WHERE do the ACts apply?
In some cases where a worker dies or suffers injuries while working on land, the Jones Act might cover that worker. In other cases, the LHWCA (Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act) might apply to the resulting claim. The lands covered by both Acts include piers, terminals, wharves, docks, marine railways, building ways, and such adjacent lands that are normally used by an employer for the following types of activities.
The definition of “vessel” has been carefully addressed in case law over the years and we will discuss the broad definition of vessel at some point. But for the moment, we’ll focus on another area that’s received extensive attention in case law over the years: the definition of “seaman” for the purposes of the Jones Act.
WHO do the Acts cover?
The Jones Act covers an injured seaman, even if his injuries are suffered while he’s working on the adjacent lands to the water. Longshoremen and other harbor workers would seek redress through the LHWCA.
The Jones Act provides remedies based in tort actions (actions based on the negligence of another party) to maritime workers whose employment is based on the water. The LHWCA provides workers compensation remedies to maritime industry employees whose employment is based on the adjacent lands.
Sometimes land-based workers have tried to seek redress through the Jones Act. A Jones Act tort action can result in larger monetary awards, but actually collecting that money can often be challenging for various reasons. The award you could receive in an LHWCA workers’ compensation claim is limited by statute, but on the other hand you are almost certain to receive those monies.
Defining a “seaman” for purposes of the Jones Act:
A 2002 case, Hara v. Weeks Marine, helped clarify who can look to the Jones Act for remedies. Under the ruling in that case, a “seaman”
1. Has an “employment-related connection”
2. To a “vessel in navigation.”
The “employment-related connection” to the vessel on navigable waters exists where
1. The “worker’s duties …contribute to the function of the vessel or to the accomplishment of its mission” and
2. The worker’s employment connection to the vessel is “substantial in both its duration and its nature.”
“Substantial” has been interpreted to mean that the worker spends at least 30% of the time on navigable waters for the vessel.
Making a claim under the LHWCA:
The LHWCA covers maritime workers who don’t meet the definition of “seaman.” When a land-based worker’s injuries result from injuries suffered on the navigable waters of the United States (including the adjacent lands mentioned above), the worker makes a claim under the LHWCA. To be eligible for the LHWCA claim, the worker must
1. Be a worker covered by the LHWCA. (For instance, someone not from the maritime industry would not be covered under the LHWCA just because his or her injury happened to occur on a ship or a dock.)
2. Have suffered an injury on or in connection with a vessel.
3. Have suffered that injury due to the negligence of the vessel’s owner, operator, charterer, agent, or crewmember, or even the vessel itself (we’ll discuss “unseaworthy vessels” in a later post).
Get the help you need if you’ve been injured:
The bottom line is that an injured maritime industry worker DOES have recourse for his or her injuries suffered in the course of employment. The worker’s family members also have recourse if that worker is wrongfully killed during the course of their employment. Whether injured workers will turn to the Jones Act or to the LHWCA depends mainly on whether the worker’s employment was primarily sea-based or land-based.
If you’ve been injured in the maritime industry and you have questions about what you should do to obtain proper compensation or which Act you should look to for redress, contact our maritime law attorneys at Denena & Points. We’re based in Houston, and we have long-term experience handling the complex issues that affect workers in the maritime industry along our coast. We could help you pinpoint who’s at fault for an accident, and how negligence caused you harm. If you have questions, we have your answers. Contact us for your free and confidential legal consultation.