Am I covered under the Jones Act?
September 09, 2009 @ 05:07 PM — by sanelson11
As a Corpus Christi Jones Act lawyer, I am often asked about the use and origin of this statute. Maritime common law failed to provide a seaman a cause of action against his employer for damages caused by the negligence of co-employees. Congress remedied this by adopting the Jones Act, which states, in part:
Any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the course of his employment may . . . maintain an action for damages at law . .. And in such 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 . . . . 46 U.S.C.A. Section 688.