What is The Jones Act?

The Jones Act allows an injured worker, or his estate in the case of death, to bring a negligence action against the employer if the injury or death occurred in the course of employment and the employer is at least partially at fault. The Jones Act allows claims against employers even if the worker is more at fault than the employer. The worker can collect damages from the employer in proportion to the percentage the employer was at fault.

The Dysart Law Firm has successfully established fault on the part of maritime employers in hundreds of cases, even cases which other lawyers have turned down. The Dysart Law Firm is centrally located on the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri and works with several investigators along the waterways of the United States in establishing fault against the employer.

Questions/Answers About Your Claim:

Question: What are my rights when injured on the job?

Answer: Individuals making a living working on navigable rivers and lakes are provided with three separate remedies for injury or death occurring in the course of employment. First, the vessel owner warranties the vessel’s seaworthiness. Second, the vessel owner or employer is required to provide “maintenance and cure” if you get injured on the job. Third, a worker may bring a lawsuit against is employer for negligence.

Question: When I’m injured on the job, what do I do about seeing a doctor?

Answer: An injured worker generally has the right to choose his own doctor. However, where the employer refers the worker to a free public health service and the worker refuses and sees his own doctor, unless the worker can prove the public services are inadequate, he forfeits his right to reimbursement for the medical care received. In contract, where the employer refers the worker to a private doctor, the burden shifts to the employer to prove that the worker’s doctor provided unnecessary treatment or charged unreasonable fees.

Question: How long can I get maintenance and cure?

Answer: An injured worker is entitled to maintenance and cure until he reaches maximum medical recovery. An injured worker reaches maximum medical recovery when medical treatment will no longer improve the worker’s condition. The traditional purpose of maintenance and cure is to sustain the worker while he is injured, pending his return to work. If the worker is unable to fully recover from his injury he must pursue other remedies, such as suing under the Jones Act.

Question: How long can I wait to pursue my legal rights?

Answer: You should pursue your legal rights as soon as possible. For instance, injured workers are given a limit of three years from the time of their injuries to file a claim for compensation under the Jones Act. You should consult a competent attorney to learn exactly how long you have to pursue your particular case.

• Golf Coast Mariners Association www.gulfcoastmariners.org
• Coast Guard www.uscg.mil
• Navigation Information Connection www.mvr.usace.army.mil
• Midland Enterprises Inc. www.riverbarges.com/
• Riverway Company www.riverway.com/
• Home Systems Policy Maritime Search www.navcen.uscg.gove
• National Transportation Library www.bts.gov/smart/cat/proc1095.html
• NTSB Publications www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/M Acc.htm
• Federal Maritime Commission www.fmc.gov
• National Transportation Safety board www.NTSB.gov

If you have a particular question not asked above, contact us at 866-304-2273.