When a person is killed on the “high seas” due to a wrongful act, federal law provides a remedy in the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C. §30302. “High seas” is generally defined as beyond the territorial waters of any of the fifty states, that is, 12 miles or more...
jones act
The Jones Act Plaintiff (For Lawyers)
The remedies available to an injured seaman are three: so-called Jones Act negligence, the common law tort of Unseaworthiness, and Maintenance and Cure, the recovering seaman’s ancient right to a stipend and medical care. Each has low hurdles to establishing...
Schooner Accidents
An injury aboard a commercial schooner is subject to the admiralty law of maritime personal injuries. That means whether the ship (or owner) is liable for the injury depends in large part on the status of the injured person. Was the injured person a paid crewmember,...
Covid and the Jones Act
A seaman covered by the Jones Act contracts Covid from another crewmember and suffers long term illness (long Covid). Is the ship liable to the sailor, under either the Jones Act or the Unseaworthiness doctrine? Here’s a brief recap of the remedies available to an...
A Bad Way to Lose a Case
Suppose you were hurt in a shipboard or fishing boat accident and have a Jones Act (or Unseaworthiness) claim. You message your girlfriend from the hospital and tell her all about it – there’s a long thread of detailed messages, you telling what happened, maybe saying...
The Jones Act Plaintiff
This is a long piece I wrote for a legal journal, not for the general audience, but it has a lot of solid information all the same. The Jones Act Plaintiff The remedies available to an injured seaman are three: so-called Jones Act negligence, the common law tort of...
For Want of a Nail
Not long ago a case with an interesting and instructional fact pattern came my way. My client, “Ted”, was an older man who lived, with his wife and grandson, in a rented house. One day roofers showed up, tore off the existing metal drip edge, and in a day or two had a...
Covid and the Mariner
COVID and the MarinerA seaman covered by the Jones Act contracts Covid from another crewmember and dies. Is the ship liable to the sailor’s estate, under either the Jones Act or the Unseaworthiness doctrine? Here’s a brief recap of the remedies available to an injured...
Crew Agreements? Yes, crew agreements.
Yes, crew agreements. Federal law requires that the owner of a fishing vessel sailing from a U.S. port and of 20 gross tons or over must have a written employment agreement with each seaman. The agreement must state the effective dates of the agreement, and “the terms...
Loss of the El Faro
The most poignant detail of the El Faro foundering was, to me, the bashed up lifeboat found floating. Lifeboats are strongly attached to their ships and are unlikely to break free even in very heavy weather, so it appears the crew tried to launch this lifeboat, in 130...