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If you are a crew member, often yes. A crew member injured aboard a vessel is generally not confined to a compensation schedule. There is a negligence action against the employer, and separately the traditional maritime remedies that attach to the vessel and to the worker’s status.
The Port of Houston and the Gulf produce injuries to vessel crews, longshore workers and shipyard hands. Maritime law is its own system and it does not resemble a Texas comp claim. Longshore and harbor workers who are not crew members typically fall under a separate federal scheme. Getting the classification right at the outset determines the forum, the standard and the damages. What cannot wait is finding the witnesses, because vessels move and crews change out. Call 713-521-0059.
46 U.S.C. Section 30104 provides that a seaman injured in the course of employment may elect to bring a civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer. It also provides that the laws of the United States regulating recovery for personal injury to a railway employee apply to that action. That last clause is what imports the railway employee standard into a maritime case.
In plain terms, the Jones Act lets an injured seaman ask a jury to decide a negligence claim against the employer. Your claim is about what your employer did or failed to do. That might be inadequate staffing for the work, a deck that was not kept clear, equipment that was not properly maintained, or safety training that was never provided. Each of those problems usually leaves documentation on the vessel and in the company’s files.
Whether a particular worker is a seaman for that purpose depends on the worker’s connection to a vessel and is a question we look at case by case rather than assume. The answer turns on facts you already know.
Write those facts down while your memory is still reliable. Record the vessel or fleet you were assigned to, the approximate share of your working time spent aboard, your duties on board, and the company that assigned you there. Shipyard hands, dock workers, tankermen and rig crews can end up in different places once those facts are known. That is why the classification comes first, before anything else is filed.
The evidence includes the vessel’s logs, the crew list, maintenance and inspection records, and the injury report filed with the company. Almost all of it belongs to the vessel owner or your employer, not to you. Vessels move and crews change out, so witness identification is time sensitive in a way that shore cases are not.
You can help by keeping what is yours. Keep a copy of any injury report you signed. Write down the names and phone numbers of the crew members who saw what happened, before the next hitch sends them elsewhere. Photographs of the work area, the equipment involved and your visible injuries are also valuable. Keep your pay stubs and your rotation schedule, because they document your earnings before the injury.
You may be asked to give a recorded statement or to sign a report soon after the injury. Read every document carefully before you sign it, and request a copy. If the report leaves something out, say so in writing and keep that note.
Get medical treatment promptly and follow your physician’s instructions. Keep a simple record of your treatment, your appointments and every day you are unable to work. Save text messages and emails with your supervisor or the company concerning the injury. If you were sent home from the vessel, record when and how that happened, and who arranged the transportation.
Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets the general rule for a Texas personal injury claim. Suit generally must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. A Jones Act or other maritime tort claim generally carries three years under federal law. Evidence in an industrial setting moves faster than that. Which period applies to you depends on which claim you have, so ask about your dates early.
Every statute and case linked above was read at its primary source. Texas statutes change every legislative session and case law is constantly changing.
This page is general information about Texas law. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Most of this evidence sits with the vessel owner and your employer. Crews rotate and vessels leave port, so the people who saw what happened can be hard to find a few months later. Asking early, and in writing, gives you a better chance of seeing the records as they were that day.
We start with your classification: whether you are a seaman, a longshore or harbor worker, or a shore worker, because that shapes where your claim goes and what it can include. Then we ask for the vessel’s logs, the crew list, the maintenance and inspection records and the injury report, and we work to identify the crew members who saw it before they rotate out.
Schiffer Law Firm is a Houston personal injury firm with 50 plus years of combined experience representing injured people across Texas.
There is no charge to talk, and no attorney’s fee unless there is a recovery.
Written by Jacob Schiffer, Attorney, Schiffer Law Firm. State Bar of Texas No. 24105175.
Call 713-521-0059.
It is 46 U.S.C. Section 30104. It provides that a seaman injured in the course of employment may elect to bring a civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer.
It depends on your connection to a vessel. We look at that case by case rather than assume it, using your job, your assignments and the time you spent aboard.
Usually not. Longshore and harbor workers who are not crew members typically fall under a separate federal scheme. Getting that classification right at the outset matters to the forum, the standard and the damages.
No. Maritime law is its own system. A crew member injured aboard a vessel is generally not confined to a compensation schedule, and the forum, the standard and the damages can all differ.
A Jones Act or other maritime tort claim generally carries three years under federal law. Section 16.003 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code sets the general rule for a Texas personal injury claim. Suit generally must be filed within two years after the day the claim accrues, which is usually the date of the injury. The evidence moves faster than either period.
A copy of the injury report, the names and phone numbers of crew members who saw it, photographs, your medical records and your pay records. Ask for a copy of anything you sign.