If you were hurt working on the water, the question that decides your case is which law covers you. A seaman on a vessel can sue the employer under the Jones Act and is owed maintenance and cure no matter who was at fault. A longshore worker or shipyard worker usually gets federal compensation benefits instead, plus a possible lawsuit against the vessel. A worker on an offshore platform may fall under yet another system, and passengers and families of people killed at sea have rules of their own. Employers and their insurers know these rules well, and they often push injured workers toward the one that pays the least. Houston is one of the busiest ports in the country, and between the Ship Channel and the Gulf, we see these cases up close.
Call (713) 664-4000. The consultation is free, and there’s no fee unless we recover for you. If we don’t recover, you don’t owe us for case expenses either. Don’t sign a statement or a release for your employer before you talk to us.
Which law covers you
| If you are | The law that usually applies | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| A seaman: a crew member of a vessel in navigation, like a tug, barge, supply boat, dredge or drillship | The Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104) and general maritime law | A negligence suit against your employer with a jury, an unseaworthiness claim against the vessel owner, maintenance and cure, and punitive damages if maintenance and cure is willfully withheld |
| A longshore, dock, shipyard or harbor worker | The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. § 901 and following) | Medical care and wage benefits from your employer regardless of fault, and a possible negligence suit against the vessel owner (§ 905(b)) |
| A worker on a fixed platform on the Outer Continental Shelf (past Texas state waters, which run about nine nautical miles out), or doing other oil and gas work tied to the Outer Continental Shelf | The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which extends Longshore Act benefits offshore (43 U.S.C. § 1333(b)) | Compensation benefits, plus possible claims against other companies on the platform |
| A passenger or a family member of someone killed at sea | General maritime law, and for deaths more than three nautical miles offshore, the Death on the High Seas Act (46 U.S.C. § 30302) | Damages that depend on where the death happened and whether the person was a seaman. Deaths beyond three nautical miles are usually limited to financial losses, like lost support. A commercial aviation crash more than 12 nautical miles out, like a crew helicopter going down, also allows damages for the loss of companionship (46 U.S.C. § 30307) |
Seaman status is the fight in a lot of these cases. The Supreme Court’s test asks whether your job contributed to the vessel’s work and whether you had a connection to a vessel in navigation, or to a fleet under common ownership or control, that was substantial in both how long and what kind (Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347 (1995)). As a rule of thumb, a worker who spends less than about 30 percent of their time in the service of a vessel in navigation usually won’t qualify, and clearing 30 percent doesn’t settle it either. Employers sometimes classify workers to keep them off the Jones Act. We look at the actual work you did, not the job title.
What a seaman is owed
Maintenance and cure. From the day you’re hurt, your employer owes you a daily living allowance and your medical care until you reach maximum medical improvement, even if the injury was partly your own fault. Serious misconduct, like being drunk on duty, can cut that off. So can deliberately hiding a prior medical condition the employer asked about when you were hired, if the new injury is related to it (McCorpen v. Central Gulf S.S. Corp., 396 F.2d 547 (5th Cir. 1968)). If an employer willfully refuses to pay it without a good reason, the seaman can recover punitive damages and attorney’s fees (Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009); Vaughan v. Atkinson, 369 U.S. 527 (1962)). The rate employers offer is often far below what it actually costs to live, and we fight that too.
Jones Act negligence. Your employer is liable if its negligence played any part, even the slightest, in causing the injury. That’s a much lower bar for proving cause than an ordinary injury case on land. Unsafe orders, too few crew members, bad equipment and missing training all count.
Unseaworthiness. The vessel owner has to provide a vessel that’s reasonably fit for its purpose, including its equipment and its crew. It doesn’t matter whether the owner knew about the problem. A slick deck, a frayed line, a broken winch or an untrained crew can make a vessel unseaworthy.
Deadlines, and why the first weeks matter
Most maritime injury claims, including Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims, have to be filed within three years (46 U.S.C. § 30106; 45 U.S.C. § 56). Some are much shorter. A claim involving a government-owned vessel has two years, and a cruise ticket can cut a passenger’s time to one year, with written notice due in six months. A Longshore Act claim generally has to be filed within one year of the injury (or of when you learned it was work-related), and the employer should be notified within 30 days (33 U.S.C. §§ 912, 913). Missed one of those? Call anyway, because there are exceptions. And a vessel owner can file its own case in federal court to try to cap its total liability at the vessel’s value after the accident, plus any freight it’s owed. It has six months from a written notice of claim to do that (46 U.S.C. § 30529), and once it does, claims against it are stopped and pulled into that one federal proceeding. The owner has to prove it didn’t know about what caused the accident, and we know how to fight a limitation case and get your claim back in front of a jury. We move early so your evidence is locked down and your claim is ready when that happens.
The evidence is often out on the water or in the company’s hands: the vessel logs, the accident report, the maintenance records, and the crew who saw what happened and may ship out again next month. Your employer’s claims adjuster may ask for a recorded statement or send you to a company doctor. Talk to us first. A Jones Act case can also be filed in state court with a jury, and federal law generally bars the employer from moving it to federal court. Employers still try, usually by arguing you were never a seaman, which is one more reason that fight matters so much.
Hurt on the water in Houston? Call Blass Law
Jay Blass Cohen was born and raised in Houston and has practiced here since 2009. We’ll figure out which law covers you and go after every company responsible, starting with your employer and the vessel owner. For more, see our pages on personal injury and wrongful death.
Call (713) 664-4000. If you were hurt this week, call now, before the crew and the evidence scatter.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What Is the Jones Act and Does It Apply to My Injury?
- What Is Maintenance and Cure Under Maritime Law?
- Can I File a Claim If I Was Injured on an Offshore Platform in Texas Waters?
Reviewed by Jay Blass Cohen, founder of Blass Law PLLC, ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, certified Drug Recognition Expert, and SFST instructor, serving Houston since 2009. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.