Houston is one of the top cities in America for domestic maritime activity; it has the country’s third-largest marina and the Port of Houston, with tens of thousands of workers on dock warehouses, marinas, ships, and shipyards. Not surprisingly, many Houston workers suffer injuries every year that qualify for compensation under the Jones Act.
If you have been hurt on the job as a seaman in Houston, TX, you may be eligible to file a Jones Act claim for compensation. Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers has over 45 years of combined experience representing injured maritime workers.
Contact our Houston personal injury law office today to reach out to a Jones Act lawyer ready to help you. Call us today at (713) 500-5000.
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Jones Act cases are far more complicated than typical personal injury cases. These cases often involve life-changing injuries and complex maritime laws. Moreover, it can also be difficult to investigate and gather evidence of injuries that occurred offshore. You deserve a Houston personal injury lawyer experienced in maritime law to help you recover the compensation you need.
Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers has 45 years of combined experience handling complex maritime law cases. Founding attorney Brian White is nationally recognized and a member of the invitation-only Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. He is a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer.
Count on Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers to protect your best interests and fight for the compensation you deserve. Call our law office in Houston, Texas, today for a free consultation to discuss what we can do to help you.
Why It Is So Important To Hire An Experienced Jones Act Lawyer After A Maritime Accident
The Jones Act (46 U.S. Code Section 30104), also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, is a federal law regulating personal injury and wrongful death in the maritime industry. This federal legislation gives injured seamen the right to sue their employer for compensation.
The Merchant Marine Act is similar to workers’ compensation, but it works slightly differently. Seamen are not eligible for workers’ comp benefits under federal or state law. Instead, they must pursue compensation for on-the-job injuries through a Jones Act claim.
The Jones Act covers all water-going vessels and ships and requires that vessels be maintained in seaworthy condition. This act allows injured seamen to pursue compensation against the vessel owner, captain, and other crew members. However, unlike workers’ compensation, a Jones Act claim requires proving negligence.
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A seaman can include a captain, crew member, or any other ship worker. Common occupations include commercial fishermen, sea captains, ship chandler, and non-disabled seaman. Jobs that are not considered traditional seaman careers also qualify, including cruise ship bartenders and chefs, dive instructors and masters on charter diving vessels, commercial divers, and welders on jack-up vessels.
If you are a harbor worker, longshoreman, or contract worker, you are typically not entitled to compensation under the Jones Act. Instead, you may be entitled to benefits through the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA).
At a minimum, a successful Jones Act case entitles you to maintenance and cure benefits. In the case of unseaworthiness, you may be entitled to additional compensation.
Who Is Covered By The Jones Act?
The Jones Act and general maritime law entitle injured seamen to maintenance. This term refers to wages, room, and board, beginning when the worker leaves the ship until they reach Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) or return to their job.
An employer must usually pay your cost of living as maintenance. This weekly rate covers housing, utilities, food, transportation, and other basic living costs.
Injured seamen are also entitled to compensation for reasonable medical expenses in a successful Jones Act claim. These cure payments for medical treatment continue until you reach MMI.
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The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 requires vessel owners to maintain their vessel in safe, seaworthy condition and provide a reasonably safe workplace. If the vessel, masters, crew, or equipment are found to be unseaworthy, an injured worker can recover compensation beyond maintenance and cure.
Surviving family members of a deceased seaman may seek compensation under the Jones Act for work-related deaths. Under the Jones Act, a wrongful death action may be used to recover compensation for funeral expenses, lost wages, medical bills, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.
To recover compensation through a Jones Act claim, injured workers are required to prove the captain, owner, or crew was negligent and responsible for their injuries.
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A court generally considers standards provided by OSHA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and maritime safety authorities to determine if an employer was negligent and failed to provide a safe workplace.
It’s important to note that the Jones Act has a lower burden of proof than typical personal injury cases. In a standard personal injury case, you must prove the defendant caused your injury. With a Jones Act claim, you only need to show that your employer’s negligence played a role in your accident.
You are still entitled to recover compensation even if you are partially at fault for your accident. However, if your own negligence contributed to your injuries, the compensation you recover may be reduced accordingly. Your maintenance and cure benefits for lost earnings and medical treatment will not be affected even if you contributed to the accident.
Jones Act Lawyers
You have just three years from the date of your injury to file a Jones Act claim. This statute of limitations can be extended in some cases, such as with occupational illness or an injury that is not discovered right away.
Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers understands that seamen face a dangerous job. We will help you pursue the benefits you deserve after an injury. Contact our law firm today to schedule a free case review with a Houston Jones Act lawyer prepared to fight on your behalf.
United States Department of Transportation (DOT): An important part of the department, find out more about transportation of dangerous materials and information on the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code.Inland and offshore maritime work are dangerous. The U.S. Congress recognized this danger and the need for extra protections for maritime employees when it passed the Jones Act, also known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. Under this federal law, if a seaman suffers a maritime injury or wrongful death, he or she may be entitled to monetary compensation under maritime law and the Jones Act. An injured seaman may also be entitled to immediate payment of medical bills and maintenance payments.
Why You Need A Jones Act Lawyer
If you or a loved one have been injured or killed as a result of maritime work, our Jones Act lawyers can help you pursue compensation for damages including medical expenses, lost wages, and workers’ compensation benefits. Call or request a free case evaluation to get help with your case. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t get paid unless you win.
The Jones Act provides protection for seamen in the event of maritime accidents, negligence, injury, and unseaworthiness. Maritime law is very complex. The law has specific rules covering on-the-job personal injuries including, offshore injuries and injuries in navigable waters. Many mariners are not covered by a workers’ compensation system. That means an injured seaman will likely have to prove that his or her employer was at fault in causing the accident. If an employee can show that the employer was responsible for his or her injuries, the employee may be entitled to money damages for medical treatment, lost wages, disability, and pain and suffering.
Injury lawyers at the law firm of Brown and Crouppen have represented maritime workers covered under the Jones Act and general maritime law for many years. Our maritime attorneys know the law and have extensive experience fighting for the rights of maritime workers.
How A Lawyer Can Help During Jones Act Injury Arbitration
Being hurt while working a maritime job can mean more than just having to worry about medical expenses and wage loss. Maritime workers who report injuries at work often face immediate discipline and retaliation from management. The injured seaman or offshore worker’s family members suffer too.
Our Jones Act lawyers have decades of combined experience filing Jones Act cases and representing victims of maritime injuries in federal courts. We focus our attention on providing critical legal advice and helping injured seamen and offshore workers through this difficult time in all aspects of their case, from the living room to the courtroom.
Maritime employers and their insurance companies are only concerned with minimizing the cost of your Jones Act claim. They do not care whether you or your loved one have been seriously hurt or whether you will miss work in the future. The claims representative’s goal is to pay injured workers and their families as little as possible for their Jones Act injury claims. An experienced maritime lawyer like the ones at the Brown & Crouppen law firm can provide critical legal representation to ensure that your personal injury case is handled fairly.
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Getting started is easy. You can call us at 800-536-4357 for a free consultation, or tell us about your case with our Free Case Review form. And remember, there’s no upfront cost to you — if you don’t get paid, we don’t get paid.While the workers’ compensation laws in Kentucky and Indiana protect employees who work on land, they do not protect employees
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