Bodily Injury News December 2016 Edition - UK P&I · available defenses and the possibility of...

BODILY INJURYNEWSWINTER 2016/17

The journal of theThomas Miller Americas’ bodily injury team

Medical Repatriation

Medical Case Management

Limitation of Liability

Pain and Suffering

Charity Golf Day

EDITORIAL

2 Bodily Injury News Winter 2016/17

Another successful seminarThis year’s Bodily Injury Seminar covered a varietyof important areas relevant to both US and foreignflag shipowners. Twenty-five Membersrepresenting all vessel types, attended theseminar in our Jersey City office to listen toexperts talk on: Limitation of Liability, How toEvaluate Pain and Suffering Damages, CrewMental Health, Medical Case Management, andMedical Repatriation.

An afternoon break-out session tasked the different groups with putting aUS$ value on claim scenarios which the Club has previously handled. Thishighlighted how difficult it is to estimate bodily injury claims with all thecomplexity of the US jury system, the various heads of damages (particularlyPain and Suffering) to be taken into account along with consideration ofavailable defenses and the possibility of contributory negligence. From thefeedback we received, this once again proved to be a popular and valuablesession which we plan to repeat at the seminar in 2017.

Play for PinkWe were delighted to see the maritime community come together at ourannual Charity Golf Day in support of The Breast Cancer ResearchFoundation, and raise just under US$120,000. Eighty-eight golfers didtheir best to replicate the form shown by the US Ryder Cup team theprevious weekend, with the tournament won by Chaffe McCall from NewOrleans, who will return to defend their trophy at next year’s event. Many ofthe speakers and attendees at the BI Seminar also supported the golfouting either by playing or attending the dinner, where we had a totalattendance of 130.

MLC CertificatesAt the end of November, the Club advised of the application process forMLC Certificates for UK Club Members, which is outlined on the Club’swebsite and Members may apply for MLC Certificates using theapplication form on our website, on a per vessel or per fleet basis. From18th January 2017 all merchant ships of 500 gross tons or over flagged toa ratifying state and engaged in international voyages will need to showcompliance by carrying a Maritime Labour Certificate and Declaration ofMaritime Labour Compliance.

2017We welcome your feedback on the topics we cover in our newsletter, andinvite you to suggest future topics, both for the newsletter and for ourAnnual Bodily Injury Seminar. Contact details for our Bodily Injury Teamcan be found on the back page.

Please mark your diaries for two events next October, firstly, our charity golfouting on Tuesday 3rd October 2017 at Forsgate Country Club, to befollowed on Wednesday 4th October by our Bodily Injury Seminar to beheld in our office in Jersey City. We hope to improve upon this year’samount of just under US$120,000 raised for Breast Cancer Research, andare planning a special venue for the Bodily Injury dinner following theseminar. Further details to be advised in due course. �

Mike JarrettPresident & CEO, Thomas Miller (Americas) Inc.

CONTENTS

Medical Repatriation 3-4

Medical Case Management 5-6

Limitation of Liability 7-8

Pain and Suffering 9-10

Charity Golf Day 11

TMA Bodily Injury Team 12

Bodily Injury News

Bodily Injury News is the bi-annualnewsletter of the Thomas MillerAmericas’ Bodily Injury Team.

The topics it addresses are highlyrelevant to all our Members worldwidegiven more than half of the Club’spersonal injury claims over $100,000are brought in the American courts.

We welcome your feedback on thetopics we cover as well as suggestionson subjects to address in futureissues. Please send your commentsand ideas to Louise Livingston [email protected]

The information in this newsletter is notlegal advice and should not be reliedupon as such.

Winter 2016/17 Bodily Injury News 3

Caring for sick and injuredseafarers on the moveFrom this year’s Round Table Seminar, Markus McMillin recounts the insights andexperiences of Rowland Raikes of London-based Medical Rescue International,acquired over 25 years of arranging medical repatriations.

