Maritime Injury Lawyer
Maritime Law Attorney John W. Merting
For more than 40 years, maritime law attorney John W. Merting has been helping families suffering from catastrophic injuries, brain injuries, career-ending injuries, and wrongful death get the compensation they deserve. As the first Board Certified admiralty and maritime law attorney in the entire Florida Panhandle, Mr. Merting concentrates his personal injury work on cases involving injuries at sea and/or involving maritime workers.
Mr. Merting often receives referrals from lawyers throughout the United States who know well of his experience in federal maritime law, including everything from the Jones Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act to the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. He can also assist personal injury lawyers needing to set up Special Needs Trusts and Medicare Set Asides to protect their clients’ government benefits.
At the Law Offices of John W. Merting, P.A., we can help anyone in the world with anything from cruise ship injuries and other recreational boating injuries to harbor worker claims. Mr. Merting has litigated claims of seamen injured in the Gulf of Alaska, the Singapore Straits, off the Coast of Africa, throughout the Gulf of Mexico, as well as on the Mississippi River, and other rivers and inland waters of the United States, including the Intracoastal Waterway.
Devoted to Close Client Service
Mr. Merting has always been fully committed to giving each client, and each case, close attentive service. He works with each client personally, never pushing them off to paralegals or assistants. In all injury matters, he does all work on contingency, meaning that he is paid nothing until his client receives a settlement or jury award.
General Information
Someone injured in a maritime situation should refrain from giving a tape recorded or written statement until they have been advised of their rights by an experienced and qualified maritime attorney such as Mr. Merting. Employers and their insurors usually seek to obtain statements before such consultations can occur. These representatives frequently work from prepared scripts and obtain information that can be extremely detrimental to the injured party's chances of obtaining a fair financial recovery.
Seamen injured in the course of their employment should immediately report the incident to their superiors, seek medical aid, and be extremely careful about completing or signing any incident reports and medical treatment forms if the description of the incident is not completely accurate.
Seek Legal Advice Now
All injured parties and their families are advised that most maritime claims have a 3-year statute of limitations - a formal lawsuit must be actually filed in the proper court or your claim will be forever barred! However, some wrongful death claims and some claims against U.S. Government ships or private ships under contract to the U.S. Government or military can have limitations as short as 18 months. Cruise ships usually require written notice of claims within 6 months and suit within 1 year in a specifically designed Court - frequently far from the port of embarkation.
Therefore, no one with a potential claim should delay consulting with an attorney knowledgeable in maritime law. Otherwise, your claim, no matter how serious, may be lost forever.
Contact our lawyer to speak with him at no charge about any matter involving federal or maritime law. Our attorney has a worldwide practice, with many cases centering in the international ports of Florida, Alabama, the Mississippi River, Louisiana, Texas, and other areas of the United States.
Law Offices of John W. Merting, P.A.
Maritime Injury Lawyer
Harbourtown - Suite 39
913 Gulf Breeze Parkway
Gulf Breeze, FL 32561
Phone: 850-916-9645
Fax: 850-916-9787
E-Mail: jmerting@bellsouth.net
A Pensacola native, John W. Merting has been in practice in the Pensacola area continuously since 1968. He has decades of experience in Admiralty and Maritime claims, as well as serious personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and workers' compensations matters. Mr. Merting has been appointed as a Mediator by Federal Judges, and he has been selected to mediate numerous complex matters in his areas of expertise by attorneys in Louisiana and Florida.
A three-time Director of the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, Mr. Merting was elected Chairman for 2005, and is only the second plaintiff's lawyer to serve in this capacity in the Institute's 40 year history. His experience and reputation help each case get resolved in the most efficient manner possible.
- Admiralty & Maritime Law
- Traumatic/Anoxic Brain Injuries
- Offshore/Oil Rig/Supply Boat Injuries
- Back and Spinal Cord Injuries
- Jones Act/Unseaworthiness Claims
- Seaman's Claims
- Recreational Boating/Diving Injuries/Personal Watercraft Claims
- Workers' Compensation/On-the-Job Injuries
- Career-Ending Injuries
- Catastrophic Personal Injuries
- Wrongful Death
- Yacht Accidents
- Cruise Ship Assaults
- Cruise Ship Injuries
- Tug Boat & Barge Accidents
- Commercial Fishing Injuries
- Shipyard, Dock & Pier Accidents
- Passenger Injuries
- Federal Tort Claims Act Claims
- Special Needs Trusts and Medicare Set-Asides
- Truck Accidents
- BP Commercial/Business Claims
- Mediation
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Certification/Specialties:
Admiralty and Maritime Law, State Bar of Florida, 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011
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- Florida, 1968
- U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida, 1969
- U.S. District Court Southern District of Alabama, 1989
University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1970 J.D.
