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Case Results

Tabak Mellusi & Shisha has handled many significant, high-profile cases and has consistently strived to expand the rights of maritime claimants. In the legal community, we are recognized as aggressive litigators known for extensive case preparation, attention to detail and zealous advocacy as seen by the following results.

  • $5.45 million settlement to a seaman who fell from a stairway during a fire and boat drill aboard a container ship, suffering quadriplegic injuries. Partners Mellusi and Shisha personally inspected the vessel, taking hundreds of measurements and still photos and videos of every stairway in the ship’s main deck house. The data were compared with the vessel’s design plans in our library, which demonstrated that the vessel had been negligently constructed in that it failed to follow the naval architect’s original design specifications.
  • $4.4 million jury award to a former shipmate who suffered a shoulder injury while at sea. The third mate had to undergo multiple surgeries and will not be able to become a captain because of the injury.
  • $2.98 million jury award to a ship’s cook for back injury resulting from insufficient procedures for moving ship stores. The case was tried in a New York federal court.
  • $2.7 million settlement to a mate on a tanker vessel who suffered multiple fractures.
  • $2.4 million jury award to a licensed marine engineer who suffered permanent knee injuries while attempting to remove a 200-pound valve from an overhead piping system. Partner Mellusi personally inspected the ship’s engine room, taking detailed photos and measurements. A duplicate valve was obtained from a maritime junkyard and was brought into court along with an auto-shop mechanical hoist capable of lifting it 12 feet to demonstrate the vessel lacked suitable means to perform this work safely. The jury award was among the top 10 verdicts in the United States for a comparable knee injury. The case was tried to verdict in a New York federal court.
  • $2 million was awarded in a case involving the wrongful death of a barge deckhand.
  • $1.8 million awarded to a marine engineer working on a U.S. government supply vessel who fell into an unguarded ventilation fan, causing neck, shoulder and hand injuries. The case was tried nonjury before a federal judge in Baltimore federal court. The court award was subsequently determined to be among the highest 10 verdicts in Maryland in 2009.
  • $1.2 million jury award to a ship’s bosun who suffered shoulder and neck injuries while attempting to move plywood sheets on the main deck of the vessel during 40-knot winds. The case was tried in a New York federal court.
  • $1.1 million awarded to a deckhand who suffered a torn meniscus.
  • $950,000 awarded to a passenger killed when his recreational boat collided with the tow wire of a tug and barge.
  • $850,000 settlement to a seaman who suffered a herniated disk while lifting a 110-pound crane hook.
  • $840,000 jury award to a seaman who fell from a ladder while painting, suffering a fractured wrist.

The results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances of each of the clients’ cases and should not be used to form an expectation that the same results could be obtained for other clients in similar matters without reference to the specific factual and legal circumstances of each client’s case.