Is Your NYC Personal Injury Claim Subject to Federal Maritime Law?
Normally, if you are hurt while entering or exiting someone else’s property, you can file a personal injury claim against the property owner. You still need to prove that the owner’s negligence in maintaining the property caused your accident. But assuming you do, New York law allows you to seek the full measure of any damages you suffered as a result of said negligence.
Judge Rejects Limitation of Liability in NYC Boat Accident Case
Different rules may apply, however, if you are injured aboard a boat within the navigable waters of the United States. While personal injury cases are typically governed by state law, shipboard accidents are often subject to federal maritime law (also known as admiralty jurisdiction.) And maritime law can limit an accident victim’s ability to seek financial compensation.
Specifically, the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 provides that a vessel owner can limit personal injury claims to the value of their vessel (at the end of its voyage) plus its cargo. Perhaps the most famous judicial decision involving the Act came over 100 years ago, in 1914, when the United States Supreme Court held that the law limited the liability of the owners of the RMS Titanic. More recently, the owners of the vessel that crashed into, and destroyed, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland filed a petition under the Act to limit its own financial exposure for the deadly accident.
But just because an accident happens to occur on or near a boat, that does not automatically mean that the Limitation of Liability act applies. Just recently, a federal judge in Manhattan dismissed a petition filed under the Act by the owner of a vessel attempting to preempt potential personal injury claims arising from an October 2024 accident. According to documents filed in the case, In the Matter of Complaint of Sail Charter NYC, LLC, the claimant allegedly fell into the water while disembarking the petitioner’s boat, which was docked in Manhattan on the Hudson River, after attending a private function on the vessel.
The petitioner subsequently filed its petition in federal court seeking “exoneration from or limitation of liability” under the federal Act. The claimant opposed the petition, arguing that federal admiralty jurisdiction did not apply to his accident. In a February 2026 opinion and order, United States District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil agreed with the claimant and dismissed the petition.
Judge Vyskocil held that the claimant’s accident did not have any “connection to maritime activity.” The Limitation of Liability Act is meant to protect vessel owners from legal claims that have “the potential to disrupt maritime commerce.” Here, the judge saw no connection between a passenger falling off a docked boat while disembarking and any “potential” disruption to commerce. As such, there was no basis for asserting federal maritime jurisdiction over the claimant’s case.
Contact a New York City Personal Injury Lawyer
Defendants in personal injury cases will not hesitate to use every legal procedure at their disposal to limit their liability for a serious accident. So if you are the victim seeking compensation, you must be prepared to respond in kind. Our New York City personal injury attorneys are here to help. Contact the Law Offices of Jaroslawicz & Jaros, PLLC, at 212-227-2780 to schedule a consultation. We serve clients throughout New York City, Long Island, and even upstate New York.
Source:
scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3732160223155101777