maritime industry, and both Illinois and Indiana employ hundreds of thousands of workers in commercial, recreational, and military marine jobs.
Indiana: $4 Billion Maritime Industry
Indiana’s maritime industry is a vital contributor to our state, employing hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers and generating approximately $4,000,000,000.00 annually for the state’s economy. For details, read “Maritime industry has $3.9 billion economic impact on Indiana,” written by Joseph S. Pete and published by the NWI Times on July 27, 2019.
Illinois: $5 Billion Maritime Industry
Illinois’ longstanding relationship with maritime endeavors is equally important and longstanding. Chicago’s Maritime Museum delves into the many ways that our waterways have helped to build and sustain Illinois since the mid-1800s. For more, see “New Museum Recapture’s Chicago’s Maritime Glory,” written by Patrick Reardon and published by the Chicago Tribune on August 2, 1989.
Illinois generates even more revenue from its maritime sector than Indiana. Last year, the Illinois maritime sector contributed approximately $5 Billion to Illinois’s economy.
Boating Injuries and Maritime Accidents
Of course, with all this activity there will be errors and mistakes which will cause someone to get hurt. Boating accidents and maritime injuries will happen, and often these bodily injuries are the result of another’s negligence. However, how these injury accidents are treated under the law is much different when the injuries are sustained on or near water, as opposed to dry land.
Maritime laws, both state and federal, come into play when there is a maritime injury. Unfortunately, maritime laws have not changed or evolved over the years.
First, injury claims may not be recognized as valid causes of action when they are based on water accidents instead of land. Secondly, even if liability can be established, antiquated maritime laws may deny the victim compensation and damages that he or she would be entitled to receive if only the accident had happened on land.
2019 SCOTUS Ruling in Batterton
For instance, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) recently ruled that a seaman could not be awarded punitive damages, no matter how horrific the incident or how shocking the circumstances.
In the case, the maritime worker was on the job, when the seal on his vessel’s watertight door failed, allowing the door to blow open suddenly and crushing the seaman’s hand. Seeking personal injury damages under federal maritime law, his case advanced all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the majority found (1) punitive damages cannot be recovered on claims in admiralty where there is no historical basis for allowing such damages, and (2) that courts should be cautious about departing from statutory schemes established by Congress. The Dutra Group v. Batterton, 139 S.Ct. 2275, 2278 (2019).
Accordingly, maritime victims can be stymied in their pursuit of justice due to the language of the statutes that apply to maritime injury cases.
Ancient Maritime Laws Still On the Books: The Need for Legislative Update
Today, a variety of maritime laws provide justice for victims of maritime accidents involving either commercial or passenger vessels. We have discussed these legal protections for injury victims in boating accidents before, see:
- The Jones Act vs. the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for Maritime Workers
- International Longshoremen Associations Safety Bulletin: How the Law Protects Maritime Workers / Longshoremen Hurt or Killed While Working on the Job
- Boating Accidents in Illinois and Indiana: The Summer Danger of Maritime Fatalities
- The Most Dangerous Jobs in Illinois and Indiana: 2019
However, many of these maritime laws have not been reviewed or updated for many years; as for example, the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) and the Limitation of Liability Act (LOLA). Today’s reality is that someone injured on land in either Indiana or Illinois will be able to pursue legal claims for justice that are much different than someone suffering similar or identical injuries on the water.
Currently, the rights and remedies for maritime victims are not the same as those who suffer serious or fatal bodily injuries on land.
These maritime laws were passed long ago, and do not jive with today’s boating culture. Passenger vessels, in particular, are not considered within the current statutory provisions. Technological advances for both commercial and passenger vessels are not addressed, either. See, e.g., Burke, Madeline. “The 1920 Death on the High Seas Act: An Outdated and Ambiguous Admiralty Law Shielding Cruise Line Companies from Civil Liabilities.” Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce 49.1 (2018): 1-30; and Winters, Steven. “Salvaging Recreational Boating: Reforming an Antiquated Maritime Practice.” Conn. L. Rev. 50 (2018): 1021.
The American Association of Justice provides two examples:
1) [I]f a duck boat sinks in a river or lake, the owners can limit their liability to the value of the sunken vessel under the LOLA, but if the duck boat smashes into a vehicle on land and causes passenger injuries, the duck boat is treated like a commercial vehicle, not a vessel. It would not matter to the injured passengers whether the duck boat was on the street or in a lake.
2) Under the DOHSA, families who lose a loved one on the high seas due to a commercial aviation crash have a remedy, but those on a cruise ship, ferry, other vessel or non-commercial plane do not have similar remedies. It is unreasonable for the DOHSA to limit remedies to lost wages and not provide recoveries for the loss of a loved one.
November 2019 Congressional Hearing on Vessel Safety and Maritime Fatalities
On November 14, 2019, a Congressional hearing was held before the House Transportation Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, entitled “Commercial and Passenger Vessel Safety: Challenges and Opportunities.”
The lawmakers are investigating concerns over “… maritime vessel safety amid recent maritime casualties” and “the effectiveness and implementation of safety legislation such as the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act as well as the Hamm Alert Maritime Safety Act.”
Witness testimony was taken from experts in the field, including the Director of the National Transportation Safety Board; the Deputy Administrator of the United States Maritime Association; and a Commandant for the United States Coast Guard. Another key concern here: the inability of the Coast Guard to inspect both commercial and passenger vessels for safety and current regulation compliance due to a lack of resources.
Whether or not these Congressional hearings will result in amendments to the current maritime injury laws remains to be seen.
Seeking Justice for Maritime Injury Victims
Victims of serious injury or even death in an accident on the water deserve justice for what has happened to them. Accidents involving either commercial or passenger vessels will be controlled by special maritime laws, and these victims will need to be prepared for an aggressive fight for justice for injuries sustained due to the reckless or negligent conduct of a maritime employer, a cruise line, a fellow seaman, or operators of personal watercraft (including fishing boats and Jet Skis). See, e.g., “Great Lakes Watercraft Safety: Dangers of JetSkis and Other Watercraft for Kids and Families; Learning the Lesson of Ushers Tragic Loss.
Outdated federal laws must be changed. Victims of Indiana and Illinois maritime injuries deserve experienced and zealous advocacy in their complicated search for justice after a severe or fatal accident on the water.
Our Great Lakes region results in all sorts of maritime accidents and resulting injuries that may be available for personal injury claims under federal statute or the state laws of Indiana and Illinois. Please be careful out there!