Medical repatriation is thetransportation home or to anothermedical facility of a seafarer followingan accident or illness when medicalpersonnel and/or equipment arerequired for the journey. There are twoprimary themes underlying medicalrepatriation. First is the welfare of thepatient. Second is controlling costs.

Patient welfare

The medical condition of the seafarer iscritical in determining whether he orshe can be repatriated. Not only isadvice obtained from the treatingdoctors as to whether the seafarer canbe repatriated, but often other doctorswho are specialists in the particular areaof concern for the seafarer are consulted.

Other considerations include: is theprognosis for short- or long-termtreatment? Are the medical facilities atthe country of disembarkation, as wellas those of his home country, suitablefor the seafarer’s treatment? If theseafarer’s home country does not havemedical facilities capable of handling hisor her particular medical issues, is aninterim destination available?

Depending upon the seafarer’s medicalneeds, there are different methods ofmedical repatriation:

• Road

• Commercial aircraft,where theseafarer is seated, in a lie flat seat oron a stretcher

• Air ambulance

• With a nurse or doctor escort, or both

• With or without wheelchairassistance for commercial airlines

• With or without oxygen/artificialrespiration.

A cast of thousands, (or ten)

Many parties are involved in the caringfor and repatriating of sick or injuredseafarers:

• Ship’s Master and crew

• Crewing Department

• Ship’s Agent

• The Club

• Club Correspondents in the countryof disembarkation and home country

MEDICAL REPATRIATION


MEDICAL REPATRIATION

measures were taken – and very highcosts incurred – to get a seafarer home,just to have the person take a turn forthe worse during travel and expireshortly after returning home.

In sum, there are a great manyconsiderations involved in performingmedical repatriations. Some cases canbe relatively easy and inexpensive, whileothers can be quite complicated andcostly – it all depends upon theseafarer’s illness or injury, and thecircumstances of each particular case.With the latter, neither the Club northe Member could manage the processalone and we are grateful there arecompanies like MRI to assist.�

• Treating hospitals

• Medical case managers

• Medical assistance companies

• Seafarer’s family

• Receiving medical authority or facility.

Managing the advice, recommendations,and concerns of all these differentinterests can be a challenging task.

Selecting a medical escort also hinges ona number of important considerations:

• Current location of the seafarer

• Nationality of the seafarer

• Nationality of the escort

• Availability of the escort

• Professionalism of the escort

• Ensuring escort is properly insured.

International politics can also play arole: Rowland gave one examplewhere, clearly, the most qualified nurseescort should not assist because she wasIsraeli, and it was not advisable for herto travel to the seafarer’s home countryin the Middle East.

There is also often an economicmotivation to medically repatriateseafarers if it can be done safely with noharm to the seafarer. Medical costs ofovernight intensive care units can swingwidely. It could be as low as US$2,000a night inVietnam to US$21,500 anight in NewYork. Medicalrepatriation costs can also varysignificantly depending upon the needsof the seafarer.Air ambulances arecommonly used in the most seriouscases. Costs can differ greatly. Forinstance, an air ambulance from Dar EsSalaam to Johannesburg is aboutUS$20,000, but one from New Jerseyto Manila can be almost US$200,000. Ifa seafarer is critically ill, obtaining awaiver from the crewmember or nextof kin for the medical repatriation onan air ambulance is advisable.

Jumping hurdles

The challenges to a successful medicalrepatriation can be numerous. Somecommon hurdles are: (1) family

involvement can sometimes complicatethe seafarer’s treatment and repatriationprocess; (2) the seafarer’s condition isnot as described (he or she is medicallyworse off than initially disclosed); (3)the seafarer can not obtain medicalclearance to travel; (4) difficulty inobtaining commercial airline tickets forseats which will accommodate both theseafarer and escort; (5) the commercialairline refuses the patient either prior toarrival or upon arrival at the airportdue to his/her medical condition; (6)the seafarer’s condition deterioratesduring repatriation. On this last issue,Rowland described an unsuccessfulrepatriation where extraordinary


MEDICAL CASE MANAGEMENT

The benefits of an “in-house”medical professionalWhen treating crewmembers, medical services can be difficult to monitor, not onlyto maintain proper treatment but also to contain rising costs, especially in the US.Linda Wright looks at the advantages of medical case management.

