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Maritime workers face difficult, dangerous and often unforgiving job responsibilities. As with any other job, employers in these situations have a duty to ensure their workers are protected and treated fairly. A crew rights attorney can help you understand your...

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There is interplay between the materials that are acceptable to use on a ship as opposed to what would really be safe in the conditions passengers will encounter on board a ship. It isn't always the same thing. For example, teak wood can become...

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January 2012 Archives

Costa Concordia Disaster-What Went Wrong

By Paul M. Hoffman of Hoffman Law Firm, Paul M. Hoffman, P.A. on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

The wreck of the Costa Concordia brings into sharp focus the inherent unsafe practices of modern cruise ship companies.  It may shock some to learn that a mega-liner like the Costa Concordia or any of the ships operated by NCL, RCCL, Celebrity, Carnival, MSC, SilverSea and so forth have very few actual sailors on board. Lifeboats are captained by employees with other jobs on the ship, such as waiters or assistant engineers.

Costa Concordia Disaster and Flags of State

By Paul M. Hoffman of Hoffman Law Firm, Paul M. Hoffman, P.A. on Wednesday, January 18, 2012.

The very recent wreck of the Costa Concordia tragically demonstrates the risk that passengers take when boarding one of the mega-liners so popular today.  Because U.S. laws are so favorable to large corporations like cruise lines, many safety laws and regulations simply do not apply to the cruise lines and those that do cannot be enforced, except in certain limited circumstances.