Personal Injury Claims: Seamen's Accidents

M. Pavlakis - C. Moschos & Associates has a long established practice in defending seamen's and their families' rights in cases of injury or death onboard or related to their employment, being one of the leading firms in Piraeus in this field. Our firm has often represented groups of seamen or whole crews and/or their families in cases of mass-accidents or sinking of vessels.

The handling of such claims requires specialized knowledge and experience since in Greece - as well as in most other jurisdictions - the legislation applying is very specific, the Courts are specialized Maritime Courts, the rules and regulations applicable are to a great extent those of international maritime bodies and organizations, whereas the opponent ship-owners, shipping managers, insurers, P & I Clubs, and classification societies are multi-national.

M. Pavlakis - C. Moschos & Associates has up to date handled numerous personal injury claims of Greek and foreign seamen, either before Greek Courts or in foreign jurisdictions (e.g. USA, UK, Germany, France, South Africa, Netherlands), whenever the foreign forum proved to be more convenient and beneficial for the claimants.

The Case of Foreign Seamen Serving Onboard Foreign Flagged Ships

The prosecution of personal injury claims of foreign seamen serving onboard foreign flagged ships is also of particular interest to our firm.

Following the application by Greek Courts of the EU Brussels Convention on Jurisdiction and Judgments, as it has been modified by the San Sebastian and Lugano Conventions, and of the EC Council Regulation 44/2001, Greek Courts may assume jurisdiction over claims of foreign seamen who have suffered an accident onboard a non-Greek flagged, or, as is often the case, a typically - formally non-Greek owned ship, even in cases where the seaman was serving under an employment contract containing a clause for exclusive jurisdiction of a non-Greek Court, under the condition that a sufficient link between the shipowners and/or the ship with Greece is established.

Therefore, we can, for example, file and successfully pursue in Greek Courts a claim for injury of a Ukrainian seaman, who suffered an accident while serving onboard a Malta flagged vessel, although his employment contract provides for exclusive jurisdiction of Ukrainian Courts or for arbitration, if we can establish and persuasively present to the Greek Court that the ship/shipowners/managers had their actual place of business in Greece.

The application and interpretation by Greek Maritime Courts of the EU Rome Convention on the applicable law in contractual obligations, allows us (under circumstances) to apply to foreign seamen's employment contracts the Greek law on Workmen's Compensation and the Greek Collective Agreements which provide for minimum salaries, even if the contracting parties had initially agreed for the application of the law of another country.