University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1968
LL.B.
Honors: Editor, Virginia Law Weekly, 1967-1968
Honors: Student Delegate, American Bar Association, Honolulu, 1967
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 1965 A.B.
Honors: Cum Laude
Honors: Student Body President, 1964-1965
Honors: Florida State Gold Key
Honors: Rhodes Scholar nominee, 1964
Honors: White House Conference for Distinguished Students, 1964
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- Cross-Examination of Medical Experts, Handling Accident Cases, Albert Averbach, Supplement, 1993
- Update on Handling Federal Tort Claims, Institute of Continuing Legal Education, Breckenridge, Colorado, 1994
- Structured Settlements, Annual Seminar, Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, Savannah, Georgia, 1995
- Admiralty Law and Marine Insurance Consideration for Plaintiff Attorneys, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Seminar, 1997
- Boat Insurance - A Checklist, Escambia/Santa Rosa Bar Association, Pensacola, Florida, 2000
- Admiralty Law Considerations for Personal Injury Attorneys, National Internet CLE, Celesq, Inc., 2000 to date
- Federal Tort Claims Act Practice and Procedure, National Internet CLE, Celesq, Inc., 2000 to date
- Maritime Law Update, Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, 2001
- Maritime Insurance - A Checklist and Other Legal Issues, Pensacola Yacht Club, Pensacola, FL, 2001
- Maritime Insurance - A Checklist and Other Legal Issues, Fort Walton Power Squadron, 2002
- Medicare Set-Asides - What You Must Know Before You Settle, Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Annual Seminar, Atlanta, Georgia, 2003
- Maritime Insurance - A Checklist and Other Legal Issues, Pensacola Power Squadron, 2003
- Personal Injury Medicare Set-Aside Requirements: What You Must Know (And Do) Before You Settle, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Toronto, Canada, 2005
- Navigating in the Treacherous Waters of Medicare Liens (Secondary Payer Issues) and Medicare Set-Asides in Maritime Claims, Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Annual Seminar, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2009
- Navigating in the Treacherous Waters of Medicare Liens (Secondary Payer Issues) and Medicare Set-Asides, Sterling Education Services Advanced Workers' Compensation Seminar, Pensacola, Florida, 2010
- Navigating in the Swill of the BP Spill of Medicare Liens (Secondary Payer Issues) and Medicare Set-Asides in Maritime Liability Claims, Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Annual Seminar, Charleston, South Carolina, 2010
- Medicare Set-Asides in Liability Cases from the Perspective of a Plaintiff's Attorney, Tulane Law School's Admiralty Law Institute, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2011
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- Coastal Bank & Trust Co. (f/k/a Bank of Pensacola)
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- Recipient, the Florida Bar President's Pro Bono Service Award, 2000
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- Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association
- Member, Chairman, Inter-Professional Relations Committee
- The Florida Bar, Sections on Trial Lawyers
- Member, Admiralty Committee
- American Association for Justice
- Stalwart Member; Sustaining Member
- American Association for Justice, Admiralty Law and Federal Tort Claim Sections
- Member
- Florida Justice Association (formerly Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers), 1976 - Present
- Sustaining Member
- Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute, Director, 1985-1987, 1989-1997; Treasurer, 2002; Secretary, 2003; Vice Chairman, 2004; Chairman, 2005
Maritime Law Association of United States, 1989 - Present
- Proctor in Admiralty
- Fiesta of Five Flags, 1989 - Present
- Member, Board of Governors, 2005 - 2012
- Florida Super Lawyers - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010
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- Pensacola Community Maritime Park
- Trustee
- Academy of Trial Advocacy (formerly Academy of Catastrophic Injury Attorneys)
- Member
- Pensacola Yacht Club, 1970 - Present
- Fleet Counsel - Honorary Life Member
- Gulf Coast Mariners Association
- Attorney Member
- The Propeller Club of the United States
- Bay Area Port of Historic Pensacola, Board of Governors
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- Phi Beta Kappa
- Phi Kappa Phi
- Omicron Delta Kappa
- Lambda Chi Alpha
Call for an Initial Consultation at No Charge
Toll-Free: 877-912-4100
Nationwide
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