Oftentimes, when someone is injured on the job, they are left to fend for themelves, and both them and their dependants can find themselves in a difficult situation due to the lost income. It is because of this that the Jones Act has provisions in it that provide for the lost wages of a worker who is injured on the job, providing the injury can be shown to be even 1% the fault of the employer.
For instance, if someone is injured and it has been two or three months since they have been able to go to work, then they will be entitled to two or three months wages, as if they had been working that entire time. While this may not sound like much if it is only two or three months, this can amount to a great deal if has been more than a year.
In most cases the statute of limitations in a Jones Act case is limited to three (3) years from the date of the injury. This also holds true when there is a case of unseaworthiness against the owner of a vessel. There may be exceptions to this rule, however, is when you have a case against a vessel that is either owned, operated, or contracted by the federal government of the United States, at which point you may have less time to bring the case to bear.
Often, the employer will pay an injured seaman’s maintenance and cure, while telling the seaman that he or she doesn’t need a lawyer. An injured seaman should always consult with a knowledgeable Jones Act lawyer.
Reeves & Mestayer P.L.L.C
228-374-5151
Negligence
An employer is negligent if he or she committs an act which a person exercising ordinary care would not do under similar circumstances, or fails to do what another person exercising ordinary care would do under similar circumstances.
Unseaworthiness
In addition to being able to recover maintenance and cure, an injured seaman may also be entitled to recover for “unseaworthiness”. This unseaworthiness recovery includes pain and suffering, injury, impairment of earning capacity, hospital bills, medical bills, and all reasonable loses that occur as a result of their injury or illness that can be attributed to the unseaworthiness. This recovery supplements the injured seaman’s maintenance and cure, and can be quite sizeable. Additionally, a seaman does not lose the right to recover for unseaworthiness even if he or she is guilty of contributory negligence. However, any contributory negligence on the part of the injured seaman may reduce the amount of the award.
It is the ship owner’s duty to maintain their vessel in a seaworthy manner. This duty cannot be delegated. In addition to the unseaworthiness of the vessel, the vessel’s equipment, masters, and members of the crew can render a vessel unseaworthy.
Lumpkin, Reeves & Mestayer P.L.L.C
228-374-5151
A seaman who is injured or becomes sick while in the service of a vessel has a right to recover, regardless of whether the seaman or the ship’s owner was negligent in the accident that caused the injury.
A seaman is entitled to maintenance and cure until such time as the seaman is cured, or until everything has been done that can medically be done in the way of working toward a cure. This can include doctors, hospitalization, nursing, medicine, as well as board and lodging that is considered to be similar to what the seaman would have recieved if still onboard the ship. The injured seaman is also entitled to the wages he would have earned throughout the duration of the contract.
Maintenance constitutes the daily payment that would be necessary to pay a seaman for room and board which would otherwise be furnished aboard the vessel. Maintenance begins on the date on which a seaman departs the vessel, not the date of the injury or illness.
Maintenance continues until a seaman reaches maximum medical cure, regardless of whether or not the seaman remains disabled and unable to return to work as a seaman.
Cure can be defined as medical expenses paid by a shipowner to a seaman disabled by illness or injury. These payments are made until the seaman reaches maximum medical cure, or until the individual’s condition has stabilized. Basically, cure is a seaman’s right to medical treatment.
Lumpkin, Reeves & Mestayer P.L.L.C
228-374-5151
A seaman is considered to have reached maximum medical cure when their condition will no longer improve despite further medical treatment. If a seaman becomes disabled in such a way that they cease to recover, and are permanently disabled, then treatment does not entitle them to any further maintenance and cure. When this is in dispute, however, the courts often resolve the dispute in favor of the injured seaman.
Lumpkin, Reeves & Mestayer P.L.L.C
228-374-5151
