Jones Act / Seamen / Crewmen

At Clark & Zedella we are Jones Act lawyers. Some law firms advertise that they are Jones Act lawyers but in reality, they don’t have the knowledge or skills to handle these highly technical maritime claims. We represent union and non-union seamen under the Jones Act every day.

Jones Act Negligence Injury / Death

If a seaman’s injury or death was caused by negligence of the seaman’s employer or his or her fellow employees, then under the Jones Act 46 U.S.C. § 30104, a seaman can recover damages from his or her employer in addition to maintenance and cure and unearned wages.

Jones Act Injury Damages include:

Past lost wages/income
Future lost wages/income
Expenses of medical care (exceeding cure paid by the employer)
Pain and suffering
Loss of enjoyment of life
Disability
Disfigurement

Jones Act Death Damages

Jones Act Injury Settlements

If a seaman is unrepresented the company employers and their insurance companies will often try to “settle on the cheap.” The injured seaman may not have a full understanding of all damages that are collectable. At Clark & Zedella we analyze a case for what it is worth not what an insurance company or employer may “want to pay.” If you have been injured and offered a settlement, call us for a free consultation regarding the fair value of your case.

Unseaworthiness

The vessel and its owner and operator owe to a seaman assigned to the vessel the duty to provide a seaworthy vessel and are liable for an injury or death to a seaman resulting from breach of the warranty of a seaworthy vessel. If a seaman’s injury or death were caused by unseaworthiness of the vessel the seaman can recover damages similar to the remedies under the Jones Act. In our jurisdiction the seamen need only show that the vessel or its equipment were not fit for their intended purposes and that the unfit or unseaworthy condition caused the injury.

Even if the vessel owner or operator does not have knowledge of the unseaworthy condition, they remain liable. The fact that the condition exists on the vessel and caused harm is enough to visit liability on the vessel.

Maintenance and Cure

Every seaman who becomes ill or injured during his or her employment, regardless of any fault of the owner or operator of the vessel is entitled to maintenance and cure and unearned wages as a matter of right. Maintenance is the seaman’s reasonable expenses of room and board while ashore. Maintenance is like a daily stipend and is payable until the seaman is fit for duty or until maximum benefit of treatment is reached. Cure is the reasonable medical expenses incurred by the seaman for curative treatment.

For union seamen the amount of maintenance is set by union agreement in many cases and cannot be negotiated. For non-union seamen the rate can vary widely. Often employers or their insurance companies “pick” a random rate that is favorable to the employer and much lower than the true estimated living expenses of the seaman. This lower rate is not based on the seaman’s actual expenses and can make a big difference in what goes in the seaman’s pocket on a daily and monthly basis while he or she is recovering from an injury.

At Clark & Zedella we understand the law and how to fairly estimate the true maintenance owed and we are skilled at getting the employer to pay the correct amount of maintenance. In some cases, this requires going to the Court. In some instances, when there is wrongful refusal to pay the Court can award attorneys’ fees and sometimes punitive damages to the injured seaman.

Jones Act Negligence for Failure to Treat

If a seaman is injured and the employer fails to obtain prompt and adequate medical treatment for the seaman, the company can be sued for negligence under the Jones Act for failure to treat. This legal cause of action is separate and apart from failure to pay maintenance and cure. Thus, even in cases where there is no fault of the employer if the employer fails to treat a seaman it can be held liable for negligence under the Jones Act.

Jones Act / Kinds of Negligence

Jones Act Negligence includes but is not limited to:

Failure to provide a reasonably safe place to work
Failure to make adequate inspections
Negligent training, instruction or supervision of the crew or the injured seaman that leads to an injury
Failure to train and instruct in basic safety
Failure to select competent master and crew
Negligent hiring
Failure to show the proper care when hiring crew and masters
Assaults, sexual assaults and rape by fellow crew and officers
Failure to provide necessary medical treatment
Failure to prevent suicide
Failure to avoid dangerous weather when navigating the vessel
Negligent orders
Failure to train in “stop work;”
Failure to have proper safe lifting procedures, training and equipment
Negligent assignment of duties
Negligent assignment of inexperienced crew to jobs
Failure to provide proper tools, equipment and appliances for the job
Failure to have proper safety equipment
Failure to conduct proper job hazard and safety analysis
Violations of statutes and rules
Violation of safety policies and procedures
Failing to promulgate and enforce reasonable rules and regulations to ensure the safety and health of the employees
Failure to comply with ISM requirements and have a proper Safety Management System
Failure to have proper guard rails and passageways
Failure to maintain decks and equipment including deck coatings, non-skid and deck equipment including mooring lines
Overworked, undersized and undermanned crews
Failure to adequately staff the vessel
Failure to warn of known dangers and hazards
Failure to avoid or minimize foreseeable dangers of heavy weather
Failure to develop and enforce adequate life jacket or survival suit policies
Negligent infliction of emotional distress
Harassment
Battery

