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Don’t Miss the Boat: Basics of Maritime Personal Injury Law – Blog Series – The Jones Act (Generally)

by | Oct 21, 2014 | Admiralty And Maritime Law

Recently, attorney Lee J. Bloomfield, presented a seminar entitled: “Don’t Miss the Boat: Basics of Maritime Personal Injury Law in 45 Minutes

From the seminar papers, we are producing a blog series. This blog post number two, of this series. Following the introduction, we will now discuss the Jones Act (Generally).

The Jones Act – Generally

The Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.A. § 30104, in pertinent part states as follows:  Cause of action. — A seaman injured in the course of employment or, if the seaman dies from the injury, the personal representative of the seaman may elect to bring a civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer. Laws of the United States regulating recovery for personal injury to, or death of, a railway employee apply to an action under this section.

Incorporating by reference the Federal Employees Liability Act (FELA), 45 U.S.C. § 56, the Jones Act allows a seaman injured through the negligence of his or her employer to recover full tort damages. Thus, the Jones Act affords a potentially much greater recovery for an injured worker who qualifies for its coverage than that afforded by the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act.

Our next post will cover:  Negligence Under the Jones Act.

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