Fair and Equal Remedies for Persons Injured in Boating Disasters

Support S. 588 and H.R. 1485

Under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), families who have lost a loved one in a boating disaster are prohibited from recovering anything but the lost income or wages for those who are economically dependent upon the decedent. This inadequate remedy does little to provide compensation for those who die as a result of negligence, especially people who are single or children. The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, S. 588 and H.R. 1485, would ensure parity for those who are injured on the high seas.

Background: DOHSA was last amended by Congress in 2000 to provide non-pecuniary damages to the family members of persons who die on the high seas as a result of a plane crash. (See Pub. Law 106-181). Senators Specter and Santorum pushed through this legislative change following the TWA Flight 800 accident that left the families of sixteen high school students from Montoursville, PA without any recovery for their devastating loss. Because children contribute little, if anything at all, to the economic support of their parents, the antiquated DOHSA law valued their loss at zero.

Non-pecuniary damages are defined in the case of an aviation disaster at sea as the loss of care, comfort, and companionship. The same remedies should be expanded for families who have lost a loved one at sea due to a maritime disaster. There is no justification for treating victims of TWA 800 different from victims, for example, on the Q.E. II. Grieving families should be made whole no matter if their loved ones died on an airplane or an ocean liner.

Legislative Fix: Language to provide fair and equal remedies to victims of maritime disasters can be found in Section 6 of the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2008 (S. 588 and H.R. 1485). Provisions to fix this antiquated statute include:

• Applying DOHSA to maritime victims who die on the high seas due to a wrongful act or negligence.
• Expanding the definition of non-pecuniary loss to include the decedent’s pre-death pain and suffering.
• Clarifying that the DOHSA statute does not apply to deaths occurring within the territorial waters of the United States.

Recent Cases Illustrate Why Congress Must Act to Amend DOHSA:

• Chris Erickson was just 24 years old when he was electrocuted in January 2009 through the gross negligence of his supervisor. Chris, who graduated number one in his class at Massachusetts Maritime, worked as an engineer on a tanker, the Wilmington, owned by a subsidiary of ExxonMobil. Because Chris was young and unmarried, with no dependents to support, his claim is worth little. His parents and his siblings are devastated by this tragic loss.

• Paul Wade, a commercial fisherman, died of exposure in the water after his fishing boat was run over by a Norwegian freighter off the coast of northern California. The vessel was motoring through fog at a high rate of speed without any lookouts or signals. Paul’s wife, Lori, cannot recover anything under the DOHSA for the devastating loss of her husband.

• Three crew members from Rhode Island who worked on a sailing vessel died on the high seas when returning from the Virgin Islands to Maryland. All the crewmembers, two women and one man, were in their twenties and had no dependents. The Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon went off, alerting authorities to the disaster.

• A 21-one-year old young man died during a cruise with his extended family to celebrate the anniversary of his grandparents. The vessel was docked in Bermuda’s territorial waters, but this is considered the high seas because it is outside of U.S. territorial water. The man jumped on the stairs and fell 30 feet through an opening in the railing and died instantly. Under current law, his parents are only entitled to funeral expenses.

• A-18-year-old young man from Massachusetts who had just graduated from high school and had a summer job working on a schooner fell 30 feet to his death when attempting to cross between two stays on the mast of the vessel. Although the loss is devastating to his parents, they are not entitled to compensation for the loss of their son.