With ready access to the Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and the Gulf of Alaska, the state of Alaska has one of the biggest fishing and shipping industries in the world. And with any large industry comes a large number of workplace accidents. Dennis M. O’Bryan is an experienced maritime law, maritime injury, and Jones Act attorney, enrolled to practice in Alaska’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals* and ready to take on your admiralty law claims.
Commercial fishing in Alaska carries with it a high risk of danger and injury. The Institute for Occupational Health and Safety cites the fatality rate for Alaskan commercial fishermen at 128 deaths per 100,000 workers per year – 
more than 28 times the fatality rate for any other occupations.
Offering more than just commercial fishing, Alaska also has a huge waterborne shipping and freight industry of its own. Companies have used Alaskan waterways, such as the Yukon River and Porcupine River, for years to ship heavy manufacturing goods and raw materials to and from America, and many Alaskan residents actually rely on shipping companies to bring large bulk shipments of groceries and other daily needs from the American mainland to their families – particularly during the harsh winter months.
Not all boating done in Alaska is strictly for business. Thanks to its combination of fresh and salt water bodies, many people turn to Alaska for some relaxing personal fishing, boat races, or maybe just a day spent on the lake. Ample opportunities abound for anyone looking to charter a fishing tour, join a yacht club, or even just take a rowboat out for a nice spin around the lake or off the coast – but with Alaska’s boating safety laws being stricter than many states’, it’s always better safe than sorry.
Even as far away as Alaska, the law offices of O’Bryan Baun Karamanian are willing to work with clients outside of their home state of Michigan. If you or a loved one in Alaska have suffered an injury or illness on the water and you need an experienced maritime lawyer, call us today so we can help you win your case.
*Dennis M. O’Bryan is enrolled to practice before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which hears appeals from the federal district courts of Alaska. In the federal district court in Alaska, he gains admission pro hac vice, on a case by case basis, by securing the sponsorship of reputable local attorneys. He is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, where his office is located.
