When you hear the phrase “maritime accident,” you may picture something as tragic as the Titanic going down or something similar — but most maritime accidents don’t actually make a lot of news even if they’re personal disasters for those affected.
How many different kinds of maritime accidents are there?
It’s estimated that maritime accidents claimed the lives of 1,163 people and caused $197 million in losses in 2017 alone, according to the the last figures available from the Insurance Information Institute (III). Some of the most common causes of claims are:
- Accidents on offshore oil rigs, which are inherently fraught with danger due to their complex operational processes and use of heavy machinery
- Cruise vessel injuries, which have been known to skimp on safety and ignore obvious danger involving bad weather, negligent crew members and more
- Commercial fishing injuries, which can be the result of normal job dangers and inexperienced workers
- Tugboat accidents, which are usually attributed to human error and fatigue
- Injuries on oil tankers and cargo ships, about 88% of which are generally attributed to human mistakes
- Grounding, which can happen when the ship is improperly steered and can lead to serious injuries throughout the crew
- Crane accidents, which are particularly common in ports and on ships that carry a lot of cargo
- Shipyard accidents, where workers are often busy welding and making repairs — and not always keeping safety in mind
- Barge and cargo-hauling mishaps where an inexperienced worker can easily be a hazard to both themselves and others around all that dangerous equipment
Maritime accidents take all kinds of shape and form — and they happen so suddenly that your entire world can be changed in an instant. If you’ve been injured in a maritime accident, find out how an attorney can help by continuing to review our site or by contacting us directly about your situation.