Damage to Vessels and other Property Claims

Tim Boyd has handled a wide variety of cases where vessels have been damaged due to someone else’s negligence. The most obvious cause of a vessel being damaged is a collision of two vessels or an allision where one vessel is tied up and another vessel runs into it. There are many different ways for a vessel to be damaged. For example, if a manufacturer of one of the component parts of the vessel malfunctions, the rest of the vessel can be damaged or destroyed by fire. Another type of damage to vessels occurs when a marina removes a vessel from the water, and causes damages to the vessel, or when a marina does not provide adequate security and the vessel is vandalized or stolen. In each one of these cases, the marina or the person at fault would be required to pay for the damages to the vessel owner.

There are other types of Marine Property damages that can be caused that will be subject to Maritime law. We have handled cases for damages caused to docks, marinas, barges, fender systems of bridges, etc. Typically, these cases are easy to prove against a vessel that has caused the damages. Under Maritime law, when a moving object, usually a vessel, strikes another object that is not moving, usually a dock or bridge, the moving vessel is presumed to be at fault.