Personal Injury Limitation

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled that letters from an injured diver to his employer referencing claims under the Jones Act and for unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure worth tens of thousands of dollars were sufficient to begin the running of the six-month period in which the employer-vessel owner must commence a limitation of liability proceeding. The court found that the letters informed the owner of a claim that may well exceed the value of the vessel involved. The petition filed by the owner to limit its liability more than six months after the letters were received was thus time-barred. Paradise Divers, Inc. v. Upmal, No. 04-12037 (11th Cir., HK LAW)