Mobile Admiralty & Maritime Law Attorneys

Jones Act maritime law in Mobile, Alabama

Admiralty law is also called maritime law—a set of domestic and international laws governing marine commerce and navigation.  Admiralty law covers these areas:

•    Commercial shipping regulation
•    Rights and protections for seamen
•    Rules for ship passengers and cargo
•    Protocols for sea-going towage
•    Specifications for wharves, peers, and docks
•    Guidelines for maritime insurance and maritime liens

In some countries, admiralty law also includes navigation rules for inland waters.

Admiralty law is nation-specific

Each commercial ship operates under a national flag.  The flag flown by a ship determines which admiralty laws govern it.  For example, a ship flying a British flag operates under United Kingdom admiralty law, while a ship flying an American flag follows U.S. admiralty regulations.

Admiralty law is distinct from the Laws of the Sea, which is a set of international laws that relates to all shipping, and which governs the jurisdiction of coastal waters, navigational and mineral rights, and international relations as impacted by maritime operations.

Jones Act claims for damages in Mobile

The Jones Act is a federal statute that established legal guidelines for injured seamen.  Damage awards under the Jones Act can only be recovered by a seaman, that is, a crew member of a commercial vessel or someone assigned to work on a vessel or a fleet of vessels.  Those who work on tankers, freighters, tugboats, supply and crew boats, barges, and fishing vessels as crew members are considered seamen.

To qualify for a Jones Act damage award, a maritime employee must satisfy all of these criteria:

•    The employee must have sustained an injury
•    The injury must have occurred while the employee was permanently assigned to a commercial vessel on a navigable waterway
•    The injury has to have been caused either by the negligence of a fellow crewmember or by an unseaworthy vessel or equipment

A Jones Act claim can be made for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, physical suffering, mental anguish, physical disfigurement, physical impairment, and other damages.

Consult our Mobile Jones Act and Maritime Law Firm

You may contact our Mobile maritime attorneys by calling us toll-free at 866-433-6699 or by reaching out to our law firm online. Jackson, Foster & Richardson, L.L.C. is proud to represent clients in Jones Act, admiralty and maritime law claims throughout Alabama.