Lake Vermilion, MN - According to the St. Louis County Sheriff, three people relying on a GPS navigation system were injured early today, July 18, when their boat struck a rock formation and an island on Lake Vermilion in northern Minnesota,.
Special Considerations in Maritime Injury Cases
The power of United States courts to administer the maritime law is derived from the language in the United States Constitution extending the judicial power of the United States to ''all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction.'' The ''saving to suitors'' clause of the Judicial Code permits state courts also to assume subject-matter jurisdiction of cases which might be enforced by an in personam action in admiralty.
Injury or death which occurs on or with a boat, ship, ferry, jet ski, or dock is considered a boating or maritime accident. Traffic on the nation's waterways from leisure boating to commercial freighting often creates crowded waterways, which increases the chances of accidents, which can occur.
Finding Liability for Your Maritime Injuries as a Guest on a Private Vessel
Traditionally, maritime jurisdiction has been applicable only to commercial and ocean-going vessels, but this is no longer the case. All of the rules regarding admiralty may be applied to smaller crafts and those which are used purely for recreational purposes.