At the end of this article you will find the text of the Jones Act. This article is directed to towboat crew who work all year round pushing barges on the rivers, canals, and waterways of this great nation. Federal law known as the Jones Act protects you when injured on a towboat or a crew van or rental car traveling to and from the towboat.  This law also protects all ships crew maritime workers and their families.  This law uses the same federal law as the nations railroad employees to protect employees and family from the ravages of on the job injury and illness.  The federal law governing injured railroad employees is known as FELA. If you are injured or a family member is injured or drowned from falling overboard or killed on a towboat or other vessel then you have a federal right to recover money damages from your employer.

Unlike worker's compensation laws, in a Jones Act case you have the right to a jury trial to decide liability for your injury and the amount of money damages to compensate you for that injury. For example, Jones Act liability would apply where a worn facing wire or worn ratchet causes injury to a deckhand. It would apply where a mooring line placement and the maneuvering of a boat causes a man to become pinned and crushed by the force of the boat on the line. Exposure to chemicals, fatigue and sleep deprivation, withholding access to medical treatment, and even assault by a crew member may trigger Jones Act liability.

Also federal law prohibits the towboat corporation from firing you if you have made a Jones Act claim or hired an attorney. This is true even if you operate out of an at will employment state. Penalties for firing a Jones Act claimant are severe and include back pay with interest and attorney fees. Attorneys who take these cases do not require money up front or charge for a consultation. Always consult with an admiralty attorney if you are injured or become ill while working aboard a towboat.

Unlike worker's compensation cases, Jones Act cases allow for the recovery of both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages in a Jones Act case are similar to worker's compensation cases where your attorney with the aid of an expert witness can show and project the total amount of economic damages to the penny. We can show the medical bills and how much money a man earns or could have earned since the accident; we can also project the amount of future medical bills and the loss of his lifetime earning capacity.

It's the jury trial and the non-economic damages where a Jones Act case is unlike a worker's compensation case. In a Jones Act case there are no printed guidelines or mandatory schedules to determine the amount of money damages for a particular injury. You are allowed to recover money damages for your pain and suffering which no yard stick, schedule or formula can measure. This measurement is for your jury.

In your case a fair settlement figure for money damages is gleaned from the evidence your attorney collects. He begins collecting this evidence in anticipation of presenting it to a jury. Your attorney will collect opinion evidence from expert witnesses. He will collect statements, documents, and photographs which all have a bearing on your case. The source of this evidence are doctors, crew, the employer towboat corporation, and often family members and friends. It is the same evidence a jury would hear and see at trial. He translates this evidence into a settlement figure projecting what a reasonable jury would do based upon the evidence. The attorney then presents the figure to the towboat corporation and the insurance company before the case is filed in court. An insurance company will take advantage of this opportunity rather than allow the conscience of a jury determine the amount of money damages it will pay.

Some towboat corporations have large Jones Act insurance deductibles of $250,000 or $500,000 which it must pay before the insurance company contributes to the payment for injury damages. Experience has shown that in these cases where the evidence indicates a fair settlement figure is at or below the deductible amount the towboat corporation will resist settlement and force the filing of a suit. Occasionally an insurance company will gamble and force the filing of a suit.

The data is still being collected whether a towboat corporation's failure to accept a fair settlement offer prior to suit being filed is the product of a cash flow problem or a calculated cost benefit analysis gamble. This is a gamble that the crew member will not hire an experienced attorney to pursue his claim or that he is likely to accept mere nuisance value for his claim rather than taking the case to trial.

In summary, the Jones Act is superior to state worker's compensation laws but in order to benefit fully from it the injured crew member and his family must hire a competent experienced attorney. An injured crew member and his family has an advantage if he has retained a competent experienced attorney. The Griffin Law Office team will travel across this nation to meet with you and discuss recovery of your money damages for the loss suffered if you or a family member is injured, drowned or killed as a result of  the operation of a towboat on rivers, canals, or on an intracoastal waterway. 

We do not represent towboat companies or insurance companies but only family members and individuals injured as a result of negligent operation of a towboat and its barges.

Jones Act United States Code Title 46 SHIPPING, Appendix to Title 46, Chapter 18, Sec. 688. Recovery for injury to or death of seaman

(a) Application of railway employee statutes; Any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the course of his employment may, at his election, maintain an action for damages at law, with the right of trial by jury, and in such action all statutes of the United States modifying or extending the common-law right or remedy in cases of personal injury to railway employees shall apply; and in case of the death of any seaman as a result of any such personal injury the personal representative of such seaman may maintain an action for damages at law with the right of trial by jury, and in such action all statutes of the United States conferring or regulating the right of action for death in the case of railway employees shall be applicable. Jurisdiction in such actions shall be under the court of the district in which the defendant employer resides or in which his principal office is located.


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