Louisiana Maritime Law Blog

If you are an ablebodied seaman or other maritme worker, if you get injured on the job, you could face months out of work. That's if you are able to return to work at all. The injuries that you suffer could render you unable to ever hold a job in this physically grueling industry again.

If the latter is the case, how will you pay your bills and support yourself and your family? You may be able to be retrained to work in another industry, but training programs aren't free and can last for a year or more. You're going to need some financial assistance to cushion the blow and ease you into a new field or industry.

For dockworkers, one of the most dangerous scenarios is when a ship comes into port in a slightly out-of-control fashion and strikes the dock itself. Depending on the size of the vessel, the damage could be catastrophic. Workers on the dock and the ship could suffer injuries.

This is essentially a never-event in the maritime industry. It should not happen. So, why does it?

Whether you work on a fishing vessel or a cargo ship, your job involves lots of hands-on work. But when the worst happens and a mistake or accident leads to a serious injury for you, you may not know what to do or where to turn.

While standard workers’ compensation laws don’t cover seamen, the Jones Act does give maritime workers the right to recover compensation for their injuries. Because you are still eligible to recover damages, there are several important steps you should take in order to do so.

These days, weather forecasting is generally pretty good. It's far better than it was for previous generations of sailors and maritime workers. However, it is not perfect. Weather changes often happen quickly and unexpectedly at sea. These can be very dangerous and can even lead to fatal accidents.

The key is to know what to watch out for so that you can be as prepared as possible. It starts with checking the weather carefully along the entire intended route before ever leaving port. But, once you're on the water, you also need to:

• Look to the west. This is where most severe weather changes originate.
• Use a barometer. Even if you cannot see a storm coming, a quick pressure drop means it's on the way. This is the same method often used by mountaineers.
• Watch the temps. As with the pressure changes listed above, temperature drops, especially when combined with notable changes in wind speed and direction, often happen right before a storm.
• Keep an eye on cloud colors and directions. Vertical, dark clouds are often the most dangerous.
• Never try to push forward when it's clear that there is too much danger. There's an old saying that you should take any port in a storm. It's true. Even if going to port means delaying the job or going far off of the intended course, safety has to come first.