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Maritime and Jones Act Workers Claims:

• Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act   
  Description: The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act was signed into law in July of 2010 by President Obama to improve the safety and security of American citizens sailing as passengers to and from the United States on cruise vessels.
• Limitation of Liability   
  Description: Limitation of liability statutes in maritime law allow a vessel owner to set limits on the extent of his liability after a maritime accident.
• Shuman Consulting and the Transocean Explosion   
  Description: Shuman Consulting hired by Transocean in connection with the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig explosion as Third Party Administrator and/or Risk Manager to work on Loss Adjustment. Shuman's entire purpose is to assess corporate loss and exposure and limit it. Their goal will be to limit the amount of money that is paid out to maritime workers injured in the Transocean explosion and family members of those crewmembers who were lost at sea.
• Louisiana Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: Louisiana Jones Act lawyers - Call SMSH at 1-800-282-2122. We represent injured maritime workers protected by the Jones Act in Louisiana and across the country - 713.524.3500 - 3200 Travis Street
  3rd Floor, Houston, TX 77006
• Alabama Jones Act Lawyer   
  Description: Alabama Jones Act lawyers and maritime attorneys represent injured people involved in serious injuries and wrongful death claims governed by the Jones Act or other laws. Call the maritime attorneys at SMSH if you have been injured and need consultation regarding your legal rights. 1-800-949-6671
• Exposure Injuries   
  Description: Cold exposure occurs when a person is submerged in water, and can lead not just to drowning, but to several cold exposure-related emergencies, including hypothermia and frostbite.
• Maritime Law   
  Description: Maritime law or admiralty law refers to a body of laws that relate to compensation for injured workers, non-maritime workers, seamen and other parties in maritime accidents.
• Deckhands   
  Description: Almost every vessel will have deckhands as part of the crew. The duties and responsibilities of a deckhand may depend on whether he's working on a freighter, fishing vessel, a cruise line or other kind of vessel. Common to a deckhand's duties in any kind of vessel is constant work outside on the deck in all kinds of weather, and hard physical work.
• Ordinary Seaman   
  Description: An Ordinary Seaman typically performs cleaning and maintenance activities on a vessel. He made be in charge of garbage collection and disposal, and maintenance of the vessel's interior. He may also be given sundry assorted jobs on the ship, like securing cargo, hauling cargo, and assisting able-bodied seamen and other crew members in their tasks. He may even have a place on the bridge watching team, and this may be one of his most important duties because after a period of time, he may be promoted to the position of an able-bodied seaman. Bridge watch keeping is one of the most important responsibilities of an able-bodied seaman.
• Able-Bodied Seaman   
  Description: An able-bodied seaman may enter the service of a vessel as an ordinary seaman. As an able-bodied seaman, he may work more than eight-hour shifts a day, performing a variety of jobs. He may also perform many of the same jobs that an ordinary seaman does. The nature of an able-bodied seaman's duties is vast, and this increases the kind of risks that he is exposed to a daily basis. Work with machinery on the deck can quickly lead to accidents and injuries. Constant work maintaining decks, cleaning equipment and repairing gear can take its toll on a worker's health. Repetitive stress injuries are common among such maritime workers....
• Crewmember   
  Description: A crew member may be any worker who is part of a team working on a vessel, towards a common function. The term crewmember can be used to mean persons who are involved in the pursuit of a single goal on a vessel. Broadly, a crewmember could be anyone contributing to the common goal on a vessel.
• Roustabout   
  Description: SMSH maritime lawyers represent roustabouts who have been injured on the job, and help them get back on the road to medical and financial recovery. A roustabout position is an entry-level job on an oil rig. Basically, a roustabout performs manual jobs on the rig. The job is incredibly hectic, and will require you to be on your feet and at work, seven days a week. The single biggest requirement for the job of a roustabout on an oil rig is the capacity and the willingness to perform heavy, strenuous labor, continuously and constantly.
• Oil Rig Driller   
  Description: SMSH has represented oil rig drillers for over 45 years in cases for maritime injuries. A driller on an oil rig has a number of duties. He is responsible for supervising and directing crew operations. He works under the drilling rig manager, and reports directly to him. He is also responsible for maintaining the drilling equipment. The risk for injuries to a driller can come from the constant exposure to the elements, the operating of complex equipment, and the strenuous nature of the job.
• Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)   
  Description: Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) refers to a state beyond which an injured Jones Act seaman cannot be expected to recover physically.
  The concept of Maximum Medical Improvement is extremely important in the context of an injured Jones Act seaman. A seaman has the right to receive maintenance and cure payments from his employer during his injury. These payments must begin as soon as the injury occurs, and must continue until the seaman reaches a state of Maximum Medical Improvement, or a stage beyond which physicians do not expect him to recover.
• Jones Act Claims   
