If you are a maritime worker on an eligible vessel and you suffer a work-related injury, you may be able to recover compensation under the Jones Act. This federal law enables you to recover “maintenance and cure” benefits after getting hurt while performing work at sea.
Jones Act cases can be very complicated, so if you’re injured while performing your job duties aboard a vessel or fleet of vessels, you need to find an attorney with experience in this area of law.
Anderson Blanda & Saltzman can help. Our dedicated and compassionate legal team of Lafayette personal injury lawyers have decades of experience representing seamen in Jones Act claims and we can put our legal skills and compassion for maritime workers to use on your claim. Give us a call at (337) 233-3366 to schedule your consultation and learn more about how we can help you
What is the Jones Act?
The Jones Act is a federal law that protects seamen who are injured while employed on a boat, ship, or other vessel. Eligibility for recovery under the Jones Act is for “any seaman,” which is defined to include anyone assigned to a vessel or fleet of vessels.
Specifically, the law defines a seaman as any sea-based employee who is considered to be a “master or a member of a vessel’s crew” and who makes some contribution to the ship’s work. It doesn’t matter if you’re a deckhand or the captain — you should still be entitled to recover damages from an employer after an accident at sea.
The law also defines vessels broadly. You don’t have to be assigned to a boat or barge to take action. In fact, workers aboard some fixed platforms and other types of offshore drilling rigs — including jack-ups, drill ships, and submersible rigs — may be eligible to recover settlements under the Jones Act
Our legal team of Lafayette Jones Act attorneys will discuss your employment, work duties, and assignments with you to determine if you are eligible for “seaman status” under the Jones Act. If you are, we will work to win recovery maintenance and cure benefits. This means you will receive a daily payment to cover your expenses and will be provided with medical treatment at the vessel owner’s expense.
Getting Compensation under the Jones Act
The Jones Act works differently from state workers’ compensation laws. To recover monetary damages under the Jones Act, you’ll have to show that your employer or a co-worker was negligent and that this negligence was a direct cause of the damage you endured. To prove negligence, you must show:
- The vessel owners or employees aboard the vessel behaved more carelessly than a hypothetical reasonable person would have under the circumstances
- The vessel owners or employees violated a safety regulation in a way that caused harm. This is considered negligence per se
The good news is, that the burden of proving negligence is lower in Jones Act cases than in other types of personal injury claims. Generally, injured seamen simply must show some evidence that negligence contributed to causing injuries. This is sometimes referred to as “featherweight” causation” because even slim evidence that employer negligence contributed to injuries is often sufficient to make a claim.
A Jones Act attorney in Lafayette can help you to meet your burden of proving your claim by working with you to gather evidence including:
- Maintenance logs
- Witness testimony
- Accident resorts
- Video recordings or photos
- Pay stubs from workers
You’ll also need to show the extent of your damages, as well as demonstrate that your employer was responsible for harming you. Medical records and expert testimony can be helpful in demonstrating how badly you were harmed.
Types of Jones Act Cases
Jones Act cases can arise any time a seaman is subject to an unsafe work environment. Under maritime law, a vessel owner is responsible for maintaining a seaworthy vessel. The vessel owner has a “non-delegable” duty to provide you with a safe place to work. If they fail to fulfill that legal obligation, they become liable for losses. Unfortunately, not all owners do maintain their vessels. As a result, injury claims are often based on the unseaworthiness of a structure.
Injury claims could also arise based on:
- Inadequate orders provided to staff
- Insufficient supervision on the part of employers
- Negligent hiring or a failure to ensure crew members have the required training and qualifications
- Lack of independent operating procedures that promote safety
It will be up to you to demonstrate failures on the part of employers and crew members in order to successfully recover maintenance and cure benefits.
Getting Help from a Lafayette Jones Act Attorney
If you are severely injured while working in the Gulf of Mexico and/or while working on the waterways of Louisiana aboard vessels of every kind, we can help you. The Lafayette maritime accident lawyers at Anderson Blanda & Saltzman has represented many seamen in Jones Act claims, as well as in other types of cases arising from maritime injuries.
To learn more about the legal assistance our Lafayette Jones Act attorneys can offer, give us a call at (337) 233-3366 to schedule a free case evaluation.