The Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104) is the primary law used by seamen to recover compensatory damages from their employers for injuries sustained in accidents occurring on navigable waters. To recover under the Jones Act, an injured seaman must prove that employer negligence caused the accident. This means that…
Seamen injured onboard vessels may be compensated based on two entirely different legal concepts: No-fault and Fault. No-fault benefits include maintenance and cure. These benefits are provided by the employer and end when the injured seaman reaches maximum medical cure. To receive these benefits, the employee need only show that…
Seamen injured on board vessels may be entitled to a wide array of economic and non-economic compensation from their employers and ship owners depending on the circumstances of each case. NO-FAULT BENEFITS Regardless of why a particular accident happens, every injured seaman is entitled to Maintenance & Cure benefits from…
Passengers and seamen seeking to be compensated by vessel owners for personal injuries must show that the accident was caused by a condition onboard which makes the vessel unseaworthy. (Employees may also seek compensation against their employers under the Jones Act.) Unseaworthiness is a modified negligence-based system, rather than one…
Millions of passengers travel annually on cruise ships sailing from Florida ports. Thankfully, most of the voyages are uneventful in terms of negative events. However, some passengers do suffer serious personal injuries and even death through the fault of the cruise ship companies. General Maritime Law governs cases involving cruise…
Injured seamen are entitled to maintenance, cure, and unearned wage benefits regardless of fault. Moreover, as long as the injury or illness occurs while the seaman remains obligated to return to the vessel if called, such as when on shore leave, the benefits should be available, and because close calls…
Under traditional maritime law, a seaman had no cause of action against his employer for injuries caused by the negligence of a fellow seaman. The Osceola, 189 U.W. 158 (1903). This harsh rule changed in 1920, when Congress passed the Jones Act, 46 USC App. Section 688, creating a negligence…
Hurray for the Miami Heat. Boo (and shame on) Micky Arinson, the billionaire owner of the Heat. Micky Arison also owns Carnival Corporation, the world’s largest cruise operator. While the company operates many of its ships from American ports, enjoying the laws and protections only America can afford, it hides…
Tourists and local recreational scuba divers who use the services of dive companies, may wish to take note of an event that happened to a diver in California. A dive company was staging a dive near the oil rig Eureka in 2004 when the a diver surfaced 400 feet away…
Many people mistakenly believe that maintenance and unearned wages for injured seamen are the same benefit. They are not. Seamen injured while working on the high seas are entitled to no-fault benefits, in other words, benefits regardless of why the accident happened. Among those benefits are Maintenance & Cure, and…