Maritime and Jones Act Information

Hey Rick,

Just wanted you to know that I got your note and did a little checking. Tell your mate that there is a statute of limitations for him to be able to file a claim in a Jones Act Case.

From what I found out, most of the time the statute of limitations is only 3 years from the date of the injury - and it is the same whether there is a claim of unseaworthiness against the owner of the vessel or not. However, there are some exceptions to the rule. For example if your mate was on a vessel that was either owned, operated or contracted by the federal government of the U.S. - except in that case, the news isn’t good. The statute of limitations is usually less under those circumstances.
No matter what the employer has told your mate about not needing a lawyer and them taking care of his maintenance and cure, he should contact a qualified Maritime Jones Act Attorney right away. It sounds to me like they’re just yanking his chain, waiting for the time limit to run out.

Let me know how things turn out. Glad to hear that things are looking up for you and Angie. I’ll be in touch.

Hey Rick,

Thanks for the email, mate! Listen I just wanted to let you know that I’m doing some checking into maritime Law Lawyers. I spoke with an attorney who practices business law, and from what he said, Maritime law is really complicated. You can’t afford to pick someone who doesn’t understand maritime law inside and out.

More than that though, you need to choose someone who’s an experienced litigator in the event that your case goes to court. And also, you need someone who has a good track record of negotiating and winning with this type of case.

And you also want to look at what the costs are, how they take their fees and what their cut is.

Let me do some checking to see if I can find some recommendations for you about specific maritime injury law firms, and then I’ll let you know! In the meantime, keep your chin up!