San Diego, Long Beach, San Pedro and Ventura Jones Act Lawyer - the Rights of Injured Workers and Seamen Under the Jones Act & U.s. Maritime Law


by R. Sebastian Gibson - Date: 2008-10-21 - Word Count: 578 Share This!

Maritime injuries to seamen, dock workers and workers on offshore oil rigs in California are common to workers who work out of the busiest ports in California including Long Beach, San Pedro, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Diego and Ventura, and they can occur when such workers least expect it and many times when they are far from home.


Maritime jobs are some of the riskiest in the world. Chains whip across the decks of ships, seamen lose limbs and can find themselves in ports receiving less than optimum medical treatment after being days away when the injury occurs.


As a result, seamen injured aboard ship have three avenues of recovery: The Jones Act, the doctrine of seaworthiness and the principle of maintenance and cure.


The Jones Act provides injured seamen with compensation for the negligence of others while employed on a vessel or offshore oil rig. That compensation includes damages for future medical treatment, past and future wage loss and pain and suffering.


Under the Jones Act, a seaman must prove the negligence of the vessel or oil rig's owners, employees, or operators. Negligence can also be proven by showing defects in the vessel's equipment or gear, or in the vessel itself.


The owner of a vessel also owes an absolute duty to provide and maintain a seaworthy vessel. It must be equipped with safe equipment, and be a safe place to work.


Upon being injured, a seaman has a right to benefits referred to as "maintenance and cure." The maintenance part of this term refers to a daily amount for food and shelter. The cure part of this term refers to medical treatment. Treatment is provided until the seaman reaches his or her maximum medical improvement.


In the event of death, the spouse and family members of the deceased seaman are entitled to an award for any economic losses they have suffered by reason of the seaman's death in addition to any pain and suffering the seaman may have suffered up until the time of his death.


Jones Act cases are significantly different from personal injury or workers compensation cases. An attorney without Jones Act experience is likely to be a fish out of sea until he or she has handled a few of these cases.


Not every worker aboard a ship is considered a seaman. Non-seamen workers injured over navigable waters are covered under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.


Even if you are not a seaman and have been injured while employed in any maritime activity on or near the water, you should talk to a maritime injury attorney to ensure you receive the compensation you are due. 


If you've been involved in a personal injury accident as a seaman or dock worker, or offshore oil rig worker, you can benefit from the representation of an experienced law firm who have San Diego Jones Act Lawyers, and Ventura Maritime Attorneys. For this reason, be sure to hire a California law firm with personal injury lawyers who serve areas such as Long Beach, San Pedro, San Diego and San Luis Obispo so you are properly represented and get the compensation you deserve.


If you have a maritime or Jones Act legal matter of any kind, call the Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson, or visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com  and learn how we can assist you. You can also call us to speak directly to Sebastian Gibson on the phone about your legal matter.


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The Sebastian Gibson Law Firm serves all of San Diego, Orange County, Palm Springs and Palm Desert, the Coastal Cities from La Jolla, Carlsbad and Del Mar to Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine, Santa Ana and up to Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. We also serve the Inland Empire cities of Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula, Riverside and San Bernardino and all the cities in the Coachella Valley and high desert, from La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella to Yucca Valley and Victorville.

Visit our website at http://www.sebastiangibsonlaw.com if you have a maritime or Jones Act legal matter of any kind. We have the knowledge and resources to represent you as your San Diego Jones Act Lawyer and Long Beach Maritime Attorney or your attorney in and around the cities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, San Diego, Orange County, Corona del Mar, Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Laguna Beach, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, La Jolla, Del Mar, San Marcos, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Garden Grove, Palmdale, Long Beach, Corona, Yorba Linda, Escondido, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Victorville, Carlsbad, Temecula, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, El Cajon, Vista, Westminster, Santa Monica, Malibu, Westwood, Hesperia, Buena Park, Indio, Coachella, Del Mar, Oxnard, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Cambria and Santa Barbara.

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