Jones Act / Unseaworthiness Claims

Maritime and Jones Act Attorney

Florida Lawyer Serving Clients Worldwide

At the law firm of John W. Merting, P.A., we have extensive expertise in the requirements of the Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims. For more than 35 years, John Merting has been assisting families of individuals suffering catastrophic injuries, career-ending injuries, and wrongful death on all kinds of vessels across the world. He helps people on a contingency basis, charging nothing until his client is awarded a settlement or jury award.

Maintenance and Cure

Offshore oilfield workers, seamen, crewmen, commercial fishermen, and other persons working aboard vessels have special rights under federal maritime law known as maintenance and cure. When injured, these workers have rights to:

• maintenance: daily room and board expenses until maximum medical recovery is reached
• cure: authorization of and payment of medical expenses
• wages for the balance of their contracted employment

Federal maritime law covers these rights because workers' compensation laws that apply to land-based employment do not apply to work aboard vessels. But like workers' compensation claims, it does not matter who is at fault for an accident aboard ship. Maintenance and cure rights are triggered automatically -- no seaman should ever sign any release in order to receive maintenance and cure.

Jones Act

Seamen (members of a vessel's crew) are covered under a United States statute known as The Jones Act, which provides a direct cause of action against the seaman's employer for its negligence and/or the negligence of its employees.  Damages recoverable may include past and future medical expenses, past and future loss of income, and past and future pain and suffering.  Negligence of the injured seaman (comparative negligence) can reduce the amount of the potential recovery.

Unseaworthiness Claims

If anyone working on a vessel is injured because of unseaworthy and unsafe conditions such as unprotected work places, foreign substances on decks, and/or insufficient crew or training, the vessel and employer may be liable. This is an area of strict liability -- unlike slip and fall cases on land, there is no need to prove that the owner of the ship knew about the dangerous condition.

For both Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims, Mr. Merting can frequently obtain for clients what they are entitled to by law. The law in these cases is usually clear, and Mr. Merting's work as a skilled maritime and Jones Act attorney is well known.

However, if extensive litigation is necessary, Mr. Merting has the experience, expertise and resources to protect his client's rights. In one recent case, for example, Mr. Merting went through several extensive evidentiary hearings and an appeal in Rhode Island courts to get his client the medical care and money he deserved.

Contact Our Lawyer

Contact maritime and Jones Act attorney John Merting and speak with him at no charge about your situation. You can also fill out a special personal injury intake form. Mr. Merting handles each case personally, never handing clients off to assistants or paralegals. From law offices near Pensacola, Florida, Mr. Merting assists clients throughout the world, with many cases originating in the international ports of Florida, Alabama, the Mississippi River, Louisiana, Texas, and other areas of the United States.