OVERVIEW

The marine environment is hazardous. Marine employment requires extensive training, skill, and care. However, even the most careful and experienced seaman cannot guard against equipment failure or the negligence of others. If you have been injured while working as a member of a crew of a vessel, you could be a seaman entitled to benefits that maritime law provides.

If you are injured in a maritime environment, your remedies can come from a variety of sources depending on where and how the injury occurred. The Jones Act applies to seamen injured while employed as a member of the crew of a ship or vessel. Remedies available under this Act include the old maritime benefits of “maintenance” and “cure” along with wages and other expenses. There is also the Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act that applies to those employees who do not qualify as a Jones Act “seaman.” This Act is also used for land-based workers so long as the disability or death results from an injury occurring upon the navigable waters of the United States. Remedies available for those workers qualifying under the Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act include medical expenses, disability payments, and lost wages. The maritime remedies of “maintenance” and “cure” are not available under the Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.

There is no Workers’ Compensation for seamen as there is for land-based workers. Seamen received their benefits through a patchwork of remedies developed by Congress and the Courts. These remedies are solely for seamen and fall under the title of maritime law. Maritime law involves complicated, unique laws that most lawyers are neither familiar with nor encounter on a regular basis. This lack of experience or comfort with boating and marine law denies you the quality of representation you deserve.

Benefits under laws such as the Jones Act and the Longshore Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act are available for qualifying maritime workers. These laws require special knowledge and experience to navigate through. Without such experienced attorneys, your chances of recovery may be lost at sea.

The Jones Act and Maritime and Offshore injury law information offered by Gordon & Elias, LLP and contained herein, regarding Texas Jones Act and Texas Maritime and Offshore injury statutes and Texas Jones Act and Gulf of Mexico or Texas inland waterway claimants' rights is general in scope. No attorney client relationship with our Texas Jones Act and Texas Maritime injury lawyers or Texas Offshore injury attorneys is hereby formed nor is the injury information herein intended as formal legal advice. Please contact a Texas Jones Act and Texas Maritime injury attorney or Texas Offshore injury lawyer regarding your specific inquiry.