Undefeated Houston Maritime Lawyers
When a maritime or offshore accident occurs, the Jones Act serves as a crucial lifeline for seamen and offshore workers. This federal law provides a path to justice and compensation for those who suffer catastrophic injuries on the job, especially since most maritime workers in Texas are not eligible for state workers’ compensation benefits.
However, it’s not always easy to determine if the Jones Act applies to your case and what your options are. Navigating maritime law is not only difficult, but nearly impossible without expert guidance.
Read on to learn more about your rights under the Jones Act and how our undefeated maritime accident attorneys can stand up, fight, and win for you and your family.
What Is the Jones Act?
The Jones Act, formally known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, is a pivotal piece of legislation designed to support the U.S. merchant marine and protect the rights of the nation’s maritime workers.
This act allows injured maritime workers to seek compensation for injuries sustained on the job, covering both economic and non-economic damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Maritime workers face some of the highest risks of serious injury in any industry. The Jones Act not only provides relief for sailors, crewmembers, oil rig workers, and others who are injured while working at sea, but it also holds employers accountable when their negligence or reckless actions lead to injury or death.
Seeking Compensation Under the Jones Act
To seek compensation under the Jones Act, the following criteria must be met:
- You must meet the legal definition of a “seaman.”
- Your injury must have occurred during the course of your employment.
- Your injury must be a result of negligence on the part of your employer or a fellow employee.
In order to receive compensation under the Jones Act, injured seaman and their survivors must file their claim within three years from the date of the injury or qualifying event.
However, it is important to take action as soon as you can because the longer you wait, the more difficult it becomes to hold the responsible parties fully accountable.
Only an experienced attorney knows how to immediately level the playing field. Our lawyers have used the Jones Act, among other maritime laws, to recover Billions on behalf of injured offshore workers and their families, including some of the largest record-breaking verdicts and settlements against the biggest offshore oil and gas companies in history.
Why Is the Jones Act Important?
The Jones Act is essential because it protects your rights as a seaman.
In an industry fraught with dangers, from offshore oil rig explosions to head injuries, this law not only safeguards the well-being of maritime workers but also discourages employers from prioritizing profits over safety. When employers do put workers at risk, the Jones Act ensures they are held accountable.
Who Is Covered by the Jones Act?
To qualify as a seaman under the Jones Act, you must spend at least 30% of your time aboard a moveable, sea-going vessel. Most maritime workers qualify as a seaman because they not only work long hours aboard fishing boats, oil tankers, semisubmersibles, barges or other vessels, but also eat, sleep, and live onboard for extended periods.
For employees to be eligible for Jones Act benefits, they must work aboard a vessel that is operating within the U.S. and is in navigation—meaning it is capable of moving and not permanently moored or dry-docked.
Vessels that qualify under the Jones Act include:
- Oil rigs
- Fishing boats
- Shrimp boats
- Dive boats
- Charter boats
- Cruise ships
- Floating cranes
- Jack-ups
- Drill ships
- Tugs and towboats
- Cargo ships
- Construction barges
- Dredges
- Chemical ships
- Research vessels
Vessels that do not qualify include those permanently anchored or incapable of self-propulsion, such as stationary platforms.
Additionally, contract workers, longshoreman and harbor workers who load and unload cargo from vessels, and those who work on fixed platforms, typically cannot bring Jones Act claims. However, these workers often have rights under other maritime laws, such as the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
Am I a Jones Act Seaman?
The Jones Act provides protection only to those who qualify as “seamen” under federal law.
According to Title 46, Section 10101 of the U.S. Code, a seaman is defined as “an individual (except scientific personnel, a sailing school instructor, or a sailing school student) engaged or employed in any capacity on board a vessel.”
Whether you qualify as a Jones Act seaman depends on factors like your duties, your relationship to the vessel, and the circumstances of your injury.
However, if you can answer “yes” to the following questions, you may very well be a Jones Act seaman:
- Do you work aboard a “vessel” or an identifiable fleet of vessels under common ownership?
- Is the vessel or fleet “in navigation” or actively in operation?
- Do you have a “permanent connection” or substantial relationship to the vessel or fleet?
- Do you contribute to the overall function or mission of your vessel or fleet?
Consulting with an experienced offshore accident lawyer is the only way to determine your legal options under maritime law and your best course of action. Even if the Jones Act doesn’t apply to your case, other maritime laws may still offer you significant legal protection and avenues for compensation.
What Are My Rights Under the Jones Act?
If you qualify as a Jones Act seaman and have been injured offshore, you are entitled to several important rights.
You have the right to be transported ashore for medical treatment. Your employer is responsible for covering the cost of this treatment, and you are free to choose your own doctor—we strongly encourage you to do so.
You have the right to maintenance and cure. Your employer must pay you “maintenance” benefits, which cover your daily room and board. This typically amounts to $30 to $40 per day.
You have the right to sue your employer for negligence. If your injury was caused by your employer’s or a fellow employee’s negligence, you can hold them legally accountable. Additionally, the Jones Act also allows surviving family members to bring a wrongful death claim if the death of their loved one occurred as a result of the employer’s negligence or the unseaworthiness of the vessel.
However, to successfully pursue a claim, you’ll need a skilled maritime attorney who can thoroughly investigate the accident and prove that someone else’s actions on the vessel contributed to your injuries.
You don’t need to prove that your employer’s negligence was the sole cause of your injuries—only that it played a role. This means you may still recover Jones Act benefits even if you were partially responsible for your own injuries.
At Zehl & Associates, we don’t just assemble a team of top attorneys, safety experts, and engineers to prove what happened, we go further by demonstrating how your accident could—and should—have been prevented in the first place. This meticulous approach has consistently resulted in record-setting victories for our clients.
How Zehl & Associates Can Help If You Were Injured Offshore
After an offshore accident, your employer may promise to take care of you, but their top priority is to save money by paying you as little as possible for your injuries and losses. NEVER accept any settlement offers from your employer or sign anything the insurance company sends you before speaking to an attorney — they will never offer you a fair settlement.
You need to look out for yourself and your family, and you deserve the best legal team on your side. At Zehl & Associates, we have the resources, skills, and experience to take on the largest companies in the world and not only win, but recover the maximum compensation possible for our clients.
Once hired, we do everything in our power to make sure you never have to worry about your family’s financial future ever again. We ensure that you receive the top medical treatment for your injuries, assist with medical bills and reasonable living expenses while your case is pending, and offer around the clock support, so you and your family can focus on what matters most.
Our recent victories on behalf of maritime accident victims include:
- $30M won for a Jones Act seaman who sustained a mild to moderate traumatic brain injury while working offshore
- $9.1M won for an offshore worker who sustained a concussion and neck and back injuries while working on a jack-up rig
- $7.6M won for a Jones Act Seaman in Louisiana Federal Court
- $5.5M won for an offshore worker — 10X the initial offer — after one of the largest offshore drillers in the World tried to blame our client for his own injuries
Undefeated Maritime Injury Lawyers: Call 1-888-603-3636 for a Free Consult
With Billions won, our history of record-setting verdicts and settlements for injured offshore workers across Texas, Louisiana, and the United States has distinguished our Houston Maritime lawyers as the best in the country. We do whatever it takes to ensure that our clients and their families are fully compensated for all their injuries and damages.
Don’t take chances with your future. Contact our undefeated maritime lawyers for a free consultation at 1-888-603-3636 or by sending us a confidential email through our contact form.
We’ll answer your questions, explain your options, and make sure you have the information you need to do what’s best for you and your family.