Jones Act Maritime Lawyer : Houston Jones Act & Maritime Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Arnold & Itkin Law Firm : Offshore Injury, Maritime Law : Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida

The Associated Press has compiled a list of some of the deadliest maritime accidents in the recent past. The list includes several disasters that took place off American waters.

• The world’s worst peace time shipping accident occurred when a ferry, Dona Paz, collided with a tanker in the Philippines on December 28, 1987. 4,340 people drowned in that accident. The collision caused the tanker’s cargo to catch fire. The flames quickly spread to the ferry, which sank within minutes. Two of the 13 crew members of the tanker survived, while all 58 crew members on the ferry died.
• On July 25, 1956, two passenger liners, the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria, collided off the Massachusetts coast. The Andrea Doria sank with 1,706 passengers and crew on the board. 46 people were killed.
• On May 29, 1914, a Canadian Pacific steamship, the Empress of Ireland, collided with a Norwegian ship. The steamship sank within minutes. 1,012 people were killed.
• On April 12, 1912, the world’s best known maritime accident took place. The Titanic was then the largest passenger ship in the world. The liner struck an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic. 1,496 people were killed. Crew members and seamen aboard the doomed liner displayed heroism that’s become legend.
• On June 15, 1904, the steamship General Slocum caught fire in the East River in New York. More than 1,000 people were killed.
• On April 27, 1865, a steam drum exploded on a steamboat, Sultana on the Mississippi River. At least 1,700 people were killed.
• On February 3, 2006, a fire aboard a ship headed to the Egyptian port of Safaga killed more than 1,000 people.
• On September 28, 1994, the ferry Estonia sank in the Baltic of sea in stormy conditions.  852 people were killed.

The maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP represent workers injured in accidents involving cargo vessels, cruise ships, oil rigs, offshore drilling platforms, towboats, and commercial fishing vessels.

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The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search for 67 Haitian immigrants who remain missing after their boat overturned off the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The tragic accident occurred late on Sunday, when the flimsy wooden boat steered into a reef. It set sail from the Haitian port of Cap Haitien with approximately 200 people on board. The boat, headed for Florida or the Bahamas, had been at sea for about three days when the accident occurred. According to survivors, the skipper tried to avoid being spotted by a patrol vessel and accidentally steered into a reef. When the boat ran aground the hull began to split open, and the people on the boat simply fell into the ocean. Making matters worse were the high winds and rough seas in the area at the time of the accident.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which led search and rescue efforts, confirmed that 118 people were rescued and 15 people were confirmed dead. The Coast Guard has now called off the search, although local authorities in the Turks and Caicos Islands have said that they will continue their rescue efforts. However, it is highly unlikely any more survivors will be found.

This is not the first time Haitian immigrants have died in tragic accidents like this one.

• In May, nine people died when a boat carrying 30 people sank off the Florida Coast.
• In May of 2007, a boat carrying 150 Haitian immigrants sank off the Turks and Caicos Islands. 61 migrants died in that maritime accident.

The maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP represent workers injured in accidents involving cargo ships, cruise ships, oil rigs, offshore drilling platforms, barges, towboats, commercial fishing vessels, and other Jones Act vessels.

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Earlier this week, the Coast Guard responded to a call regarding a boat taking on water. While responding, the Coast Guard was forced to conduct a medical evacuation of one of the crew members after he suffered from a seizure during the rescue process.

The crew of a 55-foot fishing vessel, The Bella, noticed the fishing boat they were towing, the Danna Elizabeth, was taking on water in the Chesapeake Bay. The crew members notified the Coast Guard Sector Baltimore, and the station dispatched a response boat. However, before the rescue crews arrived, the Danna Elisabeth crew members abandoned the fishing vessel for a life raft. When the rescue boats arrived and began to transfer the crew members to the Bella, one of the seamen, Tony Moliner, began seizing. The Coast Guard rushed Moliner to the Easter Yacht Club after which he was medically evacuated to a Baltimore hospital.

Moliner was lucky that trained rescue crews were at the scene and able to make sure he was safely taken aboard the vessel and transferred for a medical evacuation. The outcome here could have been very different. As an ill crew member of a fishing vessel in distress, Moliner could have been in a very dangerous situation.

Jones Act Seaman Face Many Dangers

This is just one example of the kind of challenges and dangers a Jones Act seaman faces when he sets out on the water. Some others include:

• Out in the ocean, rescue and emergency medical attention can be delayed for various reasons.
• Rough seas and harsh weather can make medical evacuation from a Jones Act vessel difficult.
• Workers can find their anxiety magnified due to the distance from their families and loved ones.

