Maritime Lawyers

It is not Easy being a Sea Worker

Every person should feel safe when they go to work, even if the nature of their job is precarious. This is the case with sea workers. They are very well aware of the dangers and health risks that their job involves. In fact, a seamen's work environment is quite unique. This is because many seamen actually reside overnight on their vessels. The duration of their job could be a week or even a month. With seamen working around the clock on sometimes 24-hour shifts, their surroundings need to be monitored. It is the responsibility of the manager on duty to require that all health and safety standards are being met. Even the seamen themselves should be observed properly. There are many occasions when seamen will prefer working instead of resting or taking part in the very limited recreational activities that are available on a ship. This means the employer needs to use their best judgment in deciding whether or not to allow a worker that is too fatigued to work. They need to also decide whether to pull a worker and require him to sit out a shift to rest.

Machinery and other types of equipment should also be monitored constantly. Equipment that is not working properly can cause serious injury. This assumes that the worker has gone through adequate training to be able to use the machine in question. Another assumption is that the worker is not too tired to work the machine.

The areas of potential injury on a ship are endless. If you speak with a maritime lawyer, they will relay even the cases of asbestos on ships. Asbestos on ships is a big problem since it can be found in the machinery as well as in the floors, ceilings, and walls of vessels. When someone has been exposed to asbestos, they don't begin to experience any effects of the asbestos until much later. There are cases of seamen who have been retired nearly twenty years and begin to have breathing problems, chronic fatigue, constant coughing and a whole list of symptoms. It is after finding out they have mesothelioma, an asbestos-related disease that they finally put together that they were exposed to asbestos when they were a seaman.

Clearly there is case after case of sea workers that have been injured. It is the ones that occurred because of the negligence of an employer or a vessel owner that are of most interest. These workers relied on their employer to provide a safe environment and their failure to do so caused them an injury, some very devastating. If you have worked on a ship and were injured, you should talk to a maritime lawyer to understand what legal rights you have. The maritime lawyers of Williams Kherkher will meet with you for a free consultation. Call them today and ask to speak to a maritime lawyer.