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Posted in Jones Act,Maritime Accidents,Maritime Law,Maritime Lawsuits on June 6, 2011
U.S.D.C. EASTERN DISTRICT NEW ORLEANS, La – Louisiana maritime lawyer, Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP, represent a 40 year old tankerman and resident of Great Lakes, Illinois who was seriously injured while in the employment of Defendants BLESSY MARINE BLESSY MARINE SERVICE, INC., his Jones Act employer.
ALLEGATIONS:
Plaintiff, was employed by Defendants as a tankerman aboard the M/V Mary Burke Liles. On or about December 3, 2010, Plaintiff and deckhands were instructed to work on an icy deck of a vessel. The crew was transferring lines, tools, fire extinguishers and spill kits onto two empty barges. While transferring a spill kit in an area with ice on the ground, a co-worker slipped causing the the kit to tumble onto Plaintiff seriously injuring his shoulder and back.
PLAINTIFF:
Plaintiff is a 40 year man who was employed by Defendants as a tankerman aboard the M/V Mary Burke Liles. He is a resident of Great Lakes, Illinois.
INJURIES
SUSTAINED:
When the spill kit fell, it fell onto Plaintiff injuring his shoulder and back. As a result, Plaintiff has two herniated discs.
DEFENDANTS:
BLESSY MARINE BLESSY MARINE SERVICE, INC.
The Defendant is a Louisiana corporation with its principal place of business in Louisiana.
COMMENTS:
A spill kit is a containment unit that is generally used for water, oil, chemicals or hazardous materials. Spill kits come in many varieties and sizes. The particular spill kits that Plaintiff was transferring on the date of the accident weighed between 125-200 pounds.
THE JONES ACT:
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
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
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