A worker’s legal rights can turn on the worker’s role, vessel connection, accident location, employer relationship, and the circumstances that led to the injury.
Most workers injured on the job are covered by their state’s workers’ compensation system, a no-fault framework that doesn’t consider who was at fault. But maritime workers are often treated differently under the law. Because their work takes place aboard vessels or along navigable waters rather than in a typical land-based workplace, many maritime workers fall outside state workers’ compensation entirely and are instead covered by one of several federal maritime frameworks. Which framework applies, and what it takes to recover, depends heavily on whether the worker qualifies as a “seaman” under the law. (“Seaman” is a legal term that includes both male and female workers.) Qualifying seamen may bring claims under the Jones Act, and may also be entitled to maintenance and cure and unseaworthiness claims under general maritime law. Maritime workers who don’t qualify as seamen — such as longshore and harbor workers — are typically covered instead by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), a separate federal no-fault system. The sections below explain each of these frameworks and how they differ.
The Jones Act
The Jones Act is a federal law that protects qualifying seamen who have a substantial connection to a vessel or fleet of vessels in navigation. Unlike standard workers’ compensation, which does not require any showing of fault, the Jones Act requires an injured seaman to prove that employer negligence contributed to the injury — though courts apply a relaxed “featherweight” standard, meaning even slight negligence that played any part in causing the injury is enough. Negligence may involve unsafe work procedures, inadequate staffing, defective equipment, poor supervision, insufficient training, or failure to provide a reasonably safe place to work. This negligence requirement comes with a significant upside for injured seamen: because a Jones Act claim is a negligence-based claim rather than a no-fault one, it allows for a broader range of damages than workers’ compensation provides. Rather than the fixed medical and partial wage benefits available under a typical workers’ comp schedule, a successful Jones Act claim can include full past and future lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and compensation for pain and suffering — damages that are unavailable under workers’ compensation.
Maintenance and Cure
General maritime law provides protections known as maintenance and cure. Maintenance generally covers basic living expenses while an injured seaman recovers. Cure generally covers reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the injury or illness. Disputes can arise over whether a worker qualifies, what treatment is covered, or how long benefits should continue. Unlike a Jones Act claim, maintenance and cure does not require any showing of employer negligence — it’s owed simply because the seaman was injured or fell ill while in the service of the vessel.
Unseaworthiness Claims
Vessel owners must provide a vessel that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose. When unsafe conditions aboard a vessel contribute to an injury, an injured worker may have an unseaworthiness claim.
Examples can include defective equipment, unsafe work areas, inadequate safety devices, poorly trained crew members, or insufficient staffing. An unseaworthiness claim does not require proof that the employer was negligent — the focus is on whether the vessel or its equipment was reasonably fit, regardless of fault.
Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, commonly called the LHWCA, is a federal statute that protects certain maritime workers who are not classified as seamen. This law covers longshore workers, harbor workers, shipbuilders, ship repair workers, and others working in maritime employment near navigable waters.
Like state workers’ compensation, the LHWCA is a no-fault system — an injured worker doesn’t need to prove employer negligence to recover benefits. But it’s a separate federal program with its own rules: it’s administered by the U.S. Department of Labor rather than a state agency, and it uses its own schedule for calculating average weekly wage and benefit amounts. Also like state workers’ compensation, and unlike a Jones Act claim, the LHWCA generally does not provide for pain and suffering or other non-economic damages — recovery is limited to medical treatment and wage-replacement benefits under the Act’s schedule. Whether a worker qualifies depends on the nature of the job, the place where the work occurred, and the worker’s connection to maritime employment.
Pursuing Multiple Claims Together
These legal theories aren’t mutually exclusive alternatives — in practice, an injured seaman often pursues several of them together in the same case. A single claim may include a Jones Act negligence count against the employer, an unseaworthiness claim against the vessel owner, and a request for maintenance and cure, all arising from the same injury. Because each theory has a different legal basis (fault-based negligence, the vessel’s condition, and a no-fault duty to provide support during recovery, respectively), they can apply simultaneously and often reinforce each other rather than compete. An injured worker doesn’t have to determine on their own which single theory fits best — evaluating which combination of claims applies to a given set of facts is part of what an attorney assesses in a maritime injury case.
