Jones Act Rights’ Category
Sen. John McCain Introduces Legislation to Repeal the Jones Act
Friday, July 9th, 2010
The Jones Act has been a hot topic of discussion since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was discovered. The movement to restrict application of the Jones Act has begun in earnest. The Jones Act requires that all goods shipped between domestic ports in the US, be shipped in vessels that are manufactured in the US, owned by US citizens and manned by US crews.
In the days since the spill was discovered, lawmakers have appealed to Pres. Barack Obama to waive off the provisions of the Jones Act to allow foreign-flagged vessels to help with the oil...
Jones Act Seaman Files Lawsuit over Back Injury
Friday, June 18th, 2010
A seaman has filed a Jones Act lawsuit against an employer over a back injury that he suffered during the course of his employment on one of the company's barges.
According to the lawsuit, the injury occurred on July 23, 2008, when the seaman was performing heavy labor. He sustained injuries to his back and other parts of his body. According to the seaman, he was performing the tasks without the help that he needed. The lawsuit further claims that the employer was aware of the injury risks from the seaman performing extremely strenuous tasks on his own, but allowed...
Smith versus Weeks Marine: Maritime Lawyer Discusses Court Decision on Question of Unseaworthiness in Assault
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
A Louisiana appellate court has upheld a trial court's earlier decision in favor of a seaman who was injured in an assault by two crew members.
In June of 2005, seaman Clarence Smith was woken up from his sleep by two crewmembers, who then proceeded to drag him out, and beat him up. He suffered a head injury, several lacerations, a retinal tear, hemorrhage in the left eye, and multiple abrasions. He also suffered several broken teeth, a temporomandibular joint injury, as well as shoulder and lower back injuries. As a result of the incident, Smith developed post-dramatic stress disorder,...
LECO V. MARTIN OPERATING PARTNERSHIP, L.P. ET AL: Seaman’s Claim Dismissed After He Signs off Rights
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
To an injured worker, the pressure to quickly settle with his employer can be enormous. Unfortunately, such pressure often results in the worker signing away his rights to a claim in the future.
Anthony Leco Jr. worked for Martin Marine as a seaman. He injured his arm and lower back after an accident on a vessel. The company paid for his treatment, and then got him to agree to a settlement of $10,000 to close his claim. Leco took up the offer, and signed the settlement papers. Later, he filed a Jones Act claim of negligence against Martin Marine.
The company...
Seaman Loses Rights to Jones Act Claim, Maintenance and Cure: Why Concealing Injuries at Time of Employment is Never a Good Idea
Sunday, June 6th, 2010
As a maritime lawyer, I cannot stress this enough - crew members must disclose all previous injuries or medical conditions at the time of employment. Concealing such injuries and medical conditions can negatively impact a Jones Act seaman’s claim.
In ATLANTIC SOUNDING CO. INC. V. PETREY, Timothy Petrey, an employee of Atlantic Sounding Company Incorporated, was injured on the job. Atlantic Sounding moved to deny maintenance and cure payouts to Petrey, because his injuries were the result of the dislocation of a pre-existing prosthetic hip Petrey had not disclosed that he had a prosthetic hip at the time...
Injuries during Travel to Vessel Constitute Injuries in Service of Vessel: Maritime Lawyer Analyzes Godbold vs. Maersk line
Saturday, April 17th, 2010
This post is part of my series on important rulings in judicial decisions over the past 12 months that have impacted maritime law.
In Godbold vs. Maersk Line, the court had to decide if injury suffered in the course of travel to a vessel could be taken as having occurred in the service of vessel. Here, the plaintiff Godbold was injured in a motorcycle accident, as he was on his way to his job as a security guard on a military supply ship moored in Louisiana.
On the day of the accident, Godbold was making his daily commute to the vessel,...
Jones Act Seaman Test Has Little to Do with Whether Vessel Belonged to Employer: Maritime Lawyer Summarizes Decision
Thursday, April 15th, 2010
Last year, an appeals court in Louisiana held that a maritime worker had a valid Jones Act claim under the law even if the vessel he was injured on did not belong to the employer.
As I have discussed earlier, Latsis vs. Chandris held that a seaman, in order to be considered a Jones Act Seaman, must have a substantial connection with a vessel, and that the connection must be substantial in both nature and duration. This duration is held at approximately 30% of the time.
In Chad Alex vs. Wild Well Control Inc, a Louisiana court held that the plaintiff...
Punitive Damages Are Now Available to a Jones Act Seaman in Maintenance and Cure Claims
Monday, April 12th, 2010
Arguably the biggest maritime court decision of last year was the one delivered in Atlantic Sounding vs. Townsend. This decision found that there was no reason to deny punitive damages to a Jones Act seaman, who had been denied maintenance and cure benefits.
The Supreme Court ruled that a seaman may be eligible for punitive damages when his employer wrongfully withholds maintenance and cure payments. The Supreme Court held that its earlier decision in Miles vs. Apex, could not be interpreted to mean that a Seaman was not eligible for punitive damages if maintenance and care...
Maritime Lawyer Explains the Importance of Chandris v. Latsis in the Jones act
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
One of the beauties of the Jones Act is that it has continuously evolved since its inception. The questions behind these evolutions have frequently involved questions of vessel status, seaman status and others.
One of the more defining points in the evolution of the Jones Act came when the US Supreme Court held that a seaman could be considered a Jones Act seaman if
He contributed significantly to the mission of the vessel
and
He had a substantial relationship with the vessel both in terms of nature and duration.
Latsis was working as a superintendent engineer on the vessel, SS...
Extraordinary Travails of a Foreign Seaman: A Maritime Lawyer Discusses
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
A Filipino seaman has been hospitalized after he sustained serious injuries in a fall accident on a cargo vessel off Alaska. The seaman apparently fell 16-feet in the cargo hold, and broke his arms. He was airlifted by the Coast Guard, and was taken to a hospital in Dutch Harbor.
Fall accidents on a vessel are extremely common. These can leave a seaman with fractures, amputated limbs and broken arms. Head injuries are common if the head receives the full impact of the fall. Damage to the spinal cord is also often a result of such accidents. At...