Wrongful Death of a Seaman / Jones Act / Death on the High Seas Act

In general terms the Jones Act applies to seamen only and the Death on the High Seas Act (“DOHSA”) applies only to deaths that result from casualties that occur outside the territorial waters of a state or territory of the United States. The general maritime law provides wrongful death remedies for seamen only for casualties that occur in territorial waters. Under DOHSA, certain close relatives of the decedent can recover only for their pecuniary losses. The Jones Act, on the other hand, provides a “survival remedy” limited to recovery of damages for pre-death pain and suffering for deaths of seamen resulting from negligence of their employers.

Who are Seamen? Seaman Status Explored

In general, the same three requirements for seaman status must be met for eligibility for maintenance, cure and wages and for Jones Act remedies.

The requirements are:

The vessel must be “in navigation;”
The mariner has an employment connection to the vessel that is substantial both in terms of duration and its nature and;
That his or her employment contributes to the work of the vessel.
Under U.S. Supreme Court law almost any worker who performs duties onboard a vessel, which aid the mission of the vessel will be considered a seaman. If the watercraft, on which she works, is considered a “vessel” and “in navigation” on navigable waters and at least 30% of her regular duties are onboard the vessel, she is a seaman.
The Supreme Court has ruled that it is not necessary that a seaman aid in navigation or contribute to the transportation of the vessel, but a seaman must be doing the ship’s work.
Thus, the question of who is a seaman can be murky at times. At Clark & Zedella we have been faced many times with analyzing who is and who is not a seaman and entitled to bring an action under the Jones Act. If you have doubts call us and we can explore your duties aboard a ship or watercraft.

Seamen Represented by Clark & Zedella

At Clark & Zedella we have represented seamen who have worked in many different positions and trades onboard ships and boats.

These include:

Captains on ships, tugs, dredges, and charter fishing vessels
Mates on ships, tugs and charter fishing vessels
S.I.U. seamen from the deck, engine and steward departments
Ordinary seamen, able-bodied seamen, deck hands, Bosuns
Engineers, oilers, wipers, QMEDs
Storekeepers and logistic specialists
Merchant mariners working on U.S. Government owned and chartered ships (active and laid up)
Electricians
Masters and Mates in the Master Mates and Pilots (“MM&P”) union
Crew on ships, tugs, charter fishing vessels, fishing vessels, barges, dredges, cruise ships and casino boats
Deckhands
Crew on crew boats
Crew on cargo, tanker and container ships
Tugboat and barge crews and officers on tugs, barges and ITBs
Barge workers
Dredge workers and tender crews
Tankermen
Marine engineers and deck officers in the (“M.E.B.A.”) union
Stewards, cooks and galley hands
Waitresses
Commercial fishermen, longliners and shrimpers
Processing Workers on Seafood Processing Vessels
Fisheries Observers
Divers
Harbor workers on floating cranes
Offshore workers and crews on offshore supply boats
Ferry crews
Yacht crews

Jones Act Injuries Handled by Clark & Zedella

Ships, barges and other watercraft use big heavy equipment. Often when a seaman is injured it is a severe injury. Terrible traumatic life changing injuries are common and call for experienced maritime lawyers, like Clark & Zedella.

Some of our injury cases have involved:

Crush injuries to the head, face and extremities
Blinding in both eyes
Eye injuries
Burns
Closed head injuries
Compartment syndrome
Concussions
Open head injuries and fractured skulls
Brain damage
PTSD
Quadriplegia
Paraplegia
Spinal Cord injuries and back fractures
Impalement
Hearing loss
Neck fractures and broken necks
Hip injuries
Injuries to joints, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and soft tissues of the body
Knee injuries
Wrist injuries
Elbow injuries
Shoulder injuries
Broken arms and crushed hands