Anatomy of a Marine Casualty Investigation( continued from page 16)
NTSB will request input from the parties-in-interest and is receptive to factual edits and corrections to its draft reports. Because the purpose of the NTSB is to establish the root cause of a marine casualty, and not to find fault, it is open to receiving comments from parties involved in the incident. The NTSB has historically accepted changes to its preliminary report when the recommendations are based on credible facts and well-founded expert opinions. Thus, it is vital that parties-in-interest have respected experts available to review the NTSB’ s reports.
The NTSB will generally hold a public board meeting to publicly announce its findings, and will then issue a final report. It is important to note that in its final report, which is made public on its website, the NTSB will not specifically attribute fault to any person or any entity. Nor will the NTSB recommend a penalty, punishment, or sanction. Rather, the NTSB’ s final report will provide a factual background and state what the NTSB believes is the probable cause( s) of the incident. It will also make recommendations to the industry aimed at avoiding similar incidents in the future. That said, the findings of the NTSB will obviously assist other agencies and litigants with independently building a case and establishing who is at fault and why. Notably, the Independent Safety Board Act, 49 U. S. C. § 1154( b) provides that,“[ n ] o part of a report of the Board, related to an accident or an investigation of an accident, may be admitted into evidence or used in a civil action for damages resulting from
a matter mentioned in the report.” This statute has been interpreted differently by different U. S. federal courts, though they are generally in agreement that the probable cause of a final NTSB Report may not be admitted into evidence in a civil case. Some courts have permitted factual reports and factual findings from Final Reports to be admitted. It is important to note that the statutory preclusion relates only to civil actions for damages, and thus there is no prohibition on the use of an NTSB Report, final or otherwise, in a criminal case.
The USCG As the agency responsible for marine safety, the USCG is tasked with investigating and analyzing marine casualties. USCG investigations range from obtaining and analyzing evidence for minor incidents to formal proceedings for incidents involving serious personal injury, death, and significant environmental and property damage. The purpose of every USCG investigation is to analyze thefacts surrounding the casualty, determine the cause( s) of the casualty, and, if necessary, initiate necessary corrective actions.
Significant investigations are spearheaded by a USCG lead investigating officer(“ LIO”), who will have substantial experience investigating marine casualties. The LIO is supported by USCG and civilian casualty investigators, technical experts, legal advisers, and other support personnel from within the USCG. Significant investigations
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17 • MAINBRACE