  Description: Only maritime workers, who meet the definition of a Jones Act seaman, are eligible to file Jones Act claims. Jones Act claims are filed against the worker's employer, or in case of unseaworthiness of the vessel, against the owner of the vessel. Jones Act claims differ from Workers' Compensation claims in one very vital aspect. Claims under the Jones Act require that your maritime lawyer show that your employer was negligent and this caused an injury, or failed to take precautions that would have prevented an injury. Workers' Compensation claims, on the other hand, do not require you to prove any kind of negligence on the part of the employer.
• Jones Act Lawsuits   
  Description: Jones Act lawsuits offer legal remedies for seamen who are eligible under the Jones Act, to obtain compensation for their losses. In order to be eligible to file a Jones Act lawsuit, an injured seaman must be able to prove that he meets the definition of a seaman as laid down by the Jones Act. These lawsuits can be filed not only by injured workers, but also by the survivors of seamen killed on duty.
• Jones Act Settlements   
  Description: A typical Jones Act settlement may include maintenance and cure payments, medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering damages and other damages calculated by your maritime attorney. At Schechter McElwee Shaffer and Harris, we take on every case and prepare for it like we're going to trial. We know there is an overwhelming chance that your case may end at the settlement stage. However, we want our clients and their employers to know that we are ready to go to trial if the need arises. Employers know perfectly well which maritime lawyers prefer to settle quietly, and which ones are not afraid to take them to court. Guess which lawyers are better equipped to handle employers.
• Jones Act Vessel   
  Description: Determining questions of vessel status under the Jones Act can be as complicated as determining the status of a seaman. Broadly, the definition of a Jones Act vessel includes traditional vessels like tankers, freighters, cruise ships, barges and others that have been used on our oceans and rivers for centuries. However, the maritime industry has expanded greatly since 1920 when the Jones Act was passed.
• Jones Act Seaman   
  Description: A seaman may be any person who is employed at sea. However, for the purposes of the Jones Act, there are more criteria that must be met for a person to be determined as a seaman. For a seaman to qualify under the Jones Act, he must fulfill 3 essential criteria to qualify for status, and all the rights and privileges it includes.
• Our combined over 100 years of experience as litigating maritime lawyers has shown us that most maritime employers or offshore companies will place their injured workers under surveillance while they are off of work and under medical treatment   
• New Jersey Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: New Jersey Jones Act lawyers - Call SMSH at 1-800-282-2122. We represent injured workers and their families in serious injury and wrongful death claims protected by the Jones Act and related laws
• New York Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: For maritime claims in New York or anywhere else you may been injured, Call our Jones Act lawyers at 1-800-282-2122 if you think you have a NY maritime law claim. Our maritime attorneys will speak with you about your injury and answer any questions you may have.
• Delaware Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: Call 1-800-282-2122 to speak to a Jones Act Lawyer and receive a free maritime claim evaluation. We handle cases across the country including Delaware
• Virginia Jones Act Lawyers and Maritime Attorneys   
  Description: Virginia Jones Act lawyers - Virginia Jones Act claims, please call us at 1-800-282-2122. We are a maritime law firm and we will confidentially speak with you about your injury and answer your questions about maritime law.
• North Carolina Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: North Carolina Jones Act attorneys represent injured workers and their families in serious injury and wrongful death claims. Call 1-800-282-2122 to speak to a maritime accident attorney.
• South Carolina Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: South Carolina Jones Act Lawyers - If you think you may have a South Carolina Jones Act claim, please call us at 1-800-282-2122
• Georgia Jones Act Lawyers   
  Description: Georgia Jones Act lawyers - our maritime attorneys have repeatedly obtained positive results for seamen with Jones Act and general maritime law claims. Call now 1-800-282-2122
• Florida Jones Act Lawyers | Maritime Attorneys   
  Description: Florida Jones Act lawyers and maritime attorneys represent injured people involved in serious injuries and wrongful death claims governed by the Jones Act or other maritime laws
• Global Marine News   
• Causes of Action Under the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Act, & the Federal Employers' Liability Act   
  Description: A general overview of Jones Act cases, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Act cases, and Federal Employers' Liability Act cases.
• How To Protect Your Rights Under the Jones Act and Maritime Law   
  Description: How maritime workers injured in the course of their work can protect their rights under the Jones Act.
• The Relationship Between Medicare and a Vessel Owner's Duty to Provide Cure: A New Medicare Scam?   
  Description: Discusses a vessel owner's duty to provide cure to a seaman who becomes ill or injured while in service to the ship and its relationship to Medicare.
• Occupational Illness Cases In A Maritime Context: The Plaintiff's Perspective   
  Description: A summary of the issues involved in maritime cases with regard to occupational illnesses for Jones Act seamen, including discussio of the Jones Act, general maritime law and maintenance and cure.

Arthur L. Schechter, Matthew D. Shaffer and Jonathan S. Harris are Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

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August 2010 Texas Injury Lawyer Newsletter

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