Many New Orleans residents have employment connected to shipping and other ocean-based activities. When a seaman suffers a personal injury while working aboard a vessel, that seaman’s ability to recover damages is governed under the Jones Act – a federal law enacted to regulate such cases. Not everyone whose employment is connected to the sea, however, is entitled to recovery under the Jones Act. To determine whether an individual qualifies as a seaman for purposes of the Jones Act, the U.S. Supreme Court has set forth a two-part test. The first part of this test requires a determination as to “whether the employee’s duties contributed to the function of the vessel or accomplishment of its mission.” Answering this first question is usually a fairly straightforward matter. If the employee worked on the vessel in some necessary capacity, he or she would pass this first branch of the test. If not,…Read More
Many of New Orleans’ families have a loved one whose job requires travel in the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately for these families, they do not have the same rights as those on land if that family member dies due to the negligence of his or her employer while in international waters. One of the few positive changes that may come out of the BP oil spill is that this unfair law may be about to change. Currently, if a family member is killed while working in international waters, the rights of the family to recover damages are governed by the federal Death on the High Seas Act. Under this law, the only individual who can sue for the wrongful death of a loved one is the spouse, and the damages that may be sought are basically limited to strictly economic damages, such as loss of future income. Other family members,…Read More
