Maritime and Jones Act Information

It’s easy to be confused by who is covered by what.  Some people - like a recent client of mine, was surprised to find out that he was covered by the Jones Law - which he only found out when he applied for worker’s compensation, after being injured.

He asked me to do some research, and get more information.  I learned that it’s actually a good thing to be covered by the Jones Act - for one thing, settlement amounts can be higher than other types of on-the-job injury settlements.  Sometimes significantly higher.

But there are drawbacks, too.  In fact, from what I found out, one of the biggest disadvantages to being covered under the Jones Act, is that the weekly checks are much lower.

Something else I discovered that I thought was interesting is that offshore workers on drilling rigs and workers on production platforms are often covered by the Jones Act as well.  There have been some other recent changes in the laws as well.  For example, the protection extends to workers on barges who don’t live on board, workers who are staying in hotels as they travel from one work-related location to the next (even if you’re traveling by land), and in some cases, even someone who dies as a result of their work. (As I continue to do research, I’ll let you know more).

When I read that, I couldn’t help thinking about Steve Irwin - you know, the Crocodile Hunter.  I wonder if his death would have been covered by the Jones Act?

Something else that I thought was “about time” with this law is that a new court ruling means that “economic damages” no longer applies.  It used to be that if a maritime worker had no one who was financially dependent upon them, then his life had no settlement value.  Isn’t that crazy?  I mean, even if we’re single, with no family, our lives still have value to us, right?  Anyway, I was glad to see that the courts have corrected what amounted to a stupid and outdated law.

By the way, if you were previously covered under the Longshore Harbor Worker’s Act, if you work on a boat, barge, ship, fishing boat, casino boat, charter boat, tanker, cruise ship, container ship or basically any type of vessel that has the name “boat” or “ship” in it, then you might be covered by the Jones Act.  But to find out for sure, and to make sure that you’re protected and receiving all the help you’re entitled to if you’ve been injured, it’s important that you talk to an experienced Maritime Lawyer.  And, as with any accident case, don’t sign ANYTHING or talk to your employer, an insurance representative or anyone else until you’ve talked to an attorney.