Crab Boat Accident

A crab boat accident can become a catastrophe, which can leave victims with severe injuries, or fatalities.

Harvesting Alaskan King crab, or even basic crabbing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, on earth, is among the most hazardous jobs.

Being that crabbing season is vastly short, it requires crabbers to work extended hours to catch the greatest volume of crabs possible prior to time expiration.

Crabbers, many times, sustain injuries by handling traps overloaded or through overwork.

Even a minor mistake can result in severe injuries or a fatality on board, when the platforms and deck are covered with thick ice.

Pushed by the high seas from a listing boat, in several situations, the crabber can be knocked over into freezing waters.

Crab processors, deckhands, and other crew members can often sustain injuries or die in crab boat accidents, at practically every stage pertaining to crabbing.


Lawsuits for personal injury claims or wrongful death for compensation can entail the following: crab pot launchers; crab blocks; picking boom with defects; malfunctions in deck crane; bait chopper accident; crab pot stacking injury; King coilers, line bins, and line coilers; hatch accidents; poor piloting; malfunction of discharge chute; malfunction in circulating water system; injury on crab sorting table; crew members not trained properly; malfunction in crab processing equipment; and icing on the rails and deck to result in accidents of slips and falls.

When a crew member sustains injuries, or dies while crabbing, surviving family members and victims are entitled legally to seek full financial compensation.

Maritime laws, however, involving a crab boat accident are complicated, and require the necessary skills of an esteemed personal injury attorney to handle a lawsuit or claim.

Many accidents which happen on the open waters can be career ending, even when workers who are the most rugged sustain injuries.

If sustained injuries are caused by a vessel not equipped to go out on high sea, or even the negligence of third parties, the victim injured can usually pursue additional compensation over and above what is offered by the Jones act.

An attorney with expertise and skills may be able to prove third party negligence by proving that the vessel was not maintained properly, did not possess appropriate safety equipment, or was inadequately operated by a crew lacking experience.

Other factors are involved which may prove negligence, like if another crewmen assaulted an individual within the realm of employment, or if the sustained injuries happened due to the victim adhering to negligent orders.

The owner, operator, or pilot may have done one of the following: neglected to circumvent harsh weather; neglected to rescue a victim after going overboard; forced the employee to work overtime; neglected to supervise properly subordinates; and did not offer appropriate medical treatment.

Work injury attorneys who specialize in crab boat accident claims can commit on a client’s behalf to hold vessel owners, operators, employers, and other parties held liable as a result of an accident due to negligence.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797.