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Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. - Jones Act VS Workers Comp
[GRAPHIC: Jones Act VS. Workers Comp]
SCOTT GORDON: Okay, I'd like to talk for a moment about the Jones Act. The Jones Act is a special law enacted roughly in around 1920 under the Merchant Marine Act to protect injured seaman.
It is one of the few areas of the law left in these UnitedStates that is actually favorable to the hurt person. As you know, there has been much tort reform by insurance companies and legislatures to try and say, oh, the lawsuit crisis and blah, blah, blah.
And so but, but Congress passed the Merchant Marine Act, and no state legislature can take those rights away from you. And Congress has failed, or not failed, but they have left alone the Jones Act. And I'd like to talk about it for a moment.
Let's just use--people confuse the Jones Act with Workers Comp. It's really quite different. Let's just use somebody working at Kroger. If somebody was working at Kroger, let's say mopping the floor, and they slipped and fell on the soap water that they put down; they would still receive medical benefits. They would still receive two-thirds of their average weekly wage in, in payments.
Now, if you get hurt, let's say slip and fall on--in a--as a seaman, you dont automatically have a claim. You're supposed to receive maintenance and cure, that is, you know, a daily wage and medical benefits, but that doesnt mean you get money, because the Jones Act is a fault-based system.
So if, if you for instance, were mopping the deck, or swabbing the deck, and you slipped on your own soap water, you may be 100% negligent, and so therefore you may not be successful in your Jones Act claim.
However, if somebody tracked grease up from the engine room on the bottom of their shoes, and then you slipped on that, then that's a fault of a crew member. But it is necessary in a Jones Act claim, and this is very important that you understand this; this is why a lawyer is essential.
It's necessary for you to prove fault on the part of a co-employee or some piece of equipment. And we call that--I'll talk about that later. It's called un-seaworthiness when a piece of equipment actually causes your injury.
But so it's very important you understand that the Jones Act is a fault-based system as opposed to a workers comp system. Thanks.
[GRAPHIC: Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. Jones Act Injury Attorneys Call Toll-Free 800-773-6770 www.offshoreinjuries.com]
