The Jones Act requires employers to compensate injured maritime workers for the following:
- Transportation: Employers are required to pay any costs associated with transporting injured workers from their vessel to appropriate health care facilities.
- Wages: In cases where employer negligence leads to an accident resulting in injuries to a maritime worker, employers are required to pay lost wages. Depending on the circumstances involve, an employer may be required to pay past and future lost wages.
- Maintenance: Regardless of who is at fault, an employer must pay an injured seamen a daily amount to live offshore equal in amount to what it would have cost for them to live onboard (generally, between $15-$30). If your injury was caused by the negligence of your employer, however, you may be entitled to recover substantially more.
- Cure: A maritime employer is required to cover the cost of an injured seaman’s medical care, regardless of who was at fault in causing their injuries. However, most employers are only required to pay up to a certain limit after which they are no longer obligated to cover an injured worker’s medical expenses.