The Longshore and Harbor Workers Act Addresses Workers’ Compensation Claims
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The Longshore and Harbor Workers Act enables seamen to receive workers’ compensation claims when injured. While not one and the same, both the Jones Act and workers’ compensation award injured seamen monies on the job. With workers’ compensation, employees simply need to be injured on the job to receive medical and financials benefits.
In a Jones Act claim, however, a maritime worker may seek damages for an injury they’ve suffered, but only after they have proven their employer to be negligent in causing that injury. The Longshore and Harbor Workers Act facilitated the rights for seamen.
What is a Jones Act Claim?
First off, all maritime workers are entitled to maintenance and cure benefits no matter how the injury occurred, as long as the injury happened while the worker was on the job. Maintenance and cure benefits pay only for medical costs, until a doctor has deemed the worker no longer able to improve, and a small daily stipend. A Jones Act claim can allow the injured worker to receive many types of compensation.
Some Jones Act damages a worker may seek include lost wages, lost fringe benefits, physical pain, suffering and any additional medical expenses incurred. Workers may be able to seek punitive damages, as established in the Supreme Court case Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend in 2009.
Qualifying for a Jones Act Claim
Many types of maritime workers may be eligible to file a Jones Act claim if he or she is hurt on the job. Eligible workers could include the captain, on-board engineers, fishermen, deckhands and other ship and vessel crew members. In order to qualify for filing a Jones Act claim against an employer under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act, a worker needs only to meet a few requirements.
The requirements that the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act helped define are that:
• the worker must be considered a seaman, working at least 30 percent of the time aboard a ship or vessel in navigable waters;
• the worker contributes to the overall function or mission of the vessel;
• the worker’s relationship with the vessel is substantial in both length and nature;
• the worker suffered an injury during the course of his or her job; and
• the worker’s injury was preventable, resulting from the negligence from the employer or a fellow coworker.
In addition to filing a Jones Act claim based on employer negligence, workers may also file a claim based on unseaworthiness. This type of claim alleges a worker’s injury came about because the vessel on which he or she was working was unfit for navigable waters or for its intended purpose. These claims can be lodged against the owner of the vessel or, if the worker’s employer owns the vessel outright, then the employer themselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Young Firm
Maritime and admiralty lawyer Timothy J. Young graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School in 1993. Licensed to practice in both Louisiana and Texas, he is an active member of the American Association for Justice and the Louisiana Association for Justice, including the admiralty sections of both associations. Mr. Young has given talks to lawyers in other states regarding the practice of maritime law.
At The Young Firm, our maritime and admiralty attorneys are dedicated to providing superior legal counsel to clients injured as a result of another party's reckless, careless, or negligent conduct. We meticulously prepare each case and are committed to protecting the rights of the catastrophically injured. For more than 50 years, our attorneys have been focusing on the practice of maritime/admiralty law.
Copyright The Young Firm
More information about The Young Firm
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
What is a Jones Act Claim?
First off, all maritime workers are entitled to maintenance and cure benefits no matter how the injury occurred, as long as the injury happened while the worker was on the job. Maintenance and cure benefits pay only for medical costs, until a doctor has deemed the worker no longer able to improve, and a small daily stipend. A Jones Act claim can allow the injured worker to receive many types of compensation.
Some Jones Act damages a worker may seek include lost wages, lost fringe benefits, physical pain, suffering and any additional medical expenses incurred. Workers may be able to seek punitive damages, as established in the Supreme Court case Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend in 2009.
Qualifying for a Jones Act Claim
Many types of maritime workers may be eligible to file a Jones Act claim if he or she is hurt on the job. Eligible workers could include the captain, on-board engineers, fishermen, deckhands and other ship and vessel crew members. In order to qualify for filing a Jones Act claim against an employer under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act, a worker needs only to meet a few requirements.
The requirements that the Longshore and Harbor Workers Act helped define are that:
• the worker must be considered a seaman, working at least 30 percent of the time aboard a ship or vessel in navigable waters;
• the worker contributes to the overall function or mission of the vessel;
• the worker’s relationship with the vessel is substantial in both length and nature;
• the worker suffered an injury during the course of his or her job; and
• the worker’s injury was preventable, resulting from the negligence from the employer or a fellow coworker.
In addition to filing a Jones Act claim based on employer negligence, workers may also file a claim based on unseaworthiness. This type of claim alleges a worker’s injury came about because the vessel on which he or she was working was unfit for navigable waters or for its intended purpose. These claims can be lodged against the owner of the vessel or, if the worker’s employer owns the vessel outright, then the employer themselves.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The Young Firm
Maritime and admiralty lawyer Timothy J. Young graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School in 1993. Licensed to practice in both Louisiana and Texas, he is an active member of the American Association for Justice and the Louisiana Association for Justice, including the admiralty sections of both associations. Mr. Young has given talks to lawyers in other states regarding the practice of maritime law.
At The Young Firm, our maritime and admiralty attorneys are dedicated to providing superior legal counsel to clients injured as a result of another party's reckless, careless, or negligent conduct. We meticulously prepare each case and are committed to protecting the rights of the catastrophically injured. For more than 50 years, our attorneys have been focusing on the practice of maritime/admiralty law.
Copyright The Young Firm
More information about The Young Firm
View all articles published by The Young Firm
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
