What Are The Types Of Damages Allowed Under The Jones Act?
Written by Timothy Young   
Thursday, 29 October 2009 12:24
The Jones Act is a federal statute found at 46 USC ?30104 (formally 48 United States Code ? 688) which allows an injured maritime worker to file a tort type lawsuit against his employer. In order to qualify under the Jones Act, the employee must meet the definition of a seaman. Once the employee's claim is determined to fall under the Jones Act, the employee is then entitled to recover several different types of damages from his employer.
by TimothyYoung


The Jones Act is a federal statute found at 46 USC ?30104 (formally 48 United States Code ? 688) which allows an injured maritime worker to file a tort type lawsuit against his employer. In order to qualify under the Jones Act, the employee must meet the definition of a seaman. Once the employee's claim is determined to fall under the Jones Act, the employee is then entitled to recover several different types of damages from his employer.

Before addressing the specific categories of damages which are allowed under the Jones Act, it is first important to understand two basic facts about the Jones Act. First, the Jones Act is a fault-based statute which means that in order to collect any type of damage against your employer, you must prove that your employer was at fault in causing or contributing to your injury or that the vessel was unseaworthy which caused or contributed to your injury. Under the Jones Act you do not collect any damages unless there was some degree of fault on the part of your employer in any form or fashion in causing your injury. Also, the damages that you can collect under the Jones Act are separate and apart from the damages you can collect under general maritime law for "maintenance and cure". Even if your employer was not at fault in causing your injury, you are still entitled to maintenance and cure benefits under general maritime law.

An injured employee can collect general damages including pain and suffering under the Jones Act. These damages are only allowed under the Jones Act and not allowed under the Longshore Act or any state workers' compensation statute. Generally there is no scale or schedule which states the amount of money which can be collected for certain amounts of pain and/or suffering. The amount to be awarded for general damages including pain and suffering is usually left to the trier of fact whether it is a jury or a judge. However, typically courts of appeal will lower or reverse any pain and suffering awards which they believe are excessive.

The second category of damages which an injured seaman can collect under the Jones Act is for lost wages. This includes both past lost wages from the time of his injury through his trial date as well as future lost wages which he may incur in the future after his trial date. generally this is a comparison of the amount the employee was earning at the time of his injury compared to the amount that he would be limited to earning in the future due to his injury. In almost all cases future lost wages must be calculated by an expert economist who can reduce the amount to "present day value" since the injured employee will be receiving the amount at the time of trial for damages that he will not incur until the future.

An injured employee can also collect his past and future medical expenses under the Jones Act. In order to collect any type of medical expenses under the Jones Act the employee must simply prove that the medical expenses are "reasonable and necessary" and that "more likely than not" the employee has or will incur such expenses. Usually medical expenses must be proven through expert medical testimony. Courts will not allow an injured seaman to collect medical expenses which are merely speculative and are not based upon medical testimony.

Finally, the Jones Act allows an injured seaman to recover damages for any lost fringe benefits or other employment related benefits that he may suffer in the future due to his injury. Typically the loss of fringe benefits include the value of the health insurance that may have been provided to the seaman by his employer, the value of the employer's contributions to the seaman's retirement account or 401(k), and the value of any other insurance type benefits that were provided by his employer. Injured seaman may also seek money damages for the value of the lost meals that they may no longer enjoy offshore if they are restricted from returning to offshore work due to their injury.

Damages under the Jones Act are meant to fully compensate an injured seaman for any damages suffered by the seaman directly due to his employer's negligence. Some of these damages must be proven in court through expert testimony while others are simply estimated and awarded by the jury based upon common sense and the jury's view of the seriousness of the injury. Because the Jones Act allows an injured seaman to recover so many different categories of damages, most injured maritime workers will recover more money under the Jones Act than under other statutes such as the Longshore Act or state workers' compensation laws.

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For more information and help for injured seamen, go to JonesActLaw.com. The Jones Act can provide help for injured seamen, but the seamen must take time to learn their rights.