Who Is Protected Under The Jones Act?
The Jones Act provides compensation to a class of employees known as “seamen” (those who are masters, captains, offices, crewmembers, and certain other people who work aboard vessels) for injuries and, in some instances, death due to an accident caused by the negligence of their employer or co-workers. This holds true even when the injured seaman is well aware of the risks associated with their job. Seamen injured on a cruise ship, ferry, water taxi, tug, barges, tankers, riverboat casino, crew boat, shrimp boat, trawler, fishing boat, offshore oil rig, and all other vessels on the ocean and all intra-coastal lakes, rivers, and canals, as well as, certain drivers and underwater personnel are typically covered by the Jones Act.
Working aboard vessels exposes crewmen to unique and constant risks of serious personal injury and even death. If you were injured while working aboard a vessel as a Jones Act seaman, crewman, or commercial fisherman you may well be protected by a federal statute referred to as “The Jones Act.” The Jones Act statute protects crew members of all types and from all parts of the world, including a captain and mate in the wheelhouse to a deckhand, wiper, housekeeper, steward, engineer, fish processor, cook, and even a tour guide aboard a charter vessel. The Jones Act does not discriminate and as a result, the lowest crewmen aboard a vessel have the same rights as a captain. It also protects crew members referred to as “day workers” meaning that they work aboard a vessel during the day and return home at night.
