ANSWERS FROM AMERICA’S DISTINGUISHED MARITIME LITIGATION LEADERS
Your Maritime Law Questions Answered
When you face a complex maritime law question, get answers from the attorneys appointed by federal courts to lead America’s most consequential maritime disasters. Our comprehensive FAQ is based on decades of trial experience and a deep commitment to protecting the injured.
Your Maritime Law Questions Answered
After an injury at sea, you have urgent questions. The answers below are based on our firm’s deep experience, including our attorneys’ roles as Co-Lead Trial Counsel in the Deepwater Horizon disaster and leadership on the SEACOR Power Executive Committee.
The Jones Act & Your Rights as a Seaman
The Jones Act is a crucial federal law that provides injured seamen with the right to sue their employer for compensation if negligence played any role in their injury. Unlike a standard workers’ compensation claim, it is a fault-based system. This means we must prove that an unsafe condition or a careless act by the employer or a fellow crew member caused the harm. This can include anything from a greasy deck or faulty equipment to inadequate training or an unsafe order from a supervisor.
Based on our extensive maritime law experience, including serving as Co-Lead Trial Counsel in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, we know that the Jones Act is a powerful tool. It allows injured maritime workers to pursue full compensation for all losses, including lost wages, future medical expenses, pain and suffering, and diminished earning capacity, in addition to fundamental benefits like maintenance and cure.
To qualify as a Jones Act seaman, you must generally meet a two-part test: your duties must contribute to the function of a “vessel in navigation,” and you must have a substantial connection to that vessel or an identifiable fleet of vessels. A “vessel in navigation” is a broad term and can include everything from traditional ships and tugboats to more specialized craft like jack-up rigs, semi-submersibles, and drill ships.
Determining seaman status is a critical and often highly contested part of a case. Our firm has successfully established seaman status for a wide range of maritime professionals, from traditional crew members to specialized offshore workers. A detailed analysis of your specific job duties by an experienced maritime attorney is the essential first step.
Maintenance and cure are fundamental, no-fault rights for all injured seamen, rooted in centuries of maritime law. They must be paid by your employer regardless of who caused your injury.
- “Maintenance” covers your reasonable daily living expenses, like rent and food.
- “Cure” covers all necessary medical treatment until you reach “maximum medical improvement.”
An employer’s failure to promptly and properly pay these benefits can result in serious consequences. From our extensive litigation experience, we know that if an employer unreasonably denies these benefits, they can be held liable for additional damages, including punitive damages and attorney’s fees. We work to ensure these benefits are paid immediately while we build your larger negligence case.
Yes, absolutely. The Jones Act uses a legal standard called “pure comparative negligence.” This means you can still recover compensation even if you were partially responsible for your injury. Your total damage award is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you are found 10% at fault, you can still recover 90% of your total damages.
Furthermore, the standard for proving employer negligence under the Jones Act is very low—often called “featherweight.” Even the slightest negligence on the part of your employer can be enough to establish liability. Our role is to focus the investigation on the employer’s failures to provide a safe work environment, which often minimizes or eliminates any fault assigned to you.
The Jones Act has a strict three-year statute of limitations from the date of your injury. This deadline is absolute, with very few exceptions. However, waiting is a significant risk.
From our experience leading national disaster litigation, we know that critical evidence in maritime cases disappears quickly. Vessels are repaired or sold, logbooks and safety reports can be misplaced, digital data can be overwritten, and crew members — who are key witnesses — often disperse to new jobs around the world. Contacting an attorney immediately allows us to begin the investigation, preserve evidence, and protect your rights long before any deadlines are at risk.
Injured seamen have a unique set of rights under maritime law, including the right to sue for negligence, claims for unseaworthy vessels, and the absolute right to ‘Maintenance and Cure.’
We’ve created a comprehensive video that explains each of these protections in detail. Watch the video here.
The LHWCA & Federal Maritime Benefits
The key difference is your job classification. The Jones Act covers “seamen” (members of a vessel’s crew) and allows them to sue their employer for negligence. The LHWCA (Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act) is a federal workers’ compensation system that covers non-seamen maritime workers, such as dockworkers, shipbuilders, and harbor construction workers injured on or near the water. It provides scheduled benefits for medical care and lost wages but generally prevents you from suing your employer.
Determining which law applies can be one of the most complex issues in a maritime case, especially for workers on floating platforms or those who split time between vessels and fixed structures. Our extensive maritime law experience, including our leadership experience on the SEACOR Power Executive Committee, has given us deep insight into these nuanced classifications, ensuring we pursue the maximum benefits for you under all applicable laws.
The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) is a federal law that extends LHWCA benefits to workers injured on fixed platforms, such as oil rigs, that are located on the Outer Continental Shelf (generally more than 3 miles offshore). While OCSLA typically prevents you from suing your direct employer, it is a critical tool for pursuing third-party claims.
Offshore operations involve numerous companies working together. A third-party claim allows you to hold another company liable for its negligence, such as an equipment manufacturer, a vessel operator, or another contractor. Our experience in complex, multi-party offshore disasters gives us an unmatched capability to identify every potentially liable party and maximize your total recovery.
