Questions of Jones Act seaman status can be extremely complicated, which is why you need to consult with a specialized maritime lawyer, and not just any personal injury lawyer when you have to determine such status. The family of a riverboat casino employee in Louisiana may find that these questions severely impact their option for recovery.

In October last year, a 41-year-old employee of the Diamond Jacks Casino died when he fell into the Red River. Investigators believe that the employee Johnny Mark Williams opened an access door, and fell into the water. Other employees ran to rescue him, but it was too late Williams drowned. Rescue efforts were hampered by the rough waters.

Riverboat casino workers in particular, have found it tricky to prove Jones Act seaman status. While some rulings (Isenhour V. Harvey’s Casino) have found that employees of boat casinos do in fact quality as Jones Act seamen, other employees have found it harder to claim protection under the Jones Act.

Most notably in 2008, a riverboat casino employee Tina Conder filed a Jones Act lawsuit against Caesars Casino in Indiana. The lawsuit was related to medical complications she claimed were caused by flea bites she suffered while working as a card dealer on the boat. While a circuit judge ruled that she was in fact a Jones Act seaman, the company appealed. A trial court dismissed her complaint.

The question about Jones Act seaman status for a riverboat casino employee comes from whether the vessel is indefinitely moored. Employees of riverboats that are connected to land and land-based utilities, and where the boat owners do not intend for it to float on navigable waters in the near future, may not qualify as Jones Act seamen. Questions of status are much easier to resolve when the casino is actually in motion on water, like a cruise ship casino or any other floating casino.

When you consider the fact that there is a huge difference between Workers’ Compensation payouts that non- seamen may receive, and settlements under the Jones Act which can be substantial, it‘s easy to understand why it’s important for an injured worker or the family of a deceased worker to file their claim under the right act.

Maritime lawyer Brian Beckcom is a Board Certified trial lawyer, whose primary focus is the representation of injured Jones Act seamen, Tankerrmen, galleyhands, deckhands, drillers, oilrig workers and offshore workers in maritime accidents in Texas, around the country and in international waters.