Prop Guard Case Ruling Opens Door
The Supreme Court decision in Sprietsma v. Mercury Marine may require boat manufacturers to satisfy different safety standards for recreational vessels and associated equipment in all 50 states, rather than the one set of federal safety standards they currently meet. In the Sprietsma case, Mrs. Sprietsma accidentally fell overboard after the boat in which she was riding turned, and was struck by the propeller, suffering fatal injuries. Mr. Sprietsma claimed that the Mercury Marine outboard motor was unreasonably dangerous because it did not include a propeller guard. The Coast Guard has concluded that, to date, the evidence is unclear regarding the possible benefits and inherent dangers of propeller guards, and has not mandated propeller guards on recreational boats.
"What Your Lawyer Will Tell You After a Barge Breakaway"
Under the general maritime law, a vessel owner has a duty to furnish a seaworthy vessel. A seaworthy vessel is one which is reasonably fit to carry the cargo it has undertaken to transport. II. Initially, a towboat operator has a duty to properly moor the barges it delivers, and breach of that duty imposes liability on the party delivering a vessel to the fleeter. When a towboat moors an unmanned barge or barges and those barges drift away from their moorings within a short time thereafter, there is a presumption of fault against the mooring vessel which shifts the burden of proof to the mooring vessel to show that it exercised due care. III. A terminal operator's duty to exercise reasonable care includes periodically inspecting barges in its custody.
