Seamen, Maritime Workers Can Get Injury Compensation Via Jones Act Protections
Countless Americans work every day in tricky, demanding and often threatening circumstances on our waters, whether on a ship or perhaps even an offshore oil rig. But safety measures are supposed to be in place — and often they aren’t. When this is the case, and maritime employees are injured on the job, they must discover a way to restore fiscal steadiness to their lives. Frequently that means looking for protections under the Jones Act.
This 1920 law that’s nearing its hundredth anniversary is technically Jones Act 46 U.S.C, and it also could be called the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. But it’s more casually known simply as the Jones Act, since it was authored by Washington state Sen. Wesley Jones. The law covers many aspects of maritime commerce but includes protections for maritime workers, sailors, seamen and others who toil on our nation’s waters. If those workers are injured, they can pursue economic restitution thru the Jones Act.
Due to the Jones Act, injured seamen or the survivors of sailors who die on the job have a lawful right to seek money recovery by means of a Jones Act claim. This claim can be pressed by a Jones Act lawsuit filed by an experienced injury lawyer or Jones Act lawyer. And such a lawyer or attorney can be discovered at the longtime legal company of Jim S. Adler & Associates, which has helped thousands of Texas injury victims for over 30 years.
The source of a Jones Act injury may be a lack of proper safety cares on board a ship or an offshore platform. It could be flawed or badly maintained equipment on a ship or platform. It may be a generally unsafe environment on board. In any case, if there’s unseaworthiness of a vessel or rig, or laxity of a owner, captain or crew, then the Jones Act can provide hurt workers the protection they want and merit.
What are some kinds of craft on which Jones Act injuries can happen? Among them are tug boats, barges, ferries, water taxis, shrimp boats, supply boats, riverboats, tankers, semi-submersible vessels, trawlers, oil rigs, jack-up rigs and also drill ships. Even if an employee was not killed or hurt aboard such a vessel, but in transport to it, then Jones Act coverage can apply.
Such protection is an injured offshore worker’s legal right, yet on it’s own it isn’t enough. A wise Jones Act attorney must be engaged as an element of the process. This injury attorney or lawyer should be very well versed in the Jones Act’s complexities and must be wary to changes in the act, such as a comprehensive revision and re-codifying of it as lately as 2006.
A Jones Act lawyer also should act as a buffer or a protection between the wounded maritime employee and others who do not want her to become full and correct monetary recompense. That often can be employers who dangle a fast settlement before a hurt worker, but without offering as much money as the injured individual is due under the Jones Act.
A Jones Act lawyer can help a customer avoid this pitfall and instead pursue full and fair finance recovery. Such recovery is maritime employees’ legal right under this law from past times which still holds resolutely in their favour today. When maritime injuries occur, the Jones Act — as it has been for over 9 decades — is there to offer help.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at 5:46 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.