Whether you work on a cruise ship, a tour boat, a ferry or oil or gas drilling platform, if you suffer a personal injury on the job, you have different — and better — legal rights than do people who work on land. Maritime workers are covered by the Jones Act, which gives injured workers the right to receive compensation for damages caused by on-the-job injuries.
If you fell down a set of rickety stairs and injured your knee while working on shore, you would receive workers’ compensation benefits: medical treatment and a portion of your wages while you are unable to return to work. If you sustained the very same injury while working aboard any type of vessel on navigable waters, you could obtain compensation for the full extent of your damages, including pain and suffering, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, medical expenses and more.
Unseaworthiness and Maritime Injury Claims
A maritime employer can be found liable for damages if a seaman is injured due to an unseaworthy vessel even if no negligence was involved.
Our Attorneys Offer Expert Legal Representation to Injured Jones Act Workers
For more than 25 years, the attorneys of Stolpman Law Group have successfully represented maritime workers who were injured by negligence. We have obtained substantial verdicts and settlements in cases on behalf of employees who were injured aboard a boat, ship or other vessel.
Some Jones Act injuries occur because of the unseaworthiness of the vessel. A boat owner is required to maintain a vessel in a seaworthy condition, one that makes it safe for its intended purpose. A seaworthy vessel must have adequate safety gear, a competent captain and crew, and be structurally and mechanically sound.
Unsure if you are covered by the Jones Act? Contact the maritime lawyers of Stolpman Law Group, to arrange a free consultation about your seaman injury case.
From offices in Long Beach, our lawyers represent clients in the Los Angeles area and throughout Southern California.
