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The Jones Act
If you have worked offshore for any length of time, you may have
heard of "The Jones Act". The Jones Act is a special federal
law which allows an injured offshore worker to sue his employer
directly for all damages that he has suffered arising out of a work
related accident. While most people who are injured while working
on land are typically limited to collecting workers compensation
benefits from their employers, if you qualify as a Jones Act "seaman"
you are entitled to file a direct claim against your employer for
pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses and any other damages
that were caused by any negligence of your employer or a co-employee.
Under the Jones Act an employer must provide its employees with
a "safe" place to work. A Jones Act employer must also
provide safe and proper equipment to its employees and it must train
and supervise its employees. Just because an employee continually
performs a certain job in the same manner does not mean that the
job is being performed safely. Very often in the offshore work environment
a procedure will be performed unsafely until an individual is ultimately
injured. At that point, it is up to the individual to file a claim
in order to prove that the procedure was unsafe. Our office regularly
consults with and hires offshore marine safety experts with years
of experience in the offshore industry to evaluate how the procedure
was being performed and determine whether it was being performed
safely. We have extensive experience in successfully handling Jones
Act claims and we can tell you whether or not you may have a valid
claim under the Jones Act. |
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