Baltimore bridge disaster raises several legal queries

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse following a cargo ship collision on Tuesday has landed shipping companies and insurers into legal chaos, with estimates suggesting the disaster could rack up billions in damages. 

Legal experts anticipate a deep dive into maritime law, whose origins can be traced back to ancient Phoenician and Greek civilizations, to assign accountability.

Ancient roots to modern challenges
Maritime law features principles like “general average,” in which any cargo loss would be borne by all merchants who had cargo on board.

Law, stemming from past tragedies like the Titanic, may also be visited. The White Star Line, which owned the Titanic, used the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 to shield itself from post-accident financial ruin. It ended up paying only $664,000 in a settlement rather than the $16 million sought.

Bridge safety concerns
The Baltimore bridge stood for 47 years but fell in under a minute when the 100,000-ton Dali ship hit it, highlighting concerns about the safety of America’s 600,000 bridges. 

Around 46,100 of the 617,000 bridges across the US or 7.5% of all bridges, are structurally deficient and in poor condition, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ most recent infrastructure report card released in 2021.

Meanwhile
One of the largest cranes on the Eastern Seaboard arrived on the scene to clear up the debris after the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge began over the weekend.