Jones Act Settlement and Filing Deadline for a Maritime Injury
A seaman hurt in the course of employment can bring a claim against the employer under the Jones Act, a federal statute, and the law that governs a railroad worker's injury claim applies to it. This page quotes the Act, the federal period for a maritime injury claim, and the shorter period for a claim against the United States, and counts the period from the date you enter.
The Act reads: “A seaman injured in the course of employment or, if the seaman dies from the injury, the personal representative of the seaman may elect to bring a civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer.” (46 U.S.C. § 30104(a))
Count the filing deadline for a maritime injury
Enter the date of the injury and answer the question about the vessel. The tool counts the period that applies, and the shorter one until you say it does not.
If the harm developed over time, enter the earliest date you can name: counting from it gives the earliest deadline.
A claim against the United States as a vessel's owner or operator runs on the Suits in Admiralty Act's period, quoted below. Until you answer No, the tool counts that one, which is the shorter.
Enter the date of the injury to count the period.
What the Jones Act gives a seaman
The Act gives the seaman, or the seaman's personal representative after a death, a claim against the employer, with a jury: “A seaman injured in the course of employment or, if the seaman dies from the injury, the personal representative of the seaman may elect to bring a civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer.” (46 U.S.C. § 30104(a))
And it borrows the railroad workers' law: “Laws of the United States regulating recovery for personal injury to, or death of, a railway employee apply to an action under this section.” (46 U.S.C. § 30104(a)) That law is the Federal Employers' Liability Act, which this site's FELA page quotes.
So the railroad Act's rules come with it. The employer is liable for an injury “for such injury or death resulting in whole or in part from the negligence of any of the officers, agents, or employees of such carrier, or by reason of any defect or insufficiency, due to its negligence, in its cars, engines, appliances, machinery, track, roadbed, works, boats, wharves, or other equipment.” (45 U.S.C. § 51)
A seaman's own share of fault reduces the damages rather than barring the claim: “the fact that the employee may have been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery, but the damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to such employee” (45 U.S.C. § 53).
Who counts as a seaman is decided by courts, not by the section's words, and this page does not decide it. Maritime law also gives remedies that come from court decisions rather than a statute, and this page did not read them.
The Jones Act filing deadline
The federal period for a maritime injury claim: “Except as otherwise provided by law, a civil action for damages for personal injury or death arising out of a maritime tort must be brought within 3 years after the cause of action arose.” (46 U.S.C. § 30106)
The section opens with "Except as otherwise provided by law", so another statute can set a different period for some claims. One does for a claim against the United States as a vessel's owner or operator.
The Suits in Admiralty Act allows that claim: “In a case in which, if a vessel were privately owned or operated, or if cargo were privately owned or possessed, or if a private person or property were involved, a civil action in admiralty could be maintained, a civil action in admiralty in personam may be brought against the United States or a federally-owned corporation.” (46 U.S.C. § 30903(a))
And sets its period: “A civil action under this chapter must be brought within 2 years after the cause of action arose.” (46 U.S.C. § 30905)
The tool above counts the shorter period unless you answer that the vessel was not owned or operated by the United States or a federally-owned corporation. Each section counts from the day the cause of action arose, which can be later than the date of the injury and is not earlier, so the date the tool shows is the earliest the period can end.
Offshore and maritime injuries the Act can reach
The Act speaks of a seaman injured in the course of employment. Whether a worker on a fishing vessel, a tug, a barge, a supply boat, a dredge or a ferry is a seaman turns on the work and its connection to a vessel, which courts decide, and this page does not.
Not every worker on the water is a seaman. The Act itself carves out some aquaculture workers, and a dock or harbor worker can be covered by a different federal law, the Longshore Act, which this page does not cover. If you are not sure which law covers your work, that is the first question to put to a lawyer.
An injury on an offshore platform raises the same question in a different form: whether the worker's job ties them to a vessel, or to the platform, which courts also decide.
How a Jones Act settlement is figured
A Jones Act claim is for damages, so a settlement is built from the losses the injury caused: wages lost and the earning capacity lost for the years ahead, medical costs, and pain and suffering. A settlement is an agreement, and its amount is whatever the parties agree.
If the claim is tried, the railroad Act's fault rule applies through § 30104: the damages are reduced in proportion to the seaman's own negligence. This page does not estimate a figure, because the site's estimate applies a state's fault rule and a Jones Act claim does not.
What to keep and write down after a maritime injury
Write down what happened as soon as you can: the date, the time, the vessel and where it was, the task, the equipment, the weather and the sea, who was there, and what was said. Write down what you were told to do afterwards and what you were asked to sign.
Keep a copy of the injury report, the vessel's log entry if you can get it, every medical record and bill, every pay statement, and every letter from the employer or its insurer. Keep the names and contact details of crew members who saw what happened.
Note who owned and who operated the vessel, from your pay records, your employment papers or the vessel's documents: the answer decides which period the tool counts.
When to talk to a maritime injury lawyer
This site is not a law firm, does not refer anyone to a lawyer, and cannot say what a lawyer would recover. The questions on this page are answered by the statutes and the court decisions under them: whether you are a seaman, whether the vessel was owned or operated by the United States, when your claim arose, and what remedies maritime law gives besides the Act. A lawyer who handles Jones Act claims can answer them. Bring your written record, your reports and your pay and medical records, and the date the tool shows.