1. Q. What exactly is the Jones Act?

A. The Jones Act, first named the Merchant Marine Act, is a 1920 federal law named for Sen. Wesley R. Jones of Washington, who wrote it. The act has been revised since that time, but its protection for injured maritime workers, sailors or seamen remains much the same. And in recent years, such protections have been broadened to include mobile offshore rig or platform workers. To be compensated for their losses, including medical bills, such workers may file a lawsuit in federal court. They also can seek payments for “maintenance and cure,” meaning daily living costs as well as health expenses, in each case paid by an employer until they can get back on the job.

2. Q. Can I file such an injury lawsuit against my employer if I get hurt on a job on an offshore  oil platform or rig?

A. As long as the offshore rig or platform meets certain standards, yes, you can sue under the Jones Act. Those standards include establishing that the rig or platform isn’t anchored to the bottom of the ocean, but instead is a mobile platform or rig. BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig, when it exploded in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana, was a semi-submersible mobile offshore drilling unit, or MODU, and that kind of rig is covered by the Jones Act. Still, it must be affirmed that the injured worker did a job contributing to the mission of the platform or rig, which must be linked to another vessel or fleet (see the U.S. Supreme Court decision Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis.)

3. Q. Can I get a jury trial if I file a Jones Act maritime lawsuit, do I have a right to a jury trial?

A. Yes. Thanks to the Jones Act, you have a legal right to get a jury trial. Under Admiralty law,  also known as Maritime Law, you do not necessarily have this right. But the Jones Act, or Merchant Marine Act, gives injured maritime workers a legal right to a jury trial. Indeed, the Jones Act is what originally offers the option of suing an employer, which can’t always be done, as with Workers Compensation. Even so, your case may be settled out of court, anyway.

4. Q. If someone close to me dies in an offshore accident, should I seek economic recovery under the Jones Act, or instead the Death on the High Seas Act?

A. That depends on the location of the death. Maritime workers’ deaths in or on U.S.  waters are covered by the Jones Act. Deaths outside of a state’s three nautical mile territorial limit fall under the Death on the High Seas Act, also called DOHSA. But beware of DOHSA, which limits  survivors’ compensation strictly to pecuniary, or economic, losses, disregarding pain and suffering, loss of care, society and companionship, and mental anguish. However, Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D.-W. Va.) is advocating a Deepwater Horizon Survivors’ Fairness Act to allow recovery besides economic losses. Survivors of victims of land-based accidents already have this right in America.

5. Q. Do I really need a maritime lawyer or Jones Act attorney?

A. What you really need is to know your legal rights, and a maritime attorney or Jones Act lawyer provide that service. After all, you need someone who’s “in the know” on your side, because there’s a chance your employer will attempt to downplay your claim, or will try to persuade you to take a quick but inadequate payout. Or, your employer may try to keep you from seeing a physician, or may attempt to persuade you to accept Longshore Act or Workers Comp payments which are smaller than a Jones Act claim might be. So yes, you need a maritime lawyer or Jones Act attorney to help you navigate the choppy seas of an injury claim which may be refuted by others, such as an employer. Your offshore Jones Act lawyer can represent you while confronting insurance companies, employers or others who do not have your best interests in mind.

6. Q. How is a Jones Act claim different from a Longshore Act claim or a Workers Compensation claim?

A. A Jones Act claim under federal law provides injured offshore or maritime workers a right to pursue high financial recovery. By comparison, Workers Compensation laws are passed in individual states, and they tend to provide much smaller economic compensation. The Longshore Act, also known as the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act, allows compensation for dock workers or others who are affiliated with ships but are not seamen. Also, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Longshore Act can supplement a state’s Workers Compensation law but doesn’t supplant it or take its place.

7. Q. What types injury accidents does the Jones Act cover?

A. Many different types of accidents and injuries are covered, such as a slip and fall accident, o an accident involving being pinned under faulty equipment, or an accident involving electric shock from a vessel’s equipment. A Jones Act injury may involve broken bones, or it may involve a debilitating injury such as amputation or paralysis. Generally, if the injury occurs due to lack of proper safety procedures or devices, or unseaworthiness of a vessel, or incompetence or negligence by its captain, crew or owner, then that injury, regardless of the type, is covered by Jones Act protections.

8. Q. Which vessels, ships or rigs does the Jones Act cover?

A. The Jones Act covers numerous types of ships, vessels, rigs or platforms. Among them are   supply boats, tug boats, water taxis, ferries, shrimp boats, trawlers, tankers, barges, semi submersible vessels, riverboats, drill ships, mobile gas or oil platforms or rigs, jack-up rigs, container ships, fishing boats, charter boats and cruise ships. Basically, any vessel on or near water where a worker suffers injury on the job is covered by Jones Act law.

9. Q. In which court would my Jones Act lawsuit be tried?

A. Since the Jones Act is a federal law, your Jones Act lawsuit could be tried in a U.S. district court where the lawsuit’s defendant lives or is based. However, you have the right to file your lawsuit in a state court as well. The defendant would be the owner, employer or captain or crew of a vessel, whom you are suing, and you would be the plaintiff. The U.S. court system has 94 district courts. As an example, if a Jones Act lawsuit named as plaintiff a shipping company or oil company based at the Port of Houston or in the city of Houston, the lawsuit would be tried in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, found in downtown Houston at 515 Rusk St.

10. Q. How can I get a knowledgeable and experienced offshore accident lawyer to take my Jones Act lawsuit case?

A. That’s easy: You can alert longtime injury law firm Jim S. Adler and Associates. Simply submit the free case review form on this page or call, toll-free, to 1-800-566-3434.