Many Members have seen casemanagement companies use theirmedical professionals to confirm propertreatment is administered, whilechallenging costs of surgical procedures,lab tests and other treatments to keepexpenses down. At the same time, thewelfare of the crewmember is in focus,while working toward Fit for Duty(FFD),Maximum Medical Improvement(MMI), and Fit toTravel (FTT) statuses.

How is this accomplished?

At this year’s Bodily Injury Seminar,Julie Licari, Managing Director of MedSolutions International, presented anoverview of the medical manager’sgoals, explaining what monitoring acase involves.

There are three goals of a medical casemanager (MCM):

• Work with Member and Club tomonitor and manage injured/illcrewmember’s medical treatment

• Focus on treatment, to ensure welfareof crewmember

• Control costs by steering to a networkfacility, precertifying cost and care,prevent over-treatment, pursue Fit forDuty, Fit toTravel, and MMI

The initial notification of the incidentoften originates with notice from aMember, or their agent, or the Club. Ifan emergency situation originates onboard a ship at sea, the urgent assistanceof a tele-medical service may be

required. Some such services continuethe case management once the shiparrives in port.

When an MCM has been notified of anincident, immediate notice (if notalready made) to the Club is essential.After the required parties are alerted,the MCM coordinates with the shipagent to provide transportation to amedical provider, and to process thenecessary medical visa during treatment.

The case handling factors considered byan MCM include medical facilityselection – network hospital or clinic;guiding the exam, outlining medicalneeds/tests; and cost containment andprecertification.There is anintervention in anticipation of


MEDICAL CASE MANAGEMENT

crewmember’s arrival at the facility, toinform medical personnel of the detailsof the symptoms/incident, so they cancoordinate care from the onset.Thisalso establishes the MCM as animportant member of the patient’s careteam, with access to medicalinformation.

The registration and billingdepartments are provided with detailsto fast track the medical aid to thecrewmember on arrival, and to offerbilling instructions.

If the patient is admitted to the hospital,the MCM contacts the ER physician todetermine the possible diagnosis basedon the initial lab tests. Once a bed hasbeen assigned, the attending physician,nursing station, hospital case manager,and social worker are all added to thelist of contacts.Together they outlinetheir roles for the treatment process.

Daily check-ins with the crewmember’smedical team include updates on thefollowing:

• Patient status, last 24 hours’ events,and psycho-social comments

• Problem review

• Plan for next 72 hours

• Estimate date of discharge

• Goals for discharge – medical goalsneed to be met; anticipated dischargedate; necessary medical follow-up/waiting time after discharge forrepatriation

• Probability of patient needing hotel/other stay after discharge prior torepatriation

• Update of discharge criteria.

The Member should expect dailyupdates on medical status, at a minimum.Many times a life-threatening medicalcondition will require multiple updatesthroughout the day.

Often the crewmember has increasedanxiety due to not only the medicalcondition, but being in a strange locale– not in their home state, or far fromtheir country – with no family support.An MCM can manage thesepsychosocial issues by offering

supportive counseling and establishingclose contact with the patient.Purchasing items of comfort for thecrewmember like familiar food, callingcards, phones, etc. can reduce anxiety. Ifnon-English speaking, a translator intheir native language can give them abetter understanding of their treatment,and assist in answering questions theymay have.

The above information is available toboth US and foreign crews. The onlydifference is post-hospital care. Theforeign crewmember is repatriated oncethey are fit to fly, with any follow-uptreatment continuing in theirhomeland.A US crewmember will bedischarged and sent home forrecuperation/rehabilitation. An MCMcan continue monitoring the patient’scare, with the emphasis on obtainingMMI status.

