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Learn More >>Maritime Law
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.
It's impossible to briefly summarize maritime or admiralty law. Broadly, these laws govern navigation, shipping, trade and commerce, accidents, compensation, injuries and other issues involving vessels on water. The maritime laws that would apply to an injured maritime worker would be very different from those that would come into play when a non-worker is injured, like a passenger on a cruise ship. Then again, a maritime worker who does not qualify as a Jones Act seaman, has entirely different recovery options available to him under maritime law.
Broadly, the maritime laws that are most often applied when you're injured on water are the following.
In the context of an injured employee, the Jones Act specifically relates to an injured worker who qualifies as a Jones Act seaman. Non-Jones Act seamen would not be included under this law. The Jones Act provides injured seamen the right to file a claim of negligence against an employer.
Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act
The Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act or LHWCA, applies to maritime workers who are not Jones Act seamen. Typical examples of workers who might be included under the LHWCA would be workers in the shipbuilding and ship breaking industries, longshoremen, dockworkers, port workers, and crane operators. The LHWCA provides for much lower damages than the Jones Act.
Death on the High Seas Act
The Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) applies to families of seamen killed in international waters. For a maritime accident fatality to be covered under this law, the death must have occurred at least 12 nautical miles off the shores of the United States.
General Maritime Law
These are the oldest maritime laws, and have been passed down through centuries of seamen. The most basic of these general maritime laws is the right to maintenance and cure and the rights to lost wages.
The maritime attorneys at Schechter McElwee Shaffer & Harris have several decades of experience representing persons in matters of maritime and admiralty law. Our maritime attorneys have represented clients including Jones Act seamen, non-seamen maritime workers, and non-maritime workers in all matters where an injury or death has occurred at sea. If you or a loved one have been injured in a maritime accident, contact an experienced maritime lawyer at our firm for a free evaluation of your case.
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