The US Coast Guard evacuated a crewmember from a tanker 100 miles west of San Diego on Monday. The man, a 53-year-old Latvian national had suffered hand fractures on the ship. The crew members of the Riga, a Latvian flagged-vessel, determined that the man needed offshore medical help. The crewmembers notified the Coast Guard of the man’s condition on Monday morning. A Coast Guard helicopter was pressed into action to conduct the medical evacuation. The man was lifted from the tanker, and transported to a San Diego hospital.
Most crewmembers on a tanker may meet the criteria necessary to qualify as a Jones Act seaman. Broadly, there are three criteria that a crewmember must fulfill in order to meet the definition of a seaman as laid out by the Jones Act.
- The crewmember must be assigned to a vessel or fleet of vessels.
- The vessel must be in navigation.
- The crewmember must have a substantial connection with the vessel.
Determining the Jones Act seaman status of a maritime worker can be one of the bigger challenges a maritime lawyer faces. While the Jones Act has broadly laid out these criteria for seamen, it has remained sufficiently ambiguous about the specifications of these criteria, so that decades after the passing of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, there still continue to be questions about whether crewmembers qualify as Jones Act seamen.
The Jones Act offers an injured worker more substantial benefits than available through the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act or the Workers’ Compensation Act. You’ll find that a maritime employer will hire the best legal minds to prove that an injured worker does not qualify as a Jones Act seaman. That’s why it is necessary for you to consult with a maritime attorney who can help you establish your Jones Act seaman status.
