Jones Act Cases
Seamen seeking compensation under the Jones Act must prove negligence on the part of the seaman’s employer and its agents, including officers and other seamen, or that the vessel on or in connection with which the injury occurred was unseaworthy (a very broad term meaning that the vessel was significantly deficient in some respect that endangered the seamen employed on it). This is unlike USL&H and state worker’s compensation laws, which provide for compensation without requiring that negligence or other fault be proved. The Jones Act damage recovery may be reduced if the seaman is shown to have been partly to blame for the accident, also unlike USL&H and state workers’ compensation.
Compensation of injured seamen under the Jones Act
Even without showing either negligence or unseaworthiness, the seaman is entitled to compensation during the period of recovery, in the form of:
- Maintenance-payment of the seaman’s living expenses during the period of recovery; and
- Cure-payment of the medical and related cost of recovery from the injury.
The right to maintenance and cure most closely resembles state worker’s compensation rights.
To the extent the seaman can show either negligence or the vessel’s unseaworthiness, the seaman can recover damages under the Jones Act for loss of earning capacity due to permanent, partial, or full disability, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and even punitive damages under some circumstances. Again, that recovery may be reduced to the extent the seaman’s own negligence was to blame for the accident.
A legal team that understands the industry and the law
Baggett McCall understands that our clients work in some of the most dangerous occupations. While there are laws in place to protect the safety of workers, it is important to work with an attorney who knows how to employ those laws to your benefit. For more information about a maritime injury, offshore oil rig accident, or a Jones Act or USL&H claim.
We have experience in cases involving:
- Loading vessels
- Offshore oil rig accidents
- Riverboat, tugboat, Pilot vessel employees
- Death on the high seas
- Private vessel and boating accidents
- Work platform injuries
- Inland and Offshore Workboat and Crew boat injuries
- Inland and Offshore Barge cases
Contact Baggett McCall, LLC in Lake Charles, Louisiana, for a free consultation, or call 337-478-8888 or 800-639-2524 now to speak directly with an experienced offshore and maritime injury lawyer. Choose your lawyer carefully.