Maritime workers, those who work on or near the water, receive benefits under the Jones Act or the Longshore Act when they are injured on the job. While both provide medical and compensation benefits, recovery under the Jones Act may be more beneficial to injured workers in the long run.

Why the Jones Act may be more beneficial

According to Tim Young, an attorney from New Orleans, Louisiana whose firm’s practice focuses on maritime injury cases, injured workers will collect more under the Jones Act in almost all cases. He explained, “There are certain longshoremen who are better off collecting longshore benefits, but as a general rule, most individuals are better filing claims under the Jones Act. The reason for that is because the Jones Act allows for pain and suffering, future lost wages, loss of opportunity, loss of fringe benefits and for past and future medical expenses. The Longshore Act only allows for medical expenses and compensation benefits. Pain and suffering is not allowed.”

Determining compensation benefits

The compensation benefits an injured worker receives are determined in very different ways depending on which act a claim is filed under. Young explained, “The compensation benefits can be extremely limited depending on the part of the person’s body that was injured. It sounds strange, but that’s how the Longshore Act will determine the amount of compensation - based upon what part of his body he injured.”

The Longshore Act differentiates between a knee injury versus a lower back or neck injury. It divides the injuries by what they call scheduled or non-scheduled injuries. Young provided examples of each:

• Scheduled injury. If a person has a scheduled injury, such as to the knee, the foot, the hand or the finger, those injuries are paid a flat settlement based on the percentage impairment rating to the part of the body. It doesn’t make any difference whether they can never work offshore again or never work as a dock worker again. It doesn’t make any difference how many surgeries they’ve had or how much pain and suffering they’ve been through. They will receive a one-time check based on a number that the doctor assigns to them at the end of the treatment.
• Non-scheduled injury. If the person has a non-scheduled injury, such as a lower back or neck injury, then the formula for determining their compensation is very different. It is 2/3 of their salary, but the company will get credit, or will get to reduce that amount by whatever the employee can go back to making.

“So, in a Longshore case, the part of the body that was injured is very important in determining what type of benefits are available to the person. The Jones Act does not have any type of formula like that. Under the Jones Act, the person’s injury is treated the same regardless of whether it’s a knee, foot or a back injury. The Jones Act simply asks how much money the injured person is going to lose in the future because of this injury. That’s why a person can generally recover more under the Jones Act than under the Longshore Act.”

If you have been injured in an accident on or near the water, contact an attorney whose practice focuses on maritime issues. To contact an experienced maritime attorney, please click here.