Houston, Galveston, New Orleans and Houma, Louisiana Jones Act Lawyers & Maritime Accident Attorneys

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly referred to as the Jones Act, is a federal law that provides remedies to seamen who are injured during the course of their employment on a vessel. It allows injured sailors to recover damages from their employers for the negligence of the ship's owner, the captain, or fellow members of the ship's crew. The Jones Act applies only to seamen, who are persons employed by a vessel "in navigation" and who contribute to the vessel's overall function or purpose. Essentially, these are the people who do the ship's work.

Similar to other parallel statutes designed to protect injured workers, the Jones Act provides for injured seamen to receive "transportation, wages, maintenance and cure". This means it is the ship-owner's responsibility to return the injured seaman home, pay a portion of his lost wages and provide for any and all medical care until the seaman has recovered as much as he or she can.

In addition, an unseaworthiness claim may be pursued if the employer is also the vessel's owner or if the injury was caused by an unsafe condition present on the vessel itself. Violation of a safety statute in causing an injury, as well as failure to provide sufficient medical care following an injury, can also result in employer liability. In fact, seamen may be protected by the Jones Act even if they are not working directly on a vessel when injured, so long as any such temporary assignment was "in the service of the ship".

The Jones Act can also hold an employer liable for the negligence of other employees or individuals for which the employer is responsible. In some cases, even an independent contractor may be seen as an employee under the Jones Act.

Under the Jones Act, the employer of a seaman owes him a higher duty of care than is normally associated with an ordinary negligence case. Any breach of that higher standard of duty, no matter how insignificant, that contributes to causing a seaman's injury may result in employer liability. If a seaman contributed to his own injury, the employer's liability may be reduced, but this will not reduce the amount of compensation available under the act.

A claim under the Jones Act must generally be brought within three years of the injury in order to avoid the statute of limitations.

If you or someone you know has been injured at sea, it is imperative that you seek legal aid as quickly as possible. Contact the Texas maritime Law Firm of Fitts Zehl by calling our toll-free number (800) 99-FITTS or by e-mailing us at info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com.

The Jones Act-Protecting the Rights of Seamen
Posted by: rzehl
February 19, 2009

Under the Jones Act, seamen are considered wards of the admiralty court. This favored standing means that those individuals who meet the requirements and qualify as seamen injured in the service of their vessel are entitled to substantial benefits under the Act. The Jones Act and general maritime law provide maintenance and cure to any injured seaman. In addition, injured seamen can bring actions for negligence and/or unseaworthiness against the vessel owner, their employer or a responsible third party. Under the Jones Act, both the causation and negligence standards are relaxed. Essentially, an unseaworthy vessel that causes an injury results in almost strict liability for the vessel owner.

Navigating the complexities of the Jones Act can be very difficult for even a seasoned attorney. Don’t trust your case to just anyone; contact the experienced Jones Act attorneys at the Fitts Zehl Law Firm by phone at (713) 491-6064 or by email at info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com. We aggressively represent Jones Act injury clients from every corner of the Gulf Coast region including Port Aransas, Houston, New Orleans and Houma.

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The Idea Behind the Implied Warranty of Seaworthiness
Posted by: rzehl
February 12, 2009

The implied warranty of seaworthiness exists to protect seamen from potentially dangerous conditions present onboard a vessel that are beyond their control. This doctrine arises out of the ship itself and must be applied against the owner of that particular vessel. The implied warranty of seaworthiness allows an injured seaman to hold his employer liable for any dangerous conditions onboard a vessel that contributed to an injury. These dangerous conditions, like missing safety gear, faulty equipment or slippery deck surfaces, can be enough to have a vessel declared unseaworthy. Upon a finding of unseaworthiness, an injured seaman may recover under the Jones Act for the negligence of the vessel owner in maintaining the ship.

In addition, the vessel owner is required to provide maintenance and cure for any injured seaman until that individual reaches maximum medical improvement. This means that a vessel owner is obligated, regardless of fault, to cover an injured seaman’s medical and living expenses until that individual reaches the point that he will no longer medically improve. A word of caution is in order, however, to those who may think that maintenance and cure is going to cover everything. The statutory amounts for maintenance and cure are extremely low and will barely support a man and his family, if at all, during recovery.

If you or a loved one has been injured offshore contact the experienced Jones Act attorneys at the Fitts Zehl Law Firm by phone at (713) 491-6064 or email at info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com. We zealously represent injured seamen from throughout the Gulf Coast region including: Houma, Houston, Corpus Christi and New Orleans.

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Jones Act-Who Exactly Should I Sue?
Posted by: rzehl
February 03, 2009

The decision regarding whom to sue is not always an easy one. While it is most often the true owner of a ship that is the proper party to sue, other individuals can potentially be sued under ownership pro hac vice. Essentially, this means a person with sufficient control of the vessel may be found to have the same liability as a true owner. For example, a bareboat charterer, one who contractually accepts exclusive possession, command and control of a vessel for a set period of time, could be held liable as an owner pro hac vice.

When a vessel is operated by one other than the owner, a fact question may arise regarding whether the seaman was actually employed by the owner or operator. This is to be determined by the jury analyzing the specific facts of each case.

If you or someone you know has been injured offshore contact the experienced Jones Act lawyers at the Fitts Zehl Law Firm by phone at (713) 491-6064 or by email at gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com. Our trial attorneys have years of experience representing Jones Act clients throughout the Gulf Coast region including: Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida.

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