In summary, Ms Licari listed thesefollowing objectives for an MCM:

• Advocate for crewmember, Memberand Club

• Conservative vs. surgical treatment

• Medical necessity determination

• Do not over treat

• Control the costs of medicaltreatment.

The MCM’s ability to monitor thetreatment and control costs is essentialwhen there are serious injuries orillnesses to your crews.The Club hasconsistently seen the advantages ofhaving an “in-house” medicalprofessional providing serviceimmediately when a case is opened.The people claims for Members arehistorically the most costly cases.Theanswer to providing quality care atmore reasonable prices is to appoint arecommended MCM at the earliestopportunity. If you have any questionson appointing MCMs, please contactyour Club account executive.�


LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Getting back to basics –Limiting LiabilityOne of this year’s BI Seminar topics was: Using Limitation of Liability in bodily injuryand death cases, presented byWayne Meehan of Freehill, Hogan & Mahar, New York.Louise Livingston highlights the key points.

What is the US Limitation ofLiability Act?

A statute which permits an owner tolimit liability where the loss or damageoccurred without the privity orknowledge of the owner. [46 U.S.C.30505].

Who can limit liability?

American or Foreign Owners can limitliability. Owner includes an entitywhich “mans, victuals and navigates thevessel.” Owners include BareboatCharterers and possibly managers.

Limitation complaint

A limitation action is commenced byfiling a limitation complaint in FederalCourt. The complaint first seekscomplete exoneration from liability –a finding of no liability.Alternatively, ifliability is established, the petition seeksa court order limiting the Owner’sliability to the post-casualty value of theship plus freight earned on the voyage.

However, a special provision of the USlimitation act requires that for personalinjury and death claims involvingseagoing vessels, the minimum fund is$420 per gross ton.Accordingly, alimitation fund in a bodily injury or deathcase is a minimum of $420 per gross tonor the post-casualty value of the shipplus earned freight, whichever is higher.

Most Courts accept a P&I Club Letterof Undertaking as security for thelimitation action.

Who proves what?

Claimants in a limitation action have toprove the Owner’s liability on general

negligence standards. If the claimantsfail to establish liability, the limitationcase ends. If the claimants prove liability,the Owner must then show that thenegligence causing the harm was outsidethe Owner’s “privity & knowledge.”

What is within an Owner’sprivity and knowledge?

A court will find privity and knowledgeof the Owner if: a) the owner had actualknowledge of the negligence whichcaused the casualty; or b) should havebeen aware of the negligence throughreasonable diligence.

Whose knowledge is relevant forlimitation analysis? For corporateowners; the relevant knowledge is theknowledge of the individual responsiblefor the phase of the operation out of

which the loss or injury occurred.While a Master’s knowledge is notnormally attributable to an Owner, fordeath and personal injury claims involvingseagoing vessels, a Master’s knowledge isattributable to the Owner.

What are the benefits offiling a Limitation Action?

• All claims must be filed in theLimitation Action

• Eliminates the risk of multiplerequests for security

• Possibly avoid jury trials

• Provides an effective settlement tool.

Next, specific cases were discussed toillustrate the considerations in decidingwhether to file for limitation.


LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Owners faced bodily injury and deathclaims, and a claim by the USgovernment for environmental damage.But, limitation would not have beenparticularly helpful with these claims.Many of the crewmembers wereFilipinos, and the majority of the bodilyinjury and death claims were goingforward pursuant to the POEA in thePhilippines. Moreover, for bodily injuryand death claims, the minimumlimitation fund was approximately $9.5million (based on the requirement of$420 per gross time). Owners did face asubstantial claim for environmentaldamage as a result of the release of fuelfrom the vessel; however, under OPA 90,claims for environmental damage dueto the release of oil are not subject tolimitation.On the other hand, if Ownershad filed for limitation, the court wouldhave issued a deadline within which allclaims had to be filed.The net result isthat by filing for limitation, Ownerswould have invited the filing of claimsand Owners would have immediatelybeen in litigation in the US, facing all thetime and expense which that entails.

