Shoulder, Rotator Cuff & SLAP Tear Injury Lawyers for Seamen

For a seaman, the shoulder is everything. Pulling lines, hauling gear, climbing ladders in a rolling sea, lifting totes and codends — almost every task on deck runs through your shoulders. When a rotator cuff or labrum tears, the injury does not just hurt; it can permanently end your ability to work on the water.

The maritime injury lawyers at Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC have spent more than 65 years representing injured seamen, commercial fishermen, fish processors, tug and barge crews, and merchant mariners. We understand how shoulder injuries happen out on the water, how the medicine works, and how vessel owners and their insurers try to avoid paying for them. If you suffered a shoulder injury while working aboard a vessel, you may be entitled to significant compensation under the Jones Act and general maritime law.

Why Shoulder Injuries Are So Common on Vessels

Work at sea is physically punishing and unpredictable. A vessel that is pitching and rolling forces the body into sudden, awkward loads that a stationary workplace never would. Common causes of shoulder injuries we see in maritime cases include:

• Falls on an outstretched arm on a wet or oily deck, ladder, or stairway
• Heavy or repetitive lifting of gear, totes, hoses, lines, and product
• Sudden jerking loads when a line, winch, or capstan catches or surges
• Being thrown against bulkheads or equipment in heavy seas
• Catching yourself by the arm during a slip or near-fall
• Overhead work, deploying and retrieving gear, and processing-line tasks performed thousands of times per trip

Many of these injuries are made worse by understaffed crews, inadequate equipment, poor deck conditions, and pressure to keep fishing or keep moving cargo no matter the weather. When unsafe conditions or negligence contribute to a shoulder injury, the law gives the injured seaman powerful rights.

Types of Maritime Shoulder Injuries We Handle

Rotator Cuff Tears

The rotator cuff is a group of four muscles and tendons that stabilize the shoulder and allow you to lift and rotate your arm. A torn rotator cuff frequently requires arthroscopic surgical repair followed by months of physical therapy. Many seamen are never cleared to return to the heavy, repetitive overhead work that life at sea demands.

SLAP Tears (Labral Tears)

A SLAP tear is a tear of the labrum — the ring of cartilage around the shoulder socket — at the point where the biceps tendon attaches. SLAP and other labral tears are notoriously difficult to diagnose, are often missed on an initial exam, and usually require an MRI to confirm. They commonly result from a fall on an outstretched arm or a hard, sudden pull, both routine hazards on deck.

Dislocations, Separations & Fractures

Shoulder dislocations, AC joint separations, and fractures of the clavicle or proximal humerus can require surgery — sometimes open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) with hardware — and can leave permanent loss of strength and range of motion.

Aggravation of Prior Shoulder Conditions

A work injury that aggravates a previously asymptomatic or degenerative shoulder is compensable under maritime law. The fact that a doctor finds some pre-existing wear does not defeat your claim.

Do not give a recorded statement first. Vessel owners and their insurers often move quickly to take a recorded statement and to characterize a shoulder injury as “degenerative” or “pre-existing.” Before you talk to a claims adjuster or sign anything, speak with a maritime lawyer who represents seamen — not the company.

Where These Injuries Happen — We Know the Vessels

Shoulder injuries cut across every part of the maritime industry. Our firm has handled injury claims for crews aboard:

• Factory trawlers and offshore seafood processors
• Crab boats and other Bering Sea fishing vessels
• Longliners
• Tugs and barges in Puget Sound, Alaska, and beyond
• Merchant ships — tankers, container ships, bulk carriers, and more
• Washington State Ferries

Your Legal Rights After a Shoulder Injury at Sea

An injured seaman generally has three distinct sources of recovery, and they often apply at the same time:

1. Maintenance and Cure

Maintenance and cure is owed regardless of fault. “Cure” pays for your reasonable and necessary medical treatment — including diagnostic MRIs, surgery, and physical therapy — until you reach maximum medical improvement. “Maintenance” is a daily payment for your living expenses while you recover ashore. An employer that unreasonably delays or cuts off these benefits can be liable for additional damages.

2. Jones Act Negligence

The Jones Act allows a seaman to recover full damages when employer negligence plays any part in causing the injury — an unsafe deck, defective equipment, inadequate crew, lack of training, or unsafe work methods. The burden of proof on causation is famously light.

3. Unseaworthiness

Under the doctrine of unseaworthiness, the vessel owner has an absolute duty to provide a reasonably safe vessel and appurtenances. A worn line, a broken winch, a slippery deck, or an undermanned crew can render a vessel unseaworthy, giving rise to a claim independent of negligence.

Shoulder Surgery, Recovery & Returning to Sea

Surgical repair of a rotator cuff or labrum is often followed by six months to a year of recovery and rehabilitation, with strict restrictions on lifting and overhead use. For many maritime workers, the central question becomes whether they can ever return to the heavy, physically demanding work the industry requires. A shoulder that cannot reliably bear load in a pitching sea is a shoulder that may end a fishing or seafaring career.

That is why the value of these cases turns heavily on future earning capacity. A seaman who can no longer fish or sail loses not just wages, but a way of life and the specialized earning power built over a career. We work with treating physicians, vocational experts, and economists to fully document that loss.

What Is a Maritime Shoulder Injury Claim Worth?

There is no single number, and any lawyer who promises one before reviewing the facts should be viewed with caution. The value of a Jones Act shoulder claim depends on factors such as:

• Whether surgery was required, and whether more than one surgery is needed
• Whether the injury is permanent and the degree of lasting impairment
• Your past and future lost wages and lost earning capacity
• Whether you can return to work at sea or must retrain for a new career
• The strength of the liability and unseaworthiness evidence
• Your medical expenses and need for future care
• Pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life

Our lawyers have recovered millions of dollars for injured maritime workers across a wide range of injuries. To understand how these factors apply to your situation, see our verdicts and settlements and contact us for a free, confidential evaluation.

Why Injured Seamen Choose Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

• Maritime focus. We represent injured maritime workers — not vessel owners or insurers.
• Decades of results. Over 65 years of combined experience and numerous seven-figure recoveries for injured seamen and their families.
• We know the industry. We understand the vessels, the equipment, the chain of command, and the safety rules that companies are supposed to follow.
• We come to you. If you cannot travel to our Seattle office, we will meet you where you are.
• No fee unless we win. We handle maritime injury cases on a contingent fee. You owe us nothing unless we make a recovery for you.

Frequently Asked Questions