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Posted in Jones Act,Louisiana Maritime News,Maritime Law,Maritime Lawsuits,Mississippi Maritime News on January 17, 2011
U.S.D.C. EASTERN DISTRICT NEW ORLEANS, La. – Maritime lawyer, Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP, represent a seaman 32 years old and a resident of Picayune, Mississippi who was severely injured while in the employment of defendant OFFSHORE LIFTBOATS, L.L.C. , his Jones Act employer.
ALLEGATIONS:
On December 17, 2010, the Captain of the Offshore Lifeboats vessel Plaintiff was working on, instructed Plaintiff to perform various tasks on the leg tower of that vessel. In order to reach the elevated area of the leg tower where some of the tasks were to be performed, Plaintiff needed to use a ladder in order to gain access to the area. While descending from the last rung of the ladder onto the deck, Plaintiff slipped and fell when his foot encountered hydraulic fluid on the deck.
PLAINTIFF
Plaintiff is a 32 year old father of two children and is a resident of Picayune, Mississippi. He is currently disabled due to this incident.
INJURIES
SUSTAINED:
Due to the subject incident, Plaintiff sustained a closed head injury, neck and back trauma as well as a serious injury to his knee
DEFENDANT
OFFSHORE LIFTBOATS, L.L.C
The defendant is a Louisiana corporation whose principle place of business is in Cut Off, Louisiana
THE JONES ACT
The Jones Act is a Federal law that regulates shipping, and therefore, job injuries involving “vessels” which are covered under the Jones Act. “Vessels” includes offshore drilling rigs including jack-up drilling rigs, semi-submersible drilling rigs and drill ships. Boats, ships, barges, tugs, crew boats, supply boats, cruise ships, container ship, container ship, fishing ships and boats and even helicopters have been held to be “vessels” under the Jones Act. The Jones Act got its name from U.S. Senator Wesley Jones who sponsored the bill. To be covered under the Jones Act a worker must be an individual (except scientific personnel, sailing school instructors, or sailing school students) engaged or employed in any capacity on board a vessel.
The Jones Act allows an injured employee to file suit directly against their employer, and collect money damages, for any of their employer’s negligence which may have caused or contributed to the employee’s injury. If the company, or a co-employee, was at fault in causing or contributing to your accident and injury, as was the case in Ms. Griffin’s incident, you can collect compensation from your employer for your injury and damages. This law is very different than the general rule that an employee cannot sue their employer even if the employer caused his injury.
There are two important points to remember in regard to a suit against an employer under the Jones Act. First, in order to recover under the Jones Act it must be proven that the employer or co- employees were negligent. The Jones Act is a fault based statute, meaning that you only collect damages if your employer was at fault. This fault can take many forms including the improper or unsafe acts of your co-employees, an unsafe workplace, or unsafe or improper instructions. It is often easy to show that the injury could have been avoided if the company acted in a safer manner.
The Jones Act allows an injured worker to sue his employer for:
* Pain and suffering
* Mental and emotional anguish
* Past lost wages
* Future loss of earning capacity
* Past & Future Medical Expenses
* And other elements of damages
Unlike the workers’ compensation scheme, maritime law allows for the recovery of maintenance & cure benefits. The failure of the employer to pay for a seaman’s medical care or his “down time” due to an injury or illness, may give rise to a claim for punitive damages under the Atlantic Sounding case decided by the United States Supreme Court. Often times the employee is not aware of these benefits. Also, the Jones Act offers an injured employee a far greater scope for recovery; but it is a fault based system as compared to workmans’ compensation which is not fault based. That is why you need representation early.
The Jones Act applies to employees who are injured in the service of a vessel or fleet of vessels, when they contribute to the mission of this vessel. Under current law, a vessel includes: jack-up rigs, semi-submersible rigs, ships, drill barges, drill ships, spud barges, hopper barges, tankers, tugs, towboats, river casino’s, tug boats, shrimp boats, fishing boats, trollers, crew boats, utility boats, supply boats, floaters, offshore support vessels, water taxies and a host of other types of vessels. If the injured worker is working aboard one of these vessels, and their work contributes, in any way, to the overall mission of that vessel, then they are entitled to sue their employers and/or co-employees for injuries
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