When an injury occurs on or in association with navigable waters then it is likely that federal laws concerning navigable waters will control the litigation. When the casino boats first arrived in the Quad Cities some attorneys found out the hard way that the usual Iowa and Illinois laws concerning work related injuries, premises liability claims to passengers and dram shop claims against intoxicated patrons of the gambling boats did not apply.  If the lawsuit involves an incident on or related to navigable waters than it is important to select an attorney that is familiar with admiralty and maritime laws.