Owners elected not to file forlimitation, but rather, aggressivelypursued settlements. All of the claimswere resolved within 6 to 9 months ofthe date of the incident, and since therewas no US litigation, the legal fees andexpenses were minimized.

The lesson is that while limitation canbe a very effective tool, it is not forevery case, and whether to file shouldbe decided on a case-by-case basis.�

Wayne Meehan is a partner in the firm ofFreehill, Hogan & Mahar, LLP, a maritimelaw firm based in New York City. Hegraduated from the US Merchant MarineAcademy and sailed as a deck officer onUS-flagged vessels before graduating fromBoston University School of Law. Waynehas more than 30 years experience ofhandling all types of marine claims. He hasdeveloped a particular expertise in handlingmarine casualties. Among other cases, hehandled the Caribbean Sea collision withDUKW 34 (July 2010), M/V Bow Mariner(February 2004), State Island FerryCasualty (October 2003) and the M/VBright Field (December 1996).

Staten Island Ferry CasualtyNew York – 2003

The first example discussed was theStaten Island Ferry casualty in NewYork in 2003.The ferry ran into aconcrete pier resulting in 11 deaths,several amputations, 2 people renderedquadriplegic and hundreds of otherinjuries.The facts were such thatgranting of limitation was unlikely, butthe City of NewYork (as owner of theferry) filed for limitation anyway.Why?

1.City faced multiple claims and therewas a substantial saving in legal fees byfiling for limitation since the City onlyhad to fund one litigation.

2.By filing, Owners established federaladmiralty jurisdiction, which providedan argument that there was no right tojury trials. The judge decided inOwner’s favor and held that plaintiffswere not entitled to a jury trial, whichresulted in significant savings, both interms of settlements and in the verdictsin the cases which were tried.

3.There were many non-maritimeattorneys involved in the case, and basedon the threat of limitation, Ownerswere able to settle many of the seriousclaims at extremely favorable levels.

Bright Field – New Orleans– 1996

In December 1996, the M/V BrightField was proceeding downriver, lostpower and slammed into the RiverwalkMall. In addition to property damageand business interruption claims,Owners faced hundreds of bodilyinjury claims.Again, the facts were such

that Owners faced an uphill battle inestablishing the right to limitation.Nevertheless, Owners decided to filefor limitation anyway. Why? For manyof the same reasons why it made senseto file for limitation in connectionwith the Staten Island Ferry casediscussed above.

An additional consideration and benefitwas: By filing for limitation, all of theclaims went forward in federal courtrather than in state court in NewOrleans. The federal judge set up ascenario whereby the damages weredecided by magistrate judges. Theclaims were segregated into categories(e.g. by types of injury or proximity tothe accident site, etc.) Once themagistrate judges placed values onrepresentative cases, the balance of theclaims were settled consistent with themagistrates’ awards. Having the cases goforward before magistrate judges infederal court rather than state court,New Orleans resulted in significantsavings in terms of damage awards.

Bow Mariner – Explosionoff Virginia Coast – 2004

The last case which was discussed wasthe M/T Bow Mariner, a tanker whichexploded approximate 50 miles off theVirginia coast. The ship was a total lossand 21 crewmembers were killed. Atfirst blush, this appeared to be a casewhere it made sense to consider filingfor limitation. After some consideration,a decision was made not to file forlimitation.Why? – because of thecircumstances, there was little to gainfrom filing for limitation, but by filing,Owners would have been invitingclaims and litigation.


TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

Evaluating pain and sufferingHow do shipowners and their lawyers evaluate the pain and suffering component ofa bodily injury claim, and how best to defend against them? Dee O’Leary andNoreen Arralde asked Jerry Hamilton, of Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel in Miami, toexplain and advise.

