Choosing the right attorney after a maritime accident or injury at sea can shape the outcome of your entire case. Yet, very little separates a firm that merely advertises from one that has spent decades trying these cases in court. The questions below are not just talking points. They are the exact questions every injured seaman or cruise passenger should ask before signing on with any admiralty and maritime lawyer.

At Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A., we welcome every one of these questions because our answers are backed by more than 50 years of dedicated maritime litigation; making us among the largest and most prolific maritime personal injury law firms in the world. We have never represented a cruise line or shipping company, and our entire practice has been built around securing justice for the injured passengers and crew members these companies are supposed to protect.

1. Have you ever represented a shipping company as their maritime lawyer?

No. We have never represented a cruise line, shipping company, or any other maritime defendant. Our practice has always been dedicated exclusively to representing injured passengers and seamen, and we believe this focus allows us to advocate for our clients without any conflicting loyalties.

2. Have you or any family members ever worked for a shipping company as an employee?

Some of our attorneys once represented cruise lines, either with a maritime defense firm or in-house working within the cruise line’s risk management or legal department.  Our lawyers are experienced maritime attorneys, and sometimes that experience has come from working directly for the cruise lines and then making the switch to representing injured passengers or crewmembers against cruise lines. Although some of our attorneys may have, at one time, represented cruise lines, make no mistake: our loyalty is with our injured clients. Our firm does not represent shipping operators or owners. We built our firm to stand entirely on the side of injured passengers and crew members, and we have maintained that position since our founding.

3. As a maritime lawyer, how many cases have you handled while representing an injured seaman?

Approximately 4,000 cases or more. Since our firm was founded in 1971, we have built one of the largest and most focused seaman injury practices in the country, working directly with crew members from cruise ships, cargo vessels, and other commercial ships who were hurt while performing their jobs at sea.

4. As a cruise ship lawyer, how many cases have you handled while representing an injured passenger?

Well over 500 cases. These cases span the full range of passenger injuries and incidents that occur onboard cruise ships and during shore excursions, including slip and falls, medical negligence, and sexual assault. We have represented passengers from cruise lines departing ports across the country and abroad.

5. As a maritime lawyer, have you tried a seaman’s or passenger’s case to a verdict?

Yes, numerous times. Our estimate is more than 100 trials in state and federal courts. Taking a case to trial requires courtroom experience that many firms never develop, and our attorneys have stood before juries and judges to fight for full and fair compensation when a fair settlement could not be reached.

6. What is the amount of the highest verdict your client has received in a trial or settlement?

Approximately $25 million for an injured seaman. We have recovered more than that in several settlements. Our firm has recovered well over $500 million for clients overall, a track record built over decades of litigating serious maritime injury and death cases against some of the largest cruise lines and shipping companies in the world.

7. Have you handled any landmark cases in the admiralty and maritime field?

Yes. Charles Lipcon alone has been involved in 14 landmark cases that have helped shape maritime law, including litigation over cruise lines withholding crew members’ tips and wages. Jason Margulies has filed and litigated many cases dealing with issues of first impression and has also been instrumental in changing maritime law.  Our lawyers are constantly at the forefront of the ever-changing landscape of maritime personal injury law. Please take a look at our numerous landmark cases to see the full scope of precedent-setting work our firm has done on behalf of injured seamen and passengers.

8. As a cruise ship lawyer, how many of your cases have gone on appeal?

Over 100  appeals have been handled by our firm. Appellate litigation requires a different skill set than trial work, and our attorneys have represented clients before state and federal appellate courts to defend and entrench favorable rulings for injured Plaintiffs and challenge unfavorable ones.

9. How many years of maritime lawyer experience do you have in the admiralty and maritime area representing injured seamen and passengers?

One of our maritime lawyers has more than 50 years of experience himself. The combined experience of all of our maritime lawyers is over 250 years specifically in admiralty and maritime law, spread across 22 full-time attorneys in 7 offices nationwide, giving clients access to a depth of institutional knowledge that few firms in this field can match.

10. Have you ever represented a seaman’s union?

We have worked with, and are still working with, some of the major seamen’s unions in the United States and outside of the United States. These relationships have given us direct insight into the working conditions and rights of crew members across the maritime industry.

11. Have you written any books or articles dealing with admiralty or maritime claims?

Yes. Seaman’s Rights in the United States When Involved in an Accident is available for download, as are numerous articles regarding maritime claims. We also publish the Cruise Line Law Reporter, a monthly e-newsletter that you can sign up for free to stay current on cruise ship and maritime legal developments. Charles Lipcon has also released a book called Unsafe on the High Seas, which draws on his decades of litigation experience to expose the dangers passengers and crew members face at sea.

12. Have you ever lectured on admiralty or maritime law?

Yes. The recording of a presentation made in Montreal at the American Trial Lawyers Association (ATLA) convention is available for download. Our attorneys have also lectured to sitting judges, various legal groups, active lawyers in many different jurisdictions, and to law students at the University of Miami, sharing insights gained from decades of litigating maritime cases with the next generation of attorneys.

13. What is your maritime lawyer rating with Martindale Hubbel?

Martindale-Hubbell rates attorneys for both ability and ethics, and its highest rating is AV. Three maritime lawyers in our firm have achieved this rating, and one of our cruise ship lawyers has been AV-rated for 25 consecutive years, a distinction that reflects sustained peer recognition for both legal skill and professional integrity over the course of a long career.

Choose the Firm That Has Nothing to Prove but Everything to Show

When you are recovering from a serious injury at sea, you deserve a legal team whose only obligation is to you, and our firm’s history reflects exactly that kind of undivided loyalty. We have represented approximately 4,000 injured seamen and 500 injured passengers, tried more than 100 cases to verdict, and recovered well over $500 million for our clients, all while maintaining the AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which reflects the highest standard of skill and ethics in the legal profession. Our attorneys have argued landmark cases that changed maritime law, written books and articles used by injured seamen across the country, and lectured at law schools and national trial attorney conventions. This depth of experience is what allows us to walk into a courtroom prepared to fight for the full compensation our clients deserve.

If you or someone you know has been injured on a cruise ship, at sea, or on the water, do not settle for a firm that cannot answer these questions with confidence. Contact Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman, P.A. today for a free case evaluation and find out why so many injured seamen and passengers have trusted our firm with their cases.