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The Jones Act allows you to sue your employer directly for an injury that you sustained as a seaman. An experienced Jones Act attorney at The Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC can fight on your behalf throughout the legal process.
A successful Jones Act lawsuit is predicated on your being able to prove that negligence occurred. Negligence means that someone took an action that would be considered unreasonable under the circumstances, and it caused her injury. If your employer broke a law, and their actions caused your injuries, you may not need to do anything further.
To learn more about whether you can obtain financial compensation for your job-related injuries, schedule a free initial consultation with a Jones Act lawyer by calling our team at (310) 773-5207.
You Must Prove Negligence to Win a Jones Act Case
The Jones Act allows you to sue your employer in a negligence-based personal injury case if you have been injured on the job on the High seas. The requirement for compensation is that you are able to prove that your employer was negligent. In some cases, there may be a shortcut that allows you to prove negligence solely on the basis that your employer broke a law or violated a regulation that was intended to protect you as the employee. This legal concept is known as negligence per se, and it can be very helpful in a Jones Act case.
What Is Negligence Per Se?
In a typical negligence case, you would be required to prove four individual elements in order to receive compensation. The usual elements are as follows:
- Duty
- Breach
- Injury
- Causation
What negligence per se means is that your employer’s violation of the law can be considered negligence in itself. Assuming that your employer owes you the duty of care on the high seas, you could be in a position to win your case if you prove that they broke the law, which constitutes breach of duty in your case. If you have been injured, you do not need to prove anything else to win. It would be a violation of the law that is negligence because a reasonable employer would follow the applicable rules and regulations.
How Does Negligence Per Se Apply to Your Jones Act Case?
As a seaman, there are numerous laws and regulations that your employer must follow to protect your safety. These bodies of law and regulation include the following:
- Coast Guard laws and regulations that govern the safety of the boat, such as having the necessary equipment and having the vessel undergo inspections
- Maritime Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations that are similar to those from OSHA that control your workplace safety
- COLREGS rules for safe navigation
- Specific seaman safety statutes that govern things like rest periods and staffing of vessels
If your injury was caused by a violation of any of these rules or laws, you could use that as evidence of negligence in your case. For example, if your employer forced you to work an illegal shift without allowing you rest, and fatigue was a contributing factor to your injuries, that may be evidence in itself that allows you to win your case. The violation of the law must be tied to either the accident that injured you, or it must have exacerbated the injuries that you suffered. In other words, if your employer broke a law, it must not be tangential to the actual accident that occurred.
You Must Still Prove a Violation of Law and Regulation
Even if the facts do not seem positive for your employer, It is by no means a given that you would win your Jones Act case. You must still have evidence of what happened to cause your injury that shows that your employer broke the law. Not only do you need to completely know in depth all of the safety and navigation rules, but you must also have proof that your employer failed to follow them. It is not always easy to do so, especially when your employer is doing everything within their own power to protect themselves from liability.
Contact a California Jones Act Law Firm Today
If you are a seaman who has been injured on the job, speak to an experienced California maritime worker injury lawyer at The Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC. You can begin your case by scheduling a free initial consultation. Message us online or call us today at (310) 773-5207. You never pay us anything for our time and services unless you win your case.
Preston Easley is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He served five years of active duty as a Naval officer — three years as a deck officer on a fast frigate and two years as a patrol boat skipper. Mr. Easley also served aboard a tank landing ship in the reserves. Learn more here.