Since pain and suffering damages donot directly reflect economic loss,judges and juries have wide discretionin making awards for pain and suffering,making them very difficult to evaluate.The likeability of the plaintiff is animportant factor in evaluating pain andsuffering claims. Does this plaintiffpresent well? Will the judge and juryfind this plaintiff to be likeable andbelievable? Will they sympathize withthe plaintiff ’s circumstances? Thesefactors must be considered whendeciding how to value claims for painand suffering.

Pain and suffering: Whatdoes it include?

Awards for pain and suffering caninclude compensation for:

• Physical pain and suffering

• Disability and disfigurement

• Mental anguish and anxiety

• Loss of enjoyment of life

There is no exact standard formeasuring pain and suffering damages.Awards are generally measured by the

notion of “fair and reasonable.”Theamount should be “fair and reasonablein light of the evidence.” Judgestypically instruct juries as follows:

“In light of the evidence, you mayaward damages for any bodily injurysustained by plaintiff, and any resultingpain and suffering, disability or physicalimpairment, disfigurement, mentalanguish, inconvenience, or loss ofcapacity of the enjoyment of life,experienced in the past, or to beexperienced in the future.”

Pain and suffering: Whencan it be awarded?

Pain and suffering awards made at trialinclude both past and present pain andsuffering. Juries are asked on the verdictsheet to make an award for pain andsuffering “in the past” and a separateaward for pain and suffering “in thefuture” based upon the evidencepresented.The award for past pain andsuffering encompasses from the point ofinjury through the date of the award.The award for future pain and sufferingencompasses from the date of the awardthrough the plaintiff ’s life expectancy, orthrough the date which the jury findsthe pain and suffering will continue.

Pain and suffering can be awarded insettlements, awards at trial, as well as inarbitrations.At trial, the pain andsuffering award may be influenced byplaintiff ’s medical bills, which may bepresented as gross figures without anyreduction for third party payments.Juries will generally not know whetherinsurance paid any portion of the medicalbills and may also not know the amountswhich were actually paid, as opposed tothe amounts which were billed.These“boarded medical expenses” can greatlyincrease pain and suffering awards.


TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

Life care planners can also greatlyincrease pain and suffering awards.These so-called experts are used byplaintiffs to bolster claims for futuremedical expenses and personal needs.

Pain and suffering: Is therea formula?

Historically, a general rule for pain andsuffering awards in cases involvingliability was “three times specials” orthree times the plaintiff ’s actualeconomic losses. However, this rule wasfound to have shortcomings becausedoctors involved in litigation ofteninflate medical bills, and a formula suchas this ignores other important factorswhich may decrease (or increase) theplaintiff ’s entitlement to an award.

Many plaintiffs will ask juries for a “perdiem” amount for pain and suffering. Inthis way, plaintiff presents a low dailypayment, which seems reasonable to ajury, but when multiplied by the numberof days in the plaintiff ’s life expectancybecomes a huge number. Most statesallow a plaintiff to suggest a per diemamount, although some states (such asNewYork) prohibit suggesting anyfigure for pain and suffering to the jury.

Rather than a rigid formula, one shouldconsider the following factors whentrying to value the pain and sufferingcomponent of a claim:

• Injury

• Medical expenses

• Impact on quality of life

• Impact on employment prospects

• How plaintiff presents as a witness

• Verdict and settlement research

• Defendant’s reputation in thecommunity where the case will betried.

The injuryJuries tend to award higher amounts forinjuries with high impact evidence,such as broken bones, surgery and braininjuries. Juries tend to believe thesetypes of injuries cause real pain andsuffering. Juries tend to award loweramounts for soft tissue injuries andinjuries which are entirely complaint-based. This is particularly true whenthere is no visible impact. In these typeof cases, juries also tend to scrutinizethe medical records more carefully.

Not surprisingly, juries tend to make thehighest pain and suffering awards in casesinvolving paralysis, amputation andsignificant scarring.These cases have thehighest impact evidence and, therefore,the highest value. Juries can recognizethe obvious impact on a person’s life.

Medical expensesPast and future medical bills guide the

pain and suffering award. Here is wherethe impact of doctors hired forlitigation purposes can really drive upthe value of a claim.

