Admiralty law, also called maritime law, is a unique legal framework that governs various maritime issues and matters. It includes both national and international laws, along with a variety of regulations concerning shipping, cargo, marine accidents, passenger transportation, and personal injury.

Maritime law in the US

Each country has its own set of rules and regulations governing marine law. Under Title 28, § 1333, federal courts have authority over marine statutes and claims, including the right to file a maritime case in the proper state court.

Types of Maritime Laws

When an accident and injury occur, maritime law divides the types of damages that maritime workers can claim based on who was harmed, where the injury occurred, and the circumstances surrounding the injury.

Maintenance and Cure

When seamen are injured on the job, they are typically entitled to maintenance and cure benefits, regardless of how or when the accident occurred, as long as it occurred while the seaman was working. Maintenance pays for the seaman's daily living expenditures during the recuperation period, including rent or mortgage, utilities, food, and taxes. However, expenses that are deemed optional, such as cable television or Internet bills, are usually not covered. Furthermore, automotive expenses such as gas, repairs, and insurance are excluded because they are not deemed necessary to manage a household.

Cure covers medical expenses related to the injury during the recovery period, such as doctor visits, medication, examinations, rehabilitation, any specific medical equipment required, and travel costs to medical appointments.

If you've been wounded, maintenance and treatment will continue until a certified physician gives you a clean bill of health and says you can return to work. However, if you believe you are still not entirely recovered, you should seek a second or even third medical opinion, because returning to work while not fully recovered risks losing other benefits and compensation to which you may be entitled.

The Jones Act

Unlike maintenance and cure, seafarers seeking Jones Act benefits must prove that their injuries were caused by another party's negligence and occurred while on the job. Employers are normally accountable for damages if an injury occurs, although the burden of evidence falls on the seaman. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that the level of evidence required in Jones Act claims is much less than in typical personal injury lawsuits. In maritime law, seafarers only have to show that their employer played a part, even if it was small, in causing the accident that led to their injuries Some typical causes for employer responsibility under the Jones Act are:

Failure to verify that equipment components are up to date and functional.

Spills, including oil and grease, on the ship's deck

Failure to adequately train staff before putting them to work.

Coworker attack

Failure to provide enough safety gear and equipment

Employees overwork, resulting in weariness and repetitive usage injuries. Failure to install warning and hazard signs in risky places

The Jones Act provides for damages such as lost wages, medical expenditures, pain and suffering, disfigurement (if relevant), lost wages, reduced earning ability, and more. The severity of the harm and the circumstances surrounding each individual case will decide the amount of damages. Apart from the first accident and injury report, it is important to remember that you should never sign any paperwork that is supplied to you by your employer or an insurance agent acting on behalf of your company until you have had the records carefully reviewed by an experienced maritime accident attorney.

Employers frequently prefer to minimize their liability in the event of an accident, and insurance salesmen may try to force you into signing away your rights.

The Jones Act's statute of limitations is three years after the injury occurred. The statute makes an exception if your case is against a vessel owned and contracted by the United States. In this case, the statute of limitations is shorter and will vary depending on the circumstances.

Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation is another workers' compensation program that is covered by maritime law. It pays benefits to employees hurt while performing jobs that involve working on navigable waters or in close proximity to them, such as loading and unloading cargo from ships, repairing ships, or maintaining decks and piers.

The LHWCA applies to all workers in marine occupations, including longshoremen, harbor workers, shipbreakers, and ship mechanics. The Act excludes everyone who is entitled to state benefits and compensation, including office and retail workers, small vessel workers, and, in some cases, recreational vessel personnel. The basic requirements of LHWCA include the following:

Injured employees are entitled to 66 2/3 percent of their weekly salaries for the duration of their recovery. Employees who have been injured are eligible for compensation for permanent disability, as well as the loss of limbs and organs, in order to restore lost earning capability.

The statute of limitations for LHWCA is one year after the date of harm. However, if your employer begins giving compensation and benefits, the statute of limitations will commence when your company ceases to pay. For example, your employer may provide benefits and remuneration for two years. Even if it is more than a year, the statute of limitations will begin regardless of how long your company has paid you. Even if your company pays you while you are wounded, it is still recommended that you file a formal claim within one year of the incident. This will make it apparent that you are applying for benefits under the LHWCA. Death on the High Seas Act

The Death on High Seas Act (DOHSA), passed by Congress in 1920, covers any maritime catastrophe that occurs more than three miles from the shores of the United States and its territories. It would allow for the recovery of damages for a maritime worker's death if it was caused by a "wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas beyond a marine league (3 miles) from the shore of any state." Only a spouse, child, dependant relative, or their representative can file a DOHSA claim on behalf of the deceased.

The amount that the surviving family is entitled to is determined using the compensation that would have been received if the maritime worker had not perished. Compensation is also estimated for the care and supervision that the deceased worker's children will no longer get. The ultimate compensation amount is based on the real amount of financial contribution the maritime worker would have provided to the household, minus a specified amount that would have been utilized on the deceased themselves.