It is during these times of illness and injury that the perils maritime workers face each day, become clear. Knowing that, it is difficult when we, as maritime lawyers, see injured workers struggling to receive compensation after suffering an injury.

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As maritime lawyers, we often get asked whether or not a seaman’s injuries qualify him for compensation under the Jones Act. The Jones Act does a great job of providing benefits for seamen who may be injured or incapacitated in several ways.

This week, a 27-year-old Jones Act seaman on a boat off the coast of New Jersey suffered injuries to his upper arm while picking up a heavy object. The worker was on a 151-foot boat, about half a mile off the coast of Cape May. The crew of the boat, Relentless, informed the Coast Guard that the worker had sustained an injury in his upper arm while picking up an object. The Coast Guard station dispatched a rescue boat crew and the man was transferred to the station, after which he was taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

Jones Act Coverage and Maritime Worker Training

In situations like these, an employer could try to place the blame for the injury on the worker himself. They may try to put the responsibility off on the worker's negligence or failure to take safety precautions. On a boat with no one but other crewmembers around, it is easy for a seaman to believe what his employer or the vessel safety team tells him. Sometimes, it is only when clients visit a maritime lawyer without expecting much of a case, that they realize the extent of their rights under the Jones Act.  

Injuries to the shoulder, neck, and back can be extremely debilitating, and can be severe enough to prevent the worker from returning to his duties for weeks or even months. Employers can take several steps to prevent such distressing injuries that can incapacitate a worker, including:

• Workers must be trained to follow all safety precautions while performing lifting, lowering, and carrying activities.
• A worker must not be made to lift and carry loads or objects that are beyond his capacity.
• A worker should not be performing jobs on a boat he is not required or trained to perform. (Employers often under staff a vessel in an attempt to cut costs, placing workers at risk while performing jobs that they are not trained to do.)
• Workers should not be made to work for long hours without a break, this increases the possibility of repetitive stress injuries.

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Three fishermen in Hawaii were rescued after their boat overturned and sank.

The fishermen were three miles southeast of Hilo when their boat overturned. Soon after the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center received a distress signal from the Hawaii County Fire Department. One of the fishermen aboard a 19-foot boat used his cell phone to call for assistance as soon as the boat began to tip over. The Coast Guard mounted a search and rescue effort. By the time rescue teams arrived, the fishermen had drifted a few miles away from the point where the vessel capsized. All three men were clinging to a cooler in the water. The men were rescued by lowering a rescue basket into the water from an aircraft. They were transferred to a hospital where they received medical attention. None of the fishermen are believed to have been seriously injured.

Vessel Capsizing - Maritime Nightmare

Being on a vessel that capsizes or overturns is one of the worst situations for any maritime worker to be in. It is at such moments that the employer's responsibly to provide Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices and the workers' training in using them effectively are tested. Wearing a life jacket aboard a fishing vessel may seem like the most sensible thing you could do, but you would be amazed at how often maritime lawyers come across cases where workers drowned because they were not wearing life jackets. Many workers insist that life jackets are cumbersome to work in, but failure to wear them can cost a Jones Act seaman his life.

Capsizing accidents at sea can often be attributed to poor weather and lack of crew member training. For instance, a vessel crew must be able to call for a return to shore if possible, in case weather conditions become too rough to carry on. A boat is very likely to overturn in stormy weather conditions and maritime workers should not be placed at risk.

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Authorities have begun investigations into the deaths of three fishermen in an accident off the west coast of Scotland.

On Monday, the fishing vessel, Aquila, with four members on board, capsized in the waters off the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. A witness on shore who saw the vessel capsize reported the accident. Helicopters, lifeboats, and other vessels took part in rescue operations. Within an hour, one of the crewmembers was rescued by the crew of another vessel, which responded to a Mayday alert sent out by the Coast Guard. The surviving crewmember was not wearing a life jacket. The bodies of the other three crewmembers, including skipper Tony Hayton, were recovered later. 

The marine Accidents Investigation Branch has begun a probe into why the scallop dredger capsized in what seemed like perfectly normal conditions. The Royal Navy has confirmed the area is a submarine exercise area, but no operations were being conducted at the time of the accident. With weather and collisions being ruled out as a cause of the accident, the investigation will look at other factors that may have been responsible for the tragedy.  

According to sources, skipper Hayton and his crew were highly experienced fishermen and very knowledgeable about fishing in that area. This much, however, is clear - whatever went wrong went wrong too quickly for the crew to launch any emergency measures that could have prevented the boat from capsizing. Divers have already begun inspecting the fishing boat. Investigators are also waiting to talk to the survivor of the accident, Timothy Rowley.