Impact on quality of life/employment prospectsThe impact of the injury on plaintiff ’sactivities of daily living, job prospects,relationships, and family are all relevantwhen evaluating pain and sufferingclaims.Although juries are instructedagainst sympathy, they are more likelyto make large pain and suffering awardsto plaintiffs who can demonstrate theinjury caused their life to become,essentially, worthy of sympathy.

Verdict/settlement researchPast awards and settlements in similarcases can be a useful guide, althoughawards for the same injury can varywidely, even within the samejurisdiction.

Defendant’s reputationIf the incident giving rise to the claimgained notoriety, the defendant mayfind itself subject to unfair bias by thejudge and/or jury. The same is true ifthe defendant has an unsavoryreputation in the community.Contrarily, if the defendant enjoys agood reputation in the community, itmay find a jury is less likely to hit itwith a large pain and suffering award.

Pain and suffering: Whatdoes the future hold?

Jury awards for pain and suffering inthe United States tend to be ten timesgreater than average awards in Europe.This has lead to a push for tort reformto impose a cap on pain and sufferingawards. Today, 29 states impose sometype of limit on pain and sufferingdamages. Some would argue that evenin those jurisdictions with a cap onpain and suffering awards, the cap is toohigh. Nonetheless, it is a start.

Conclusion

As can be seen above, valuing casesinvolving substantial claims for pain andsuffering can be very difficult. TheClub is always here to assist.�


CHARITY

Play for PinkJust under $120,000 was raised for charity when Thomas Miller (Americas) Inc. heldits annual Charity Golf Day at Forsgate Country Club, New Jersey, on 4th October.

Louise S. LivingstonDirect: +1 201 557 7407

Louise is an attorney specializingin bodily injury claims. Beforejoining Thomas Miller (Americas)in March 2002, Louise was apartner in a San Franciscomaritime law firm. She leadsTM(A)’s Bodily Injury Team.

Julia M. MooreDirect: +1 201 557 7433

Julia joined Thomas Miller inOctober 2015 after 27 yearswith various US litigation firmsspecializing in maritimematters.

Dee O’LearyDirect: +1 201 557 7402

Dee joined Thomas Miller(Americas) in December 2007after 17 years practicing law inNew York City with a firmspecializing in maritimematters.

Linda WrightDirect: +1 415 343 0122

Linda joined Thomas Miller(Americas) in May 2010.Previously, she was a P&I Clubcorrespondent on the PacificWest Coast for 29 years.

Markus McMillinDirect: +1 415 343 0113

Markus joined Thomas Miller(Americas) in 2006, havingworked at two maritime lawfirms in San Francisco.

Noreen D. ArraldeDirect: +1 201 557 7333

Noreen joined Thomas Miller(Americas) in 2012 after 13years with a US litigation firmand six years as claimsmanager for a global containershipping company.

TMA BODILY INJURY TEAM

Expertise andexperienceA specialist group from both the New Jerseyand San Francisco offices empowered witha significant settlement authority to dealwith the particularly demanding cases ofbodily injury in America.

This dedicated team supports Membersbased both in the United States and abroadin dealing with a diverse and complexrange of personal injury and illness cases.The one common factor is the influence ofUS jurisdiction or emergency response.

The team has handled cases ranging fromsuspicious death, passenger’s leisureactivity injuries, long-term occupationalillness, engine room and cargo handlingfatalities, through to shore-side accidents,loss of limbs in mooring activity and evensexual assault.

As well as supporting Member’s claims andenquiries directly, the team share theircollective experience through the pages of“Bodily Injury News”.

Thomas Miller (Americas) Inc

New JerseyHarborside Financial Center, Plaza Five, Suite 2710,Jersey City, N.J. 07311, USAT +1 201 557 7300E [email protected]

San Francisco44 Montgomery Street, Suite 1480,San Francisco, California 94104, USAT +1 415 956 6537E [email protected]

New Jersey

San Francisco

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