Workers in most jobs are covered by workers\u2019 compensation laws. These laws were passed long ago to make it easier for a person hurt on the job to recover money from his or her employer. As a trade-off to making recovery easier for employees, employer costs for workers compensation are generally less than if recovery occurred through lawsuits.<\/p>\n
Seaman are not covered by workers\u2019 compensation. Instead, long ago, Congress passed a federal law known as the Jones Act to give seamen a way to recover when they are hurt on the job due to employer negligence. The law applies to seaman who work on a vessel at least 30% of the time.<\/p>\n
The Jones Act has a generous standard for employees. Under that law, an employer has to provide a reasonably safe workplace. If an employer\u2019s negligence causes an employee to be injured, the employee wins his case. It does not matter whether the employer\u2019s negligence was particularly bad. If the employer was negligent at all<\/em> and that negligence leads to the employee\u2019s injury, the employee wins.<\/p>\n This is a much easier standard to meet than that used in most employees\u2019 lawsuits against their employers. In fact, \u201chis test is often described as a \u2018featherweight causation standard.\u2019\u201d Using it, many seamen are able to recover against their employers.<\/p>\n Here are some examples of employer negligence that might allow a seaman to recover:<\/p>\n