As many people know, the seas and navigable waterways of the United States are governed by their own laws, called maritime law. Included under maritime law is the Jones Act, which allows seamen to sue their employers when they have been injured at sea due to the employer's negligence.

All workers on all types of maritime vessels, including boats, ships, barges, tugboats, cruise ships, tour boats, fishing vessels, drilling vessels and ferries are included under the Jones Act. With a lawsuit under the Act, workers can collect lost wages, past and future medical expenses and many other damages.

Recently, a southeast Texas worker aboard a Noble International drilling vessel sued his employer and two of the company's subsidiaries under the Jones Act after he tripped while stepping into a doorway and injured his hip.

The lawsuit was filed in Jefferson County District Court in late September and alleges that the fall occurred because of the negligence of the defendants. Noble Drilling Corp. and Noble Drilling Services are named as the two other defendants in the case.

The worker stated that the defendants were negligent by failing to provide a handrail, failing to clearly mark the steps on the vessel and failing to provide a non-slip surface on the steps where the accident happened. Because of these safety hazards, the worker claims that the vessel was unseaworthy.

The worker is seeking damages for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, mental anguish, pain, impairment, disfigurement and all court costs. Court papers did not name the exact amount sought.

Many Jones Act lawsuits surround the issue of "seaworthiness." By law, ships and other sea vessels must be safe to be used for their intended purposes. This standard holds employers strictly liable, which means that the worker does not need to show that his employer knew that the ship was unsafe, only that the ship was in fact unsafe.

Source: Southeast Texas Record, "Seaman trips on vessel doorway, files Jones Act suit," David Yates, Oct. 10, 2011.