Commercial Fishing is Dangerous Maritime Work

Work in the commercial fishing industry is dangerous, whether off the coast of Scotland or on a scalloper in Massachusetts. Fishermen work under dangerous and stressful conditions that include freezing weather, rough seas, and a work environment teeming with wetness, slippery surfaces, and dangerous lines and equipment.  The industry is lucrative, but remains difficult to regulate because of its sheer size. There are thousands of fishing companies of all sizes, involved in the business, and enforcing safety standards on all vessels can strain already limited resources.

Fishermen may be covered under the definition of a Jones Act seaman, and any injuries they sustain can be eligible for benefits under the Act.  

The maritime lawyers at Arnold & Itkin LLP represent injured crewmembers of commercial fishing boats, as well as crewmembers of cruise ships, cargo ships, barges, tugboats, oil rigs and other Jones Act vessels.

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The body of a shrimper reported missing after he fell off a fishing boat, has been recovered from the Gulf of Mexico. 

According to the South Padre Island Coast Guard station, they received a call on Wednesday morning from the crew of the shrimp boat, Matilda Tower, saying a man had fallen overboard. The crewmember was last seen at about 1:30 that morning. A helicopter search crew was sent out, and the body was spotted five miles off the coast of South Padre Island. A boat crew was sent to recover the body.

The crewman has been identified as Raul Gonzalez. According to some news reports, officers indicated that the body contained suspicious marks and that there was a possibility this would be treated as a homicide case.  An autopsy has been ordered, and the FBI has been notified of the possibility of a homicide at sea.

Can assault result in a Jones Act claim?

Assault by a crewmember aboard a ship can be a basis for a Jones Act claim. That does not mean every case involving injury and assault by another seaman is eligible for damages, but there are many instances where the ship owner may be liable.

Previous precedents have held ship-owners liable for injuries to a seaman by other crewmembers. In an earlier maritime assault case, the ship owner was held liable for a seaman being stabbed to death by another crewmember. The ship owner was held liable for failing to prevent the assault. In case of assault by another crewmember, a seaman can also recover damages claiming unseaworthiness of the vessel or negligence.

Identifying Maritime Employer Negligence

Identifying employer negligence or proving unseaworthiness in an assault by a crewmember that results in injuries or death of a Jones Act seaman can be a complicated process. Juries and judges are likely to look, not only at the nature of injuries that occurred, but also at the circumstances surrounding the assault, the measures that the ship owners could have taken to prevent such an assault, the negligence of other crewmembers that could have contributed to an injurious assault, etc.  In such cases, seamen will need expert representation by a maritime lawyer.

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A maritime crew member on a freighter off Alaska was airlifted to the hospital after he suffered crushing injuries aboard the vessel.

According to the Coast Guard, the 53-year-old maritime worker suffered the crushing injury while working on a diesel engine. His right index finger got caught in one of the gears, and was crushed and partially severed. The worker was aboard the vessel, Horizon Anchorage. The master of the vessel informed the Coast Guard center in Juneao and the agency dispatched a rescue helicopter to transport the injured worker to the hospital.  

Workers aboard ships and cargo vessels face the risk of a range of injuries beyond those faced by workers on land. Maritime workers, including fishermen, offshore workers, ship crew members, and tugboat operators are required to operate complicated marine equipment.They may have to perform shift-based duties that increase their exposure to fatigue and stress, increasing the chances of an accident. Also, when an injury occurs, workers are far from emergency medical care. Even airlifting an injured seaman from a vessel via a medical helicopter can be a tough exercise. Also, workers are far from their families and loved ones, which only compounds the stress of the injury. 

Maritime laws, like the Jones Act, acknowledge the hard conditions workers toil under, and provide a range of benefits in compensation for injuries. Work aboard a vessel is always fraught with the risk of injury. The Jones Act makes compensation possible, even for minor negligence by an employer. In fact, a seaman injured while performing activities he knows are dangerous may also be eligible for compensation from the employer. Jones Act seamen may be eligible to recover lost wages for all lost working hours when they are incapable of working, as well as payments for medical expenses and rehabilitation costs.

All Seamen Under the Jones Act Have Rights to “Maintenance and Cure Benefits"

"Maintenance" includes provisions for the daily expenses for the seaman he would have received if he had not been injured. These can include a daily allowance to meet his food and shelter expenses.

"Cure" includes medical care, hospitalization expenses, and rehabilitation therapy, at least until the injured seaman reaches a level of maximum medical improvement. A seaman is believed to have reached a state of maximum medical improvement (MMI) when he has recovered from his injures to the maximum extent possible. This state of MMI can become a point of contention between a maritime lawyer and the employer of a seaman because the Act does not provide for maintenance and cure after the MMI is reached.

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