For longshoremen, shipyard employees, seamen, harbor workers, and marine construction crews, choosing the right attorney after a serious accident can determine whether they receive meaningful financial protection or are left struggling against an employer, insurance company, or maritime corporation.
Few attorneys offer the combination of maritime industry experience, legal knowledge, and courtroom accomplishments that Preston Easley brings to these cases.
With more than 40 years of experience practicing maritime and personal injury law, Easley’s practice is particularly distinguished by his work on behalf of longshoremen and harbor workers injured in San Diego, Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Pedro, and ports throughout California and the Hawaiian Islands.
A Maritime Lawyer Who Has Worked on the Waterfront
Maritime law is a highly specialized field. It involves federal statutes, industry-specific regulations, complicated jurisdictional questions, and legal standards that differ substantially from ordinary workers’ compensation or personal injury claims.
Easley’s understanding of these cases comes not only from decades of legal practice, but also from firsthand experience aboard vessels and in shipyard environments.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Easley served five years on active duty as a naval officer. He spent three years as a deck officer aboard a fast frigate and two years as a patrol boat skipper. He also served aboard a tank landing ship as a member of the Naval Reserve.
While attending law school, Easley worked as a longshoreman and marine machinist at Todd Shipyard.
“That background gave me a practical understanding of vessel operations, cargo handling, shipyard machinery, chain-of-command procedures, and the hazards maritime employees encounter every day,” he says.
When an injured longshoreman describes a crane malfunction, rigging failure, unsafe deck condition, forklift collision, defective winch, or cargo-handling accident, Easley does not need a basic explanation of how waterfront operations work. He understands the terminology, equipment, working conditions, and safety responsibilities involved.
More Than 40 Years Representing Injured Maritime Workers
Easley has handled catastrophic maritime cases involving cranes, forklifts, scaffolding, dredges, barges, tugboats, cargo ships, defective machinery, and unsafe products. His experience extends beyond filing benefit applications.
“Depending on the circumstances, a case may involve a claim under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, a Jones Act lawsuit, an unseaworthiness claim, or a third-party action against a vessel owner, equipment manufacturer, stevedoring company, or other negligent party,” he says.
This breadth of experience is especially valuable in longshore cases.
“An injured worker may be entitled to federal benefits for medical treatment, wage loss, vocational rehabilitation, and permanent disability while also having a separate claim against a negligent third party. Identifying every available source of compensation requires an attorney who understands how federal maritime benefits and civil liability claims interact,” he says.
Longshore Accident Representation in San Diego
San Diego’s waterfront supports naval operations, shipbuilding, ship repair, cargo transportation, marine construction, commercial fishing, and passenger vessel activity. These operations place longshoremen and shipyard employees around cranes, heavy machinery, vehicles, vessels, dry docks, rigging systems, and industrial equipment.
Easley represents San Diego maritime workers in Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act claims and, when appropriate, third-party lawsuits.
“We investigate unsafe conditions, preserve evidence, coordinate medical documentation, handle federal claim requirements, and pursue compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, disability, and vocational retraining,” Easley says.
For someone seriously injured along the San Diego waterfront, Easley offers more than general personal injury experience. He provides “focused knowledge of the federal laws and maritime doctrines that govern dockside and harbor-related accidents.”
Extensive Experience at the Ports of Long Beach, San Pedro and Los Angeles
The Ports of Long Beach, San Pedro and Los Angeles form one of the busiest and most complex shipping centers in the world. Thousands of longshoremen, mechanics, drivers, crane operators, ship repair employees, and other harbor workers pass through these facilities and surrounding terminals.
Easley has represented injured longshoremen and harbor workers in the Los Angeles, San Pedro and Long Beach port communities for decades. “We handle accidents involving cranes, rigging, winches, forklifts, trucks, ladders, fires, explosions, hazardous substances, defective equipment, and improperly maintained machinery,” he says.
His experience at these ports is particularly significant because longshore accident cases often require immediate investigation. “Equipment may be moved, repaired, or returned to service. Cargo configurations can change, vessels can depart, and surveillance footage may be overwritten,” he says.
“The importance of securing photographs, witness statements, employment records, medical evidence, equipment information, and other documentation before it disappears is paramount,” he adds.
Maritime Representation Throughout Hawaii
Easley maintains a substantial maritime practice in Hawaii, representing longshoremen, seamen, shipyard employees, harbor workers, vessel crews, and passengers throughout the islands.
From the firm’s Honolulu office, he serves injured maritime workers connected to Honolulu Harbor, Pearl Harbor, Kahului, Hilo, Nawiliwili, Kawaihae, and other Hawaiian ports. His Hawaii practice encompasses longshore accidents, Jones Act cases, shipyard injuries, tour boat accidents, catamaran and ferry incidents, dredging accidents, cruise ship passenger claims, and other maritime injury and wrongful death matters.
“Hawaii’s dependence on maritime transportation creates a distinctive legal environment. Workers may be employed aboard vessels, on docks, in shipyards, or in marine construction, and the law governing an injury can depend on the employee’s duties, work location, relationship to a vessel, and other technical factors,” Easley says.
A Record of Making and Changing Maritime Law
Easley stands out among maritime attorneys because of his appellate record. During his career, he has obtained important decisions from the United States Supreme Court, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and the California Court of Appeal. He is one of only a few attorneys who can claim that they’ve actually changed federal law to protect maritime workers.
Some of those cases include:
Easey’s work has helped expand protections for injured workers, reverse unfavorable lower-court rulings, and establish precedent affecting future cases.
“Many attorneys can process a routine claim,” Easley says. “Far fewer have the experience to challenge an incorrect ruling, develop a complex appellate argument, and pursue a case through the nation’s highest courts.”
Learn more about Preston Easley at https://www.prestoneasley.com/
Copyright © 2026 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.
For California Business Journal Disclaimers, go to https://calbizjournal.com/terms-conditions/.
