While working on the sea, you may get hurt, but you are protected by Jones Act. Apart from Jones Act, other maritime laws governs injuries suffered in the sea. Even though it depends on specifics of your case, the most common way to recover damages is through Jones Act. A maritime version of worker compensation is different from Jones Act even if Jones Act works like it. Workers compensation is paid regardless of fault which is different when it comes to Jones Act. For you to get a worker’s compensation in Jones Act, you have to prove negligence. A credible evidence has to be provided by those who would like to recover their full damages. Categories of damages are two when it comes to maritime law. Maritime damages are two, and they are the economic damages and non economic damages.
Economic damages are the ones that will compensate you when you lose wages or lose earning capacity or even medical expenses. Non economic damages will compensate those who suffer from pain and sufferings or those who get abused by their employers. Workers compensation damages have a cap which makes the difference from the Jones Act damages. You can recover your damages if you are a qualified seaman although this term is not clearly defined by Jones Act. A qualified seaman is the one who is assigned to work on vessels or fleets operating in navigable waters and spend most of his working hours on board. If you have a maritime case, you should look for a maritime injury lawyer even if the Jones Act protects your rights.
When it comes to maritime law, individuals are still entitled to recover some damages even if they fail to prove negligence. Maritime workers who suffer from injuries or illness have a right to maintenance and cure, and this is stated even by the maritime law. From when you suffer injuries or illness up to when you reach maximum improvement, the medical bills should be paid by your employers. More to that, you are entitled to receive medical checkups and also a daily stipend to cater for living expenses as you recover. Such benefits will be claimed if only you will file a Jones Act suit.
Maritime law requires ship owners to keep their vessels in safe working order, properly equipped and also operated by a professionally trained crew. If the workers found the sea vessel to be unseaworthy, they can claim for damages in a negligence suit. The owner of the vessel will be held responsible for any injuries that are suffered in his unseaworthy vessel. If you would like to receive full compensation when you file a negligence suit you should hire an offshore injury lawyer.