“The Jones Act provides a cause of action in negligence for ‘any seaman’ injured ‘in the course of his employment.’ Under general maritime law prevailing prior to the statute’s enactment, seamen were entitled to ‘maintenance and cure’ from their employer for injuries incurred ‘in the service of the ship’ and to recover damages from the vessel’s owner for ‘injuries received by seamen in consequence of the unseaworthiness of the ship,’ but they were ‘not allowed to recover an indemnity for the negligence of the master, or any member of the crew’ [quoting from the 1903 Supreme Court case The Osceola]. Congress enacted the Jones Act in 1920 to remove the bar to suit for negligence articulated in The Osceola, thereby completing the trilogy of heightened legal protections (unavailable to other maritime workers) that seamen receive because of their exposure to the ‘perils of the sea.’” J. O’Connor, Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347, 354 (1995).
Jones Act
Definition
A federal statute (46 U.S.C. § 688) that extends the Federal Employer’s Liability Act (FELA) to seamen. The Act enables seamen who have been injured at sea during the course of their employment to bring a personal injury action against their employers.
Under the Jones Act, the plaintiff may bring an action in federal district court or in state court.
The defendant is not entitled to remove the case from a state court to federal court. Although maritime law generally does not afford the plaintiffs the right to a jury trial, the Jones Act grants plaintiffs that right in personal injury actions.
46 U.S.C. § 688(a) reads: "Any sailor who shall suffer personal injury in the course of his employment may, at his election, maintain an action for damages at law, with the right to trial by jury, and in such an action all statutes of the United States modifying or extending the common-law right or remedy in cases of personal injury to railway employees shall apply…."
Full text of the Jones Act:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode46a/usc_sec_46a_00000688----000-.html
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:18 pm
