Oil Rig Safety: The Jones Act Vessels and Maritime or Jones Act Law

Feb. 6, 2012 - PRLog -- When filing a claim after oil rig safety negligence caused you serious injury, you will need to determine if the law for maritime or Jones Act will apply to your claim. The determination for the Jones Act is vessels, while Maritime Law focuses on the location of your worksite. There are many nuances and details that go into making the determination of what laws apply, which is where a Jones Act attorney can be of help.

Types of Jones Act Vessels

For workers employed in professions considered maritime, the Jones Act applies to those who are more or less stationed permanently on a vessel in navigation. This generally means any sort of moving vessel is considered under Jones Act vessels. Some examples include:

• cargo ships;
• crew boats;
• tug boats; and
• moving barges.

Because there is a concern with oil rig safety, many oil rigs are also considered vessels if they are not fixed platforms. This includes jack-up rigs, semi-submersible rigs, and most recently, drill ships have been considered as Jones Act vessels.

Filing Your Maritime or Jones Act Oil Rig Safety Claim

If you are injured while stationed aboard a fixed platform oil rig, the Jones Act will not apply to your claim. This is because oil rig platforms are permanently fixed to the ocean floor and are thus governed by the state whose shore is closest to the platform.

There can be debate in your injury claim about the status of your accident location, especially with work barges, which may or may not be considered work platforms. In the Gulf of Mexico, fixed platforms and SPARs are also not considered Jones Act vessels.

Once you have determined whether or not your accident occurred under maritime or Jones Act laws by reviewing the location classification, your Jones Act attorney can help you determine if there were any oil rig safety violations that may have led to your injury.

A main part of the evidence you will need to present for your maritime or Jones Act claim is that another’s negligence caused the accident, and it resulted in your injuries. Violations of oil rig safety procedures either by your employer or a negligent co-worker may be considered negligence in your injury claim.

Maritime and Jones Act laws may not protect workers who are injured due to their own negligence if it can be proven that their actions directly caused the accident. If you ever face difficulty in producing evidence or resolving your maritime or Jones Act claim, a Jones Act attorney should be your first call for assistance.

Contact a Jones Act Attorney for Oil Rig Safety Claims

The laws of maritime and Jones Act both provide you with certain protections your employer may not want you to know about. When you file an oil rig safety claim after a serious injury it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be offered help from your employer in seeking your rightful benefits. A Jones Act attorney from The Young Firm in New Orleans, Louisiana, can help you if you have suffered injury while employed on Jones Act vessels.

Though we are based in Louisiana, we are ready and able to help injured victims throughout the U.S. When you are ready to get started with your Maritime or Jones Act claim, we urge you to contact us today: http://www.jonesactlaw.com/contact.cfm  for a FREE case evaluation – call 1-504-680-4100 or toll free at 1-866-938-6113.

# # #

Maritime accidents are an unfortunate part of working at a harbor or shipyard, or on a tug boat/barge or oil rig. When your job places you near the water where you are employed in a maritime trade you’re covered by the Jones Act Law