Anthony Highfield
Anthony has more than 20 years experience in maritime and related transport law.
Anthony’s experience includes acting in the defence of crew, third party and passenger injury claims including asbestos and seafarers (Seafarers Rehabilitation & Compensation Act 1992). He also advises in relation to a range of casualty matters including Admiralty, ship operation and crewing/regulatory requirements, cargo, collision, salvage and towage, groundings, shipboard damage and fires, sinking and unseaworthiness, and other breach of warranty claims. Anthony also has experience with marine insurance policy response, environmental (pollution) claims, freight forwarding and logistics, terminal operations and warehousing, recovery actions and ticket wording and contractual arrangements.
Anthony’s clients include many well known Australian and International ship and cruise ship operators together with many internationally known Protection & Indemnity Clubs and domestic maritime (boating) and seafarers compensation insurers. Anthony also acts for carriers, terminal and warehouse operators and road transport operators and advises the Seacare Authority. Anthony has a special and unique expertise in obtaining orders from the NSW Supreme Court acting on Letters of International Judicial Assistance for the taking of evidence for foreign Courts under the Hague Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil and Commercial Matters.
Anthony has been named in Best Lawyers™ Australia for Shipping & Maritime Law and Transportation Law. He has been included in Doyle’s Guide and was acknowledged by the Asia Pacific Legal 500 in its 2015 Editorial as a “Recommended Lawyer” for Transport – Maritime Shipping. He is also accredited by the NSW Law Society as an Expert in personal injury law.
Experience
Anthony’s recent experience includes:
- Marine and boating insurers: Advising on sinking and unseaworthiness and breach of warranty claims and policy coverage;
- Ship operators and their P&I/liability insurers: Acting in passenger and crew liability (personal injury) claims (including asbestos litigation and Seafarers Act/workers compensation);
- Marine and boating insurers: Acting in and advising on salvage, collision, injury and loss of life claims (including maritime limitation – 1976 Maritime Limitation Convention);
- Marine and boating insurers: Pleasure, competition (power and yachting and water-skiing events)and charter ship/boat/yacht operation;
- Marine and boating insurers: Advising on insurance policy wording/coverage disputes (Marine Insurance and Insurance Contracts Act);
- Marine and boating insurers: Advising on shipboard damage and fire;
- Ship operators, stevedores and their insurers: Advising on marine and environmental pollution;
- Marine insurers: Advising on ship repairers/builders liability;
- Ship operators, terminal and warehouse operators and their insurers: Advising on and acting in workplace safety law/occupational health and safety matters and prosecutions;
- Terminal and warehouse operators and their insurers: Advising and acting in industrial accidents including the common law liability of “host employers”;
- Ship operators and their P&I insurers: Advising and acting in cargo damage dispute claims; and
- Freight forwarders, customs brokers and their insurers: Advising on customs and freight forwarding/carriers liability.