You don’t know yet if this is a personal injury case or a maritime one. All you know is that you are hurt, and the company already sent an adjuster around asking questions before you’d even seen a doctor.
Certain distinctions, like whether you are a seaman or shore worker and whether you were hurt on land or in navigable waters, decide which laws apply.
Joseph Burke mapped waters before he argued a single maritime case. He personally surveyed Bligh Reef, the spot where the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, years before he put on a suit. Sanchez Burke built a maritime practice around that kind of firsthand knowledge.
Key Takeaways
- Maritime injury claims run through federal admiralty and maritime law, not the personal injury rules that apply to a car wreck on Highway 90.
- Whether you count as a “seaman” under the Jones Act changes the standard of proof, the court, and the value of the claim.
- Workers who aren’t seamen often have rights instead under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
- Maintenance and cure benefits are owed regardless of fault, but insurers routinely lowball what they cover.
Why a Maritime Injury Case Doesn’t Play by Land Rules
A car wreck on I-10 gets decided under Louisiana law. A maritime case doesn’t work that way. If you get hurt on a barge in the Calcasieu Ship Channel, your claim runs through federal admiralty and maritime law. Federal admiralty and maritime law is a body of statutes and centuries-old court decisions covering everything from where you can sue to what counts as negligence.
What Determines Whether You’re a “Seaman” Under the Jones Act
The word “seaman” carries more legal weight than almost any other word in maritime law. Courts use two tests to decide it, and getting classified wrong can knock a valid claim out of court without a settlement.
The Vessel Connection Test
A seaman needs a real connection to a vessel “in navigation,” meaning it’s afloat, capable of moving, and doing the work it was built for. A tug pushing barges on the Intracoastal Waterway counts. A barge permanently moored for storage generally doesn’t.
The Time Test
Courts usually look for a worker who spends close to 30% of their time aboard that vessel or a fleet of similar ones. Fall short of that, and the claim likely shifts to the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act instead.
How a Jones Act Claim Is Won
A seaman injured on the job under the Jones Act may have a claim for:
- Employer negligence. If a maritime employer’s failure to keep the workplace reasonably safe played even the slightest part in the injury, the employer can be liable. Courts call this the “featherweight” negligence standard.
- Unseaworthiness. If any part of the vessel, its gear, or its crew wasn’t fit for the job, the vessel owner can be held responsible regardless of who was at fault.
Additionally, an injured seaman may recover maintenance and cure. Maintenance is compensation for daily living expenses and cure covers medical costs. You do not need to prove negligence to receive maintenance and cure.
What If You’re Not a Seaman? The Longshore Act Explained
Dockworkers, harbor workers, and shipyard crews usually aren’t seamen. The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act covers most people injured on or near navigable waters instead. It works like traditional workers’ compensation, paying medical costs and a share of lost wages, but it also allows a separate negligence claim against a vessel owner if a ship’s crew caused the injury rather than the worker’s own employer. Around the LNG terminals and grain docks near the Port of Lake Charles, that second claim may be the larger one.
The Water Itself Matters as Much as the Law
Before law school, Joe Burke spent years as a hydrographic surveyor for the U.S. Navy and the Department of Commerce, charting waters ships depend on. He personally surveyed the depth at Bligh Reef, the reef the Exxon Valdez struck in Prince William Sound in 1989, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil. That’s not a case study to him. It’s a place he measured with his own hands and that gave him insight into how and where maritime accidents happen.
Maritime Injury FAQs About Maritime Injury Cases Different
What’s the difference between a maritime injury lawyer and a regular personal injury lawyer?
A maritime injury lawyer works inside federal maritime law instead of state personal injury law, and that means different courts, different deadlines, and different proof standards.
Can I still file a claim if I’m not sure whether I count as a “seaman”?
Yes, and you shouldn’t try to sort that out on your own before talking to someone. Seaman status depends on how much time you spend aboard a vessel and whether it’s “in navigation,” a test courts have argued over for decades.
Does the Jones Act cover injuries on an oil rig?
It depends on the type of rig and your job on it. Jack-up rigs and some semi-submersibles have been treated as vessels in certain cases, which can bring rig workers under Jones Act protection. Fixed platforms usually fall under a different federal law.
What if my employer says the accident was my fault?
That claim doesn’t end your case, and under the Jones Act it might not even reduce what you’re owed by much. Comparative fault can lower a settlement, but it takes far more than an employer’s say-so to prove it in court. Get your own account of what happened written down and dated as soon as you can.
Do I have to go to court to get paid?
Not necessarily. Many maritime injury claims settle before trial once liability is clear. But insurers negotiate harder when they don’t think you’re willing to file suit. Having a lawyer ready to go to federal court may speed up a fair offer. Sanchez Burke handles maritime negotiations and litigation, so the case doesn’t stall just because the first number on the table is low.
Sanchez Burke, LLC: Your Lake Charles Maritime Injury Law Firm
If a barge, tugboat, or dock accident put you here, you already know these cases move fast and the paperwork works against you, not for you. Sanchez Burke, LLC untangles this kind of claim for workers across Lake Charles and the Calcasieu Ship Channel. Joe Burke’s years surveying the water before law school give him a read on these cases that most attorneys never develop. Contact our firm today, and let’s find out what your claim may be worth before a deadline makes that decision for you.
