By John K. Fulweiler
In my last column, I talked about why it's wise to contact
an admiralty attorney before an incident arises. This month, I
discuss another reason why a lawyer can come in handy - U.S.
Coast Guard form 2692 (CG-2692).
The form, "Report of Marine Accident, Injury or Death," is
typically filled out after a vessel accident that involves
property damage, personal injury and/or oil pollution. Once
completed, the form is sent to the Coast Guard marine safety
office to be used in the accident investigation, to identify
hazardous conditions, and for statistical purposes. It is
important to remember that the form is available to the
public.
Like any written report, filling out the form should be done
carefully to avoid making a statement of facts that does not
accurately describe the particular incident. The description of
the event should match what your vessel personnel saw.
Sometimes a vessel owner may give a description that is
inconsistent with what the crew will testify occurred - a real
problem in litigation!
For obvious reasons, it is not recommended that a vessel
operator guess in response to a specific inquiry on the
form.
An admiralty attorney is accustomed to gathering facts from
various sources and assembling them into a coherent statement.
In addition, the bane of any attorney's existence are details,
and having a lawyer review form CG-2692 prior to its filing
will likely ensure that it is complete, and the description of
the incident is plainly written and not susceptible to
different interpretations. All of this is important because
courts have been known to refer to a CG-2692 in confirmation of
various facts when rendering a decision.
If you're friendly with your admiralty attorney, having him
or her briefly review your CG-2692 prior to its submission can
usually be accomplished quickly and inexpensively.
In some cases, economic efficiencies might dictate bringing
your admiralty attorney aboard at the beginning of the process
to collect data and interview witnesses.
Whatever the case and whatever the form, consider the
benefit of having an attorney review the document prior to its
submission.