Foreman Friedman has one of the largest maritime departments in the United States and specializes in providing immediate emergency response in those rare cases when a mass casualty occurs.  With 24 attorneys and 5 trained paralegals, the firm is able to respond to emergencies of any size.  Our emergency response team routinely assists clients with prompt investigations to ensure senior management knows exactly what has transpired and what needs to be done.  We use our mobile advanced technology to beam time sensitive reports to our clients from the scene – usually on a nightly basis.  We assist clients by representing them and their employees in government investigations and work with company staff to document injuries, ensure prompt follow up care and attention are provided, and to handle and resolve claims on the scene before they become inflamed and lead to costly litigation.   Our emergency response team has responded to many major casualties including:

2006 – MAJOR CRUISE SHIP FIRE – When a luxury cruise ship with approximately 4,300 persons onboard caught fire at sea destroying nearly 100 cabins and causing numerous injuries and a fatality, Foreman Friedman dispatched a team of 10 attorneys – most arriving in Jamaica to meet the ship within hours of the fire.   Our attorneys represented the company and its employees during the course of multiple simultaneous international governmental investigations including by the FBI, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Consular Investigation Service, U.S. National Transportation & Safety Board, British Marine Accident Investigation Bureau, and Jamaican Fire Brigade.   We also dispatched attorneys to nearly a dozen hotels in four cities across Jamaica to interview passengers and crew who had disembarked the vessel in order to document their claims, ensure proper follow up care and attention, and resolve claims before litigation ensued.  Our onboard team photographed the contents of every damaged cabin to assist with investigation into the cause and origin of the fire as well as to document damage to property which guests or crew might later claim existed.   

2006 – MAJOR CRUISE SHIP LISTING INCIDENT – When a luxury cruise ship with over 3,000 persons onboard suddenly listed dramatically shortly after leaving port causing numerous injuries and extensive shipboard damage, Foreman Friedman dispatched its emergency response team within hours after the incident.  Our attorneys represented the company and its employees during the course of multiple simultaneous  governmental investigations including by the  U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. National Transportation & Safety Board. 

2006 – PASSENGER OVERBOARD INCIDENT – When an Irish teenager disappeared overboard off a cruise ship sailing near Mexico, Foreman Friedman responded within hours of the incident to assist the company’s executives in addressing and responding to the situation and in handling the numerous international media inquiries.

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