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.

When Ships Collide: Presumption of Fault
Posted by: rzehl
April 30, 2009

When a moving vessel strikes a non-moving vessel, the moving vessel is presumed to be at fault. This occurrence, known as an allision, differs from a collision in that one of the vessels involved must be anchored or moored to a fixed position. This presumption can be rebutted but only if the moving vessel demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that the moving vessel acted with reasonable care, the stationary ship caused the allision or the contact was an unavoidable accident.
According to maritime law, damages stemming from negligent piloting of the ship will result in the liability in personam of both the vessel's owner and operator.
From bad weather to rough seas, offshore workers face a large number of naturally occurring dangers every day. The negligent operation of a vessel is an unacceptable hazard to add to those ever-present dangers. The only way to deter this kind of activity is to hold the offenders accountable.
In case of an injury resulting from an allision, contact the experienced Texas Jones Act attorneys at the law firm of Fitts Zehl by phone at (713) 491-6064 or email info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com. Our aggressive legal team will fight hard to earn you every dollar that you have coming. Contact us today.

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Barratry-What You Need to Know
Posted by: rzehl
April 23, 2009

The dangers of working at sea are numerous. Be it inclement weather, the negligence of a crewmember or the unseaworthiness of the vessel itself, there is no shortage of things that can go wrong. Unfortunately, there is another type of danger that offshore workers need to be aware of and that is the danger of barratry.

Barratry is defined as misconduct on the part of the ship’s crew or its captain that results in damages to the vessel or its cargo. This can include stealing the ship itself or any part of its cargo, scuttling the ship and even deserting the ship. In addition, any crewmember injuries stemming from a shipmaster’s act of barratry may be pursued under the Jones Act.

Remember, the Jones Act exists to help you. It is in place in order to provide a remedy to any seaman injured due to the negligence of his employer or co-workers, regardless of fault.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of barratry, contact the experienced Texas and Louisiana Jones Act attorneys by phone (713) 491-6064 or email info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com. We will not rest until you are fully compensated for your losses.

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Jones Act-Proving Negligence
Posted by: rzehl
April 14, 2009

Following an offshore injury, it becomes necessary to establish employer negligence in order to recover under the Jones Act. The burden of proving negligence rests squarely on the plaintiff. Fortunately, in Jones Act cases, only a small amount of evidence is necessary to uphold a finding of negligence under the given facts. Additionally, in Jones Act cases, the employer may not utilize any common law defenses and for all intents and purposes the determination rests solely upon whether or not employer negligence played even the slightest role in the incident that is the basis of the suit. The burden of the seaman is considered met, and the obligation of the employer to pay damages manifests, when there is the slightest proof, even if it is entirely circumstantial, to persuade the jury that the employer was in any way negligent.

The theory of assumed risk, where the Plaintiff knowingly undertakes a dangerous duty, may not be relied upon as a defense in an action under the Jones Act. In addition, contributory negligence, the idea that the Plaintiff contributed to his own injury, does not operate as a defense to a suit under the act. Instead, it may only serve as a factor to be considered by the jury in reducing the amount of damages that will be recoverable.

However, as is illustrated by the case of Diamond Offshore Management Co. v. Guidry, 171 S.W.3d 840 (Tex. 2005), there are certain circumstances under which you would not be able to recover for your injuries. In this case, a seaman acted inappropriately while on shore leave and became intoxicated. Because of his course of conduct prior to being injured he was deemed to be outside the scope of his employment and thus precluded from collecting damages under the Act.

If you or someone you know has been injured offshore contact the experienced Texas and Louisiana Jones Act attorneys at Fitts Zehl. We have the resources and expertise necessary to get you the money you deserve. Contact us today by phone (713) 491-6064 or email info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com.

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