Lake Charles residents have probably been following the news about the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that crashed on a reef off the coast of Italy two weeks ago.

Coverage of this maritime accident has been quite enthralling; the captain has been accused of misconduct that arguably contributed to the crash and at least 17 people are known to have died. Frankly, many people have been wondering how a disaster of this magnitude could happen in this age of GPS equipment and other sophisticated navigational devices.

But in fact, the Costa Concordia is not the only major maritime disaster in recent memory. In 2002, a ferry in Senegal capsized and killed an estimated 1,863 people. More than 1,000 people were killed in 2006 when a passenger ship sunk off the coast of Egypt. And in 2008, some 720 people were killed when their ferry capsized off the coast of Indonesia. As you can see, then, maritime accidents are not as rare as you might think.

Returning to the Costa Concordia incident, the cruise line that owned the ship has offered to compensate passengers for the disaster, but many who survived the ordeal feel that the offer is too small and have decided to work with their own attorneys and sue the cruise ship's operator.

Maritime law is very tricky because which law applies depends on many things, including where the ship was when the accident occurred. That is why many people who are injured in the Gulf Coast consult with attorneys who are familiar with maritime law. Not every lawyer understands the subject, and it takes a degree of knowledge or experience to know how to handle a case properly.

Source: The Houston Chronicle, "Worst modern maritime disasters," Jan. 26, 2012