Maritime Negligence -- Unseaworthy Vessel

Our client was a passenger aboard a private yacht in Miami-Dade County when, shortly after the vessel left port, a large ceiling panel broke loose from inside the cabin and struck her directly in the head. The panel weighed approximately 40 pounds.

She had a prior concussion history as a college athlete. A diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) MRI performed after the incident was compared directly against her pre-incident brain MRI. The comparison confirmed new brain lesions that had not existed before the yacht accident. That comparison eliminated the defense's primary argument -- that her symptoms were attributable to prior injuries.

The diagnoses that followed were extensive: traumatic brain injury, post-concussive syndrome, cervical disc herniations, tinnitus, visual disturbances, cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety. The cognitive effects of the TBI were severe enough that she lost her job.

The boat owner knew or should have known the ceiling panel was improperly secured. A vessel moving through water generates constant vibration and motion. An unsecured ceiling panel in that environment is a foreseeable danger. The case settled for $275,000.

We used DTI MRI to prove new brain injury -- objectively. Our client had prior concussions. We anticipated that defense argument and shut it down with science. A radiologist performed a direct comparison of our client's pre-incident and post-incident brain MRIs. The DTI confirmed new lesions -- objective radiological evidence that changed the dynamics of the case.

We applied res ipsa loquitur. A 40-pound ceiling panel does not fall off a properly maintained yacht. Its fall is self-evidencing negligence.

We pursued unseaworthiness under maritime law. An improperly secured ceiling fixture on a moving boat renders the vessel unseaworthy. We pursued that claim directly alongside general maritime negligence.

We documented the full human cost. Cognitive impairment. Tinnitus. Visual disturbances. Depression. Anxiety. Job termination directly caused by cognitive deficits.