Am I Covered by the Jones Act as a Dockworker?

Understanding Maritime Law can be complicated at the best of times and, as there are many different types of laws which cover the injuries of those who work in and around the water, it can get extremely cloudy as to which laws cover which workers. Dockworkers are especially unclear as to which laws cover them. It is important to know which laws apply to you. Unfortunately, accidents do happen, but if you know what laws are in place to protect you, you can have a good idea of how best to proceed in the unfortunate event of any of these injuries taking place.

If a dock worker has heard about the Jones Act, they are often going to wonder if they are covered under this law. The Jones Act is a federal law which covers the workers and seamen who are employed by a seagoing vessel. The confusion could come from the fact that this law also applies to those employees even when they are not directly on the ship, such as when they are working on the dock. However, for people who are actually dockworkers, and not just seamen who happen to be working on the dock at the time of their injury, there is a separate law.

The law in place to protect dockworkers in the case of an injury is called the Longshoreman & Harbor Workers Compensation Act, commonly abbreviated as LHWCA. This law covers dock workers and enables them to make a claim in the event that they are injured or contract an illness as a result of their work, and also extends to employees of many off shore oil platforms (except for certain types of those which would instead be covered under the aforementioned Jones Act.) The LHWCA pays out benefits for a worker injured on the job in order to help to pay for his medical care and rehabilitation, as well as helping to make up for lost wages.

What Are Considered Reasonable Requests Under the Jones Act?

When you are employed as a seaman, you are protected in the event of an injury under federal law ruling and the Jones Act. The right for a seaman that is injured during a period of employment is called “maintenance and cure”. This basically defines medical benefits – known as cure – and living expenses – known as maintenance.

Being a seaman, the medical benefits you are entitled to cover hospitalization, physical therapy, doctors visits (or medical care), medication, and the facilitation of medical equipment. If you are a seaman and are in need of any of these instances due to your employment as a seaman, your employer is required to cover these payments – end of story.

If unable to work as a result of an injury or work related health endangerment, a seaman is also entitled to payments for everyday living expenses which include:

- Grocery Bills

- Utility Bills

- Cosmetic and Toiletry Expenses

- Any Other Reasonable Expenses

The only reason any of this is possible is due, in part, to the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act of 1927. This recognized that people were in need of a federal law to ensure seamen were protected in the same way as everyone else. This was even more important because there are countless things that could go wrong while out at sea thus making employment at sea extremely dangerous even under the safest conditions.

Sadly, not every employer is going to adhere to the guidelines and practices of the Jones Act. Due to there being so many uncovered issues with the maritime law, employers have the power to find loopholes in the act and the amendments. When dealing with any maritime law, especially in affiliation with the Jones Act, you will always want to receive consultation and be represented by a maritime law professional. An employer of seamen is required to support the legality of the Jones Act and, without proper representation; the employer could very well try to cheat you out of these compensations.

What Types of Monetary Compensation Would My Family and I Be Able to Request if I was Injured While Performing My Duties at Sea?

The Longshoremen’s and Harbors’ Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides adequate compensation for seaman who are injured in their line of work. This coverage provides payments for medical treatment, travel costs related to medical treatment, and services or supplies which are needed to help the recovery or treatment process. There is, of course, a lot of legality that comes into play and seeking the help of a professional maritime lawyer will always be a good first step to take.

The definition of disability in a longshoreman clause simply means the inability to perform work and receive pre-injury wages. This covers any form of disability which will entitle you to receive a weekly compensation every two weeks and will be based from a percentage of your biweekly income before you were injured. In 2006, it was estimated that the minimum compensation was $278.61 while the maximum was $1114.44.

The compensation for complete or short term disability is calculated at 2/3s the workers weekly average income. This average is determined by combining the previous 52 weeks of income. This, of course, could mean that your average might be considerably less if you suffered any periods of unemployment.

Temporary partial disability is compensated at 2/3s the weekly income loss and is based on the loss of earning potential. Permanent partial disability compensation is intended to cover the injured employee for the loss of a body part or function. This form of compensation is based on the payout schedule that is specified in the Longshoreman Act. Basically this schedule appoints a specified timeline as to how long the injured employee may receive compensation.

The LHWCA has worked to get people the coverage they need when working at sea. There are still a lot of uncovered issues surrounding these matters and you will need to speak with a maritime law professional to get the most compensation for your injury.

If I File a Claim Under the Jones Act, What Paperwork Will I Need?

If you are injured while working on a maritime vessel or for that vessel and are injured even while on land, such as on a dock or in a harbor, you are likely going to be eligible to file a claim under the statues of the Federal Jones Act. The Jones Act is a maritime law or admiralty law which protects maritime workers and seamen. However, there are some important things to remember when it comes time to handling all the paperwork and processing of putting through a Jones act claim.

First of all, let's cover what you don't need. What you don't want to do – ever – is to sign a document that the company puts in front of you immediately after you've been injured. In many cases this is what happens, and the company throws paper at their injured worker and before they know it, they may have signed away any rights they had to make a claim under the Jones act. This needs to be avoided at all costs, and is why you should always consult a lawyer who specializes in Maritime Law before you sign anything the company puts in front of you.

What you will need in terms of paperwork is medical records. Your attorney can handle the rest, and sometimes can handle getting copies of your medical records as well, but it is vital that you obtain as detailed copies of all relevant medical information as possible. This means much more than just a doctor’s note, and includes things like X-rays, lab results and the results of any scans or tests which are done that prove the extent of your injuries, as well as the costs being incurred for medical treatments. You are going to need to make sure that your lawyer receives a copy of all of this documentation, and you should also try and keep copies for your own records in case you run into any discrepancies down the road.

What is the Jones Act?

If you work in any maritime profession, on board a ship or on an oil platform then there is a good chance that you've heard the term the “Jones Act”, but might be slightly unsure as to what that refers to. Sometimes the Jones Act is referred to as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, as it was originally called, but is usually just referred to as the Jones Act. It is important to note that this is a federal law that applies to any state that you might be working on a sea born vessel in.

The Jones Act exists to ensure that there is a system of compensation in place in the case of an injury to a sailor or other maritime employee. This is similar to the systems that are in place for workers compensation in other jobs, however, the Jones Act is Federal rather than State Based, and is actually quite complex compared to regular workers compensation laws. Also, it is important to realize that settlements reached under the Jones Act have the potential to be much larger than other settlements in the case of worker injury in non sea related fields, something which makes companies often struggle very severely to avoid having to make a payout under the act.

The Jones Act may pay out what is known as both maintenance and cure benefits. This means that it may cover the medical expenses that a worker incurs as a result of their on the job injury, and will also make payments in order to cover their normal living expenses. These expenses need to be carefully proven and documented, and that need coupled with the complexity of the act itself makes it highly advisable for anyone making a Jones Act claim to hire a lawyer who specializes in Maritime Law before filing any kind of initial claim.