Maritime Accident Lawyer Davie, FL

Injured working on a vessel, a dock, or a marine terminal?

Jacobson Injury Firm handles Jones Act claims, unseaworthiness actions, and passenger injury cases for Broward County crews and their families.

A lot of Davie residents earn a living on the water. Deckhands, yacht crew, dock workers, marine mechanics, and captains commute east from Davie’s equestrian neighborhoods to Port Everglades, the Dania Cutoff Canal, and the boatyards along the New River. Maritime law is not Florida personal injury law. It runs on federal statutes and centuries of admiralty doctrine, with different deadlines, different burdens, and different money on the table. Our Davie, FL maritime accident lawyer sorts out which body of law applies before anything else. Reach out for a free consultation.

Maritime Accident Lawyer Davie, FL

Davie sits at a junction. I-595 runs along the northern edge of town, connecting to I-95 toward the coast and I-75 toward the west, with the Florida Turnpike close by. That road access is why so much of Broward’s marine workforce lives inland and works on the water. Port Everglades sits a short drive east, and the yacht repair yards concentrated along the New River and Dania Cutoff Canal employ thousands.

Maritime injury claims split into categories that look similar and behave nothing alike, and a maritime injury lawyer in Davie starts there rather than with the medical file. A seaman injured aboard a vessel in navigation has one set of rights. A longshore worker loading cargo has another. A paying passenger on a charter has a third. Getting that classification right decides whether you recover full damages or a fraction of them.

Table of Contents

1. Maritime Accident Lawyer Davie, FL
2. Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Maritime Claims
3. Types of Maritime Accident Cases We Handle
4. The Jones Act, Unseaworthiness, and Maintenance and Cure
5. Passenger and Non-Seaman Claims
6. Damages in a Broward County Maritime Injury Case
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. Contact Jacobson Injury Firm

Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Maritime Claims

Multi-State Admissions and Federal Court Experience

Maritime cases land in federal court more than most injury claims do, and vessel owners hire defense counsel who do nothing else. Adam Jacobson is admitted in Florida, New York, Connecticut, and Illinois. That range matters when a vessel is registered in one state, owned by an entity in another, and operated out of Broward County. As your [personal injury attorney serving Davie], he prepares these files for the forum they will actually be tried in.

Results and Direct Access

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients across serious injury matters. Unlike a volume personal injury firm in Davie, clients work with Adam directly rather than a rotating case manager. Maritime employers move fast after an incident, sending adjusters aboard within hours, and you need someone who answers the phone.

Contingency Representation

We handle maritime accident claims in Davie, FL on a contingency fee basis. There is no retainer and no hourly billing. If we do not recover, you owe nothing.

What Our Clients Say

“Excellent service and results. Jacobson Law Offices was professional, responsive, and truly cared about my case. They explained everything clearly and delivered great results. I highly recommend them to anyone needing a dedicated and trustworthy lawyer.” 

Isaac Mendes

More reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types of Maritime Accident Cases We Handle

• Deck and engine room injuries: Slick decks, unguarded machinery, failed winches, and snapped lines produce crush injuries, amputations, and broken bones. A vessel owner owes the crew a seaworthy ship.
• Falls aboard vessels and on gangways: Missing handrails, unlit ladders, and improperly rigged gangways cause falls that leave crew with back injuries and spinal damage.
• Boatyard and repair facility accidents: The yards along the New River and Dania Cutoff Canal handle large vessels on lifts and blocks. Failures there are catastrophic.
• Cargo and terminal injuries: Workers at Port Everglades hurt while loading or unloading may have rights under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act rather than the Jones Act.
• Passenger injuries on charters and dive boats: Vessel operators owe passengers reasonable care. Falls, burns, and injuries from unsafe boarding all qualify.
• Fires, explosions, and fuel incidents: Fuel vapor ignition in an engine compartment causes severe burn injuries and is almost always traceable to a maintenance failure.
• Man overboard and drowning cases: U.S. Coast Guard reporting requirements and search response records become central evidence.

The Jones Act, Unseaworthiness, and Maintenance and Cure

Ask any Jones Act lawyer in Davie, FL where a case begins, and the answer is seaman status. Crew members qualify when they contribute to a vessel’s function and spend a substantial part of their work aboard it. Seaman status unlocks three distinct claims.

The Jones Act, codified at 46 U.S.C. § 30104, lets an injured seaman sue the employer for negligence and demand a jury trial. The standard is forgiving. If the employer’s carelessness played any part in producing the injury, liability attaches.

Unseaworthiness is a separate claim against the vessel owner. It does not require proof of negligence at all. A vessel that is not reasonably fit for its intended purpose, whether from bad equipment, insufficient crew, or an unsafe method of work, gives rise to liability on its own.

Maintenance and cure is a no-fault obligation. The employer pays daily living expenses and medical costs until you reach maximum medical improvement, regardless of who caused the injury. Employers cut these payments off early all the time, and an unreasonable cutoff exposes them to further liability.

Passenger and Non-Seaman Claims

Not everyone hurt on the water is a seaman. A passenger on a Fort Lauderdale charter brings a general maritime negligence claim, and ticket contracts frequently contain forum clauses and shortened notice periods that courts enforce. Read the ticket. Then call a lawyer, because those deadlines can run in months rather than years.

Land-based workers injured on navigable waters or adjoining areas may be covered by the federal longshore statute, which operates like workers’ compensation and limits third-party suits. Sorting out which category applies is the first real decision in the case, and the evidence that supports it is often in the employment records rather than the incident report.

Where state law governs instead, Florida’s modified comparative fault rule under Florida Statute § 768.81 applies, along with the two-year deadline in Florida Statute § 95.11. Maritime claims commonly run three years instead, which is one more reason the classification question comes first.

Damages in a Broward County Maritime Injury Case

A maritime injury attorney serving Davie pursues every category the law allows. Recoverable damages include past and future medical care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Seamen can also recover found, meaning the value of room and board they lost.

Maritime employers and their insurance companies push injured crew to sign statements and accept quick settlements before the medical picture is clear. A signed release closes the door. We tell clients to document everything and sign nothing until the treatment has stabilized. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute has a plain overview of admiralty law if you want to read further.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I a seaman under the Jones Act? 

It turns on your connection to a vessel in navigation and how much of your work happens aboard. Job title does not decide it. We review actual duties and time records.

My employer stopped paying maintenance. What now? 

An unjustified cutoff is itself actionable. The employer can owe the unpaid amounts plus additional damages, and in some cases attorney’s fees.

Can I sue if I signed something after the accident? 

Possibly. Releases signed by seamen get close scrutiny, and courts set aside agreements signed without full understanding or fair consideration.

What if the vessel was foreign flagged? 

Foreign registration complicates the choice of law but does not automatically defeat a claim. Ownership, operations, and where the injury happened all factor in.

Contact Jacobson Injury Firm

Maritime cases reward early investigation. Vessels get repaired, crews rotate off, and logs get closed out. Preserving that record is the first thing we do.

Consultations are free, and we work on contingency, so there is no financial risk in calling. Contact us to talk through what happened aboard. You can also review our case results and testimonials. A maritime accident attorney in Davie, FL can explain which body of law governs your claim and what it means for your recovery.