YOU Are Invited!

By Karen Tischler, CMIP Education Events
February 24, 2015

Hey All Insurance Professionals!

Just wanted to invite you to our upcoming education event, the CMIP Insuring Waterfront Businesses Seminar, and for You CMIP Designation Graduates we are hosting a CMIP Graduate Seminar with Conferment Ceremony at this event!  The seminars will be held this April 20-21, 2015 at the Renaissance Ft. Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel.

This dynamic Waterfront Business seminar delves deep into the exposures specific to waterfront businesses and provides practical “how to” guides on properly insuring them.  Topics include an in-depth overview of Marine General Liabilities, Third Party Liability for Marine Entities, Major Exclusions and Limitations from Non-Marine CGL Forms; Collision and Towers Liability Form including typical structures and E&O Issues due to Erosion of Limits; and concludes with the tricky issues of Care Custody and Control (CCC) Exposures including Ship Repairers Legal Liability, Terminal Operators Legal Liability, Stevedores Legal Liability, Wharfingers Legal Liability, Tankermans Legal Liability, and Charterers Legal Liability. Now that’s a lot of business knowledge packed into two days!

Graduates Courses are designed specifically for CMIP Graduates, providing them with an added depth understanding of these topics: Understanding Lloyd’s, Mutuals and P&I Clubs, Advanced Commercial Marine, Advanced Maritime Insurance.  In addition, Graduates have the option of attending any section of interest being presented at the "Insuring Waterfront Businesses Seminar” during this event.

This seminar event is a great opportunity to broadening your expertise and network with others in your industry, as insurance professionals from all levels, Agents, Underwriters, Human Resources, Administrative, and Management will be in attendance!

Visit IIMIS.org to register; don’t delay as Group Rates fill fast and Early Bird Registration ends soon!  We look forward to welcoming you at this multifaceted education event!  See you there!

Heart Condition Not Covered by Jones Act

William C. SKYE v. MAERSK LINE 2014 - William Skye, formerly the chief mate of the Sealand Pride, suffers from left ventricular hypertrophy, which he complained that his employer, Maersk Lines, caused when it saddled him with “excessive duties and duty time” such that he was “overworked to the point of fatigue.” At trial, the jury found Maersk liable and found damages of $2,362,299.  

Between 2000 and 2008, William Skye worked on the Sealand Pride as chief mate. Skye's job duties required him to work overtime, which adversely affected his health because of fatigue, stress, and lack of sleep. Skye regularly worked between 90 and 105 hours per week for 70 or 84 days at a time. At sea, Skye worked 12 hours; in port, he might have worked “round the clock.”

By 2008, Skye's cardiologist concluded that Skye's “continued physical stress related to his job, with long hours and lack of sleep” caused his labile hypertension—intermittent high blood pressure while on the job—which, in turn, caused his left ventricular hypertrophy.

The Jones Act does not allow seaman to recover for injuries caused by work-related stress because work-related stress is not a “physical peril, and as such the jury verdict was reversed on appeal and MAERSK were not found  NOT LIABLE.

Is this the Record Admiralty Award?

An oil rig worker won a $16.7 million final judgment issued Jan. 9, with $2 million in punitive damages and $162,600 in attorney fees.

George Tillman, had worked on an oil rig in the waters off Qatar when he allegedly contracted viral pneumonia, leading to multiple medical conditions, including blood clots and depression.

Tillman sued Hercules Offshore Services, his former employer, and its parent company under the Jones Act, & for Maintenance and Cure.  Tillman alleged that the rig on which he worked had unsanitary conditions and that those conditions led to his ailments.  Tillman’s claims against the corporate defendants included: negligence, unseaworthiness of vessel and failure to pay for a seaman’s maintenance and cure.

On Oct. 14, 2014, after a nearly three-week trial, the jury issued a $17.5 million verdict that included $6 million in damages for past and future mental anguish and the additional $2 million in punitive damages.  The judge, when calculating his final judgment, figured in salary offsets to defendants’ advantage that both sides had stipulated to during the trail.

For more information please see: http://www.texaslawyer.com/id=1202715208429/Litigator-of-the-Week-167-Million-Final-Judgment-in-Jones-Act-Case#ixzz3QXDBDyp8