Offshore Accidents & Platform Injuries
Your actions in the first hours and days after an offshore injury are critical.
- Prioritize Medical Care: Insist on immediate and thorough medical attention. Request a medical evacuation if necessary. Your health is the absolute priority.
- Report the Incident: Notify your supervisor in writing and ensure an official company accident report is created. Be precise about what happened and who was involved.
- Document Everything: If it is safe to do so, use your phone to take photos and videos of the scene, the equipment involved, and your injuries. This visual evidence can be invaluable.
- Identify Witnesses: Get the names and contact information of any crew members or colleagues who witnessed the incident.
- Do Not Give a Recorded Statement: Politely decline to give a formal recorded statement to company representatives or their insurance adjusters until you have spoken with an attorney. These statements are designed to protect the company, not you.
No. Federal maritime and whistleblower laws strictly prohibit employers from retaliating against workers for reporting a safety concern or filing a legitimate injury claim. If you are terminated, demoted, harassed, or blacklisted after reporting an injury, you may have an additional, powerful legal claim for wrongful retaliation.
Our firm’s reputation as “Lawyers’ Lawyers” and our history of taking on major corporations provide a shield of protection for our clients. Employers and their insurers know we will aggressively pursue any claims of retaliation, which can include seeking lost wages, emotional distress damages, and even punitive damages.
This is the norm in offshore operations, not the exception. A single platform can have dozens of contractors and subcontractors working simultaneously. Our leadership experience in the Deepwater Horizon multi-party litigation—which involved BP, Transocean, Halliburton, and hundreds of other defendants—demonstrates our capability to untangle complex webs of liability.
We work to identify and pursue claims against every responsible party, which can include your direct employer, the platform owner, vessel operators, equipment manufacturers, and other contractors. This strategy is essential because it can open up multiple avenues for recovery and access to different insurance policies, often leading to a significantly higher total compensation for your injuries.
The laws depend entirely on the crash’s distance from shore, which determines if state law, DOHSA, or OCSLA applies. This is a very complex issue, and we have written a detailed legal guide to offshore helicopter accidents that explains the differences.
Fatalities that occur more than 3 miles from shore are often governed by a complex federal law called the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA). This law has significant limitations on the compensation a family can receive. We have created a detailed legal guide for families navigating a DOHSA claim that explains everything you need to know.
The Maritime Law Process
The timeline for a maritime case varies significantly based on its complexity. While every case is different, our experience provides a general guide:
- Straightforward Cases: A Jones Act or LHWCA claim with clear liability and defined injuries might resolve in 6 to 18 months.
- Complex Cases: An offshore accident with multiple defendants or a disputed seaman status can take 2 to 4 years to resolve through settlement or trial.
- Major Disasters: Mass casualty events, like our work on the Deepwater Horizon case, can involve years of complex litigation.
It is important to remember that our primary goal is to secure the maximum possible recovery for you, not to rush to a quick settlement that leaves future costs uncovered. Throughout this process, we work to ensure you are receiving immediate benefits like maintenance and cure.
While most cases settle, having attorneys with proven trial credentials provides maximum leverage in negotiations. Insurance companies know our history of taking cases to trial and winning, which motivates them to offer higher and fairer settlements.
We handle virtually all maritime injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay absolutely no upfront costs or attorney fees. We advance all the expenses required to build a powerful case—which can include hiring top-tier maritime safety professionals, medical doctors, and economists.
Our fee is a percentage of the compensation we successfully recover for you. If we do not win your case, you owe us nothing. This structure ensures that every injured maritime worker has access to the same high level of legal representation that major corporations use, leveling the playing field regardless of your financial situation.
The amount of compensation, or ‘damages,’ depends on many factors, including the severity of your injury, your lost wages, and your future medical needs. We’ve created a comprehensive video that explains how damages are calculated in detail. Watch the video here.
Negligence focuses on the actions (or inaction) of a person, while unseaworthiness focuses on the unsafe condition of the vessel itself. An unseaworthiness claim does not require you to prove who was at fault. We’ve created a video that explains this in more detail. Watch the video here.
Choosing Your Maritime Attorney
When federal courts need attorneys to lead America’s most complex maritime disasters, they choose LKSA. Our unique credentials include federal court appointments, recognition as America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators, multiple Fellows of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and 130+ years of combined experience. This reputation benefits our clients at the negotiating table and in the courtroom.
Immediately. Evidence in maritime cases can disappear quickly as vessels move and crews change. Early investigation is critical to preserving your rights and building the strongest possible case.
If your injury occurred on or near navigable waters, you need an attorney with deep experience in maritime law. It is a distinct federal legal system, and a general personal injury attorney may not understand the unique rules and benefits like seaman status or maintenance and cure, which could cost you significant compensation.
Get Answers from Distinguished Maritime Attorneys
Don’t let complex maritime law questions go unanswered. Contact the attorneys who served as Co-Lead Trial Counsel in America’s largest maritime disaster for a comprehensive analysis of your specific situation.
