Admiralty Law

Admiralty concerns activities which occur at sea and the waters of the United States, including all parts of rivers and lakes that are deemed to be “navigable”. When injuries, casualties, or property damage occur in these areas specialized procedures and rules may be applied in Federal District court or state courts to resolve the matter. Cases involving Admiralty Law range from the Exxon Valdez oil spill disaster to a house boat carbon monoxide death or injury on Lake Powell.

Admiralty Law is an amalgamation of Federal Law, International Laws and Treaties with centuries of interpretive case law. An example is The Death on the High Seas Act which limits potential claimants and the damages they may recover and requires a decedent’s representative to maintain a suit for damages, in admiralty. Another example is the Jones Act which provides specific rights and remedies to seamen and other persons working on the high seas. Some of the casualties aboard the Deep Water Horizon oil rig would be covered by this Act.

Maritime law also provides special procedures for parties to apportion responsibility for damage to vessels and/or cargo, for vessel owners to limit their liability for the acts of a lessee’s crew, and any other dispute related to traditional commercial maritime activity.