Boating Crashes at Work
Many people in Louisiana have a job that requires them to be on a boat or the water. When a person is hurt at work while on land, they generally do not file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer. Instead, they use the workers’ compensation system to recover money for their damages. On the water, the rules are different. Most seamen injured while performing their jobs cannot file a workers’ compensation claim against their employers under either Louisiana or federal law. Instead, they usually must sue their employer under maritime law and the federal Jones Act.
Jones Act claims also operate under the theory of negligence. To file a Jones Act case, the worker must prove that their employer did not provide a reasonably safe work environment, failed to use ordinary care to maintain the vessel, or operated the ship in an unsafe condition. Injured seamen and their Lake Charles, LA, maritime injury lawyers can file a lawsuit against their employer in either state or federal court. Still, they must do so within three years of their accident or injury.