Grossman Attorneys at Law
841 Prudential Dr
Suite 1247
Jacksonville, FL 32207
800.940.8048
We are tested maritime attorneys experienced in litigating Jones Act claims. The Jones Act applies to officers and crew members on nearly every type of vessel or boat, including cruise ships, barges, tugs and tows, jack-up oil rigs, semi-submersible rigs, push boats, dredges, tankers, freighters, crew boats, supply boats, and fishing vessels. The law applies to seamen on oceangoing or blue water vessels, as well as crew members on inland waterways, including rivers. Longshoremen, harbor workers, ship builders, ship repair personnel, pilots, and fixed-platform workers are not covered by the Jones Act, as they fall under other maritime laws and are entitled to different remedies. Under the Jones Act, if you are injured or become ill while serving on a vessel, your employer or ship owner is obligated to pay maintenance and cure, regardless of whether the employer is at fault. Maintenance is a daily rate that is designed to replace the living benefits you have while on the vessel, such as food, lodging and utilities. There is no standard maintenance rate; the amount paid to each individual varies. Cure is your employer's or ship owner's obligation to pay your medical expenses associated with the injury or illness. Cure is owed until your doctor can do no more to heal your condition, which is known as reaching maximum medical improvement. You are entitled to maintenance and cure regardless of the cause of the injury. You do not have to prove that the illness or injury resulted from your employment. However, you may forfeit maintenance and cure if your own willful misconduct or deliberate act of indiscretion caused your injury. Additionally, if you misrepresented or omitted a medical condition from a job application, and your misrepresentation influenced the owner's decision to hire you, you may not be entitled to maintenance and cure. An employer's failure to pay maintenance and cure is actionable, and, if the refusal is willful, it can result in a claim for attorney fees. A three-year statute of limitations applies to maritime claims, including those for maintenance and cure. Actions are filed against an employer under the Jones Act in state or federal court, depending on the state. You may or may not be entitled to a jury trial, depending on the jurisdiction, therefore, selecting the proper statute under which to file suit is critical. Negligence exists when an employer is the slightest bit careless in causing an injury. An employer has a duty to provide a safe work environment and a seaworthy vessel. If the vessel is not fit for its intended purposes or is equipped with defective gear, including tools, large equipment and even toilets, or the crew is incompetent or of an inadequate size, it may constitute employer negligence. The employer may also be liable if you are assaulted by a fellow crew member. Damages for injuries caused by employer negligence under the Jones Act include pain and suffering, lost earnings, medical expenses and loss of the ability to lead a normal life. If you are injured you should: Call or email our attorneys, Timothy Nies or Howard Grossman, for more information. Our maritime attorneys will diligently and ggressively prepare your case in order to receive the compensation you deserve. We speak Spanish and Portuguese.
The Jones Act is a federal statute encompassing a very substantial portion of U.S. maritime and admiralty law. The Jones Act defines the legal obligations and duties between a seaman and his or her employer and the applicable law for the claims of crew members injured while working on the ship. Jones Act claims are complicated, and not a field of law that many attorneys specialize in.Maintenance & Cure
Claims
Grossman Attorneys at Law
841 Prudential Drive
Aetna Building, Suite 1247
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Tel: 904.398.8048
Toll-free: 1.800.940.8048
E-mail: timnies@ymail.com
The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship. If you have been injured by a dangerous condition at sea, call our admiralty and maritime lawyers today. Our Jacksonville trial lawyers, experienced in Jones Act lawsuits, represent clients in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Jacksonville Beach, Amelia Island, Ponte Vedra and throughout Duval County, Florida. We offer free consultations with our trial lawyers. The personal injury and tort trial lawyers at our Jacksonville Florida help injured clients seek the justice they deserve. The lawyers at our Jacksonville, FL firm are experienced in litigating cruise ship injury claims by passengers and cruise ship seamen. Our attorneys and staff speak Spanish and Portuguese. Please also visit: advogados Pompano Beach Lawyers, Palm Beach Truck Accident Lawyers. For more information regarding our wrongful death litigation practice, please call us or email us.
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Our experienced Jacksonville maritime attorneys know how to litigated Jones Act claims. Our admiralty and maritime lawyers routinely represent client who live in Jacksonville, Saint Augustine, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, and Orange Park. Our Jones Act Seamen attorneys have an office in downtown Jacksonville in the Aetna Building to serve our clients in Middleburg, Neptune Beach, Ponte Vedra, Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach, Pecan Beach, Mayport, FL. following the death of a family member or friend. Our wrongful death and accidental death attorneys represent clients in Jacksonville, Saint Augustine, Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Orange Park, Middleburg, and Neptune Beach. We are experienced personal injury lawyers who represent clients in Duval County. Our aggressive PI and accidental death lawyer Timothy Nies and personal injury attorney Howard Grossman represent clients in North Florida. Our Florida law firm has offices in Boca Raton, Clewiston and Jacksonville, FL.
If you are a seaman and have been injured while at sea, you may be entitled to benfits such as unearned wages, food, maintenance and cure, medical attention and other compensation under the Jones Act. Our Jacksonville, Florida maritime lawyers represent the following cruise ship employees in injury claims: bar staff, beautician, chef, cruise staff, deck hand, engine room staff, medical staff, photographer, restaurant staff, cruise shore excursion staff, purser, videographer, waiter, activities director. Our Florida maritime law firm helps bar steward, bedroom steward, child care worker, entertainer, food/beverage staff, maitre d', musician, purser staff, youth counselor, and bartender receive the compensation they deserve. Our Jones Act attorneys represent casino staff, gentlemen host, expedition leader, lifeguard, public reations, water sports instructor, production manager, janitorial staff and others. Our maritime and cruise ship injury attorneys and staff speak Spanish, Portuguese and have translator available in French, Russian, Chinese and Japanese.
Our Duval County maritime Jones Act lawyers will explain to you your rights free of charge. Injured seamen aboard a ship or vessel have 3 sources of compensation: maintenance and cure, unseaworthiness, and the Jones Act. Maintenance and cure requires a shipowner or vessel owner to provide and pay for an injured Seaman's medical treatment until maximum medical recovery is reached and provide for basic living expenses until completion of the voyage term, even if the Seaman is not on the vessel andy longer. The Seamen are provided and entitled to maintenance and cure as of right, unless he was injured due to his own willful gross negligence. Our law firm is also experienced in assisting longshoremen injured while unloadings container ships and cruise ships.
The doctrine of unseaworthiness makes a shipowner liable if a seaman is injured because the ship, or any appliance of the ship, is "unseaworthy," meaning defective in some way. The Jones Act allows a sailor, or one in privity to him, to sue the shipowner in tort for personal injury or wrongful death, with trial by jury. The Jones Act incorporates the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA), which governs injuries to railway workers, and is similar to the Coal Miners Act. A shipowner is liable to a seaman in the same way a railroad operator is to its employees who are injured due to the negligence of the employer. The statute of limitation is three years.