If you’ve been injured at sea, you may need a maritime lawyer in San Diego. Maritime law can be complicated, involving many overlapping statutes. To get the compensation you deserve, you need an attorney who understands this complex area of law.
At De Santis Law Center, we have the experience to handle even complicated cases. We’ve been helping offshore workers, dock workers, and ship passengers for thirty years. If you’d like to discuss your case, contact us for a free consultation.
What Is the Jones Act?
The Jones Act is a federal law that protects seamen and other offshore workers injured on the job. The Jones Act protects employees such as these:
- Ship crewmembers,
- Ship captains,
- Oil rig workers,
- Fishers on fishing boats,
- Cooks on vessels, and
- Deckhands.
While all offshore workers can receive “maintenance and cure” for on-the-job injuries under maritime common law, this remedy is limited. It allows the employee to recover only medical expenses and a portion of lost wages.
However, seamen covered by the Jones Act can potentially recover greater compensation. Under the Jones Act, you can recover for financial losses as well as pain and suffering, which might result in substantially more money than maintenance and cure. A Jones Act attorney in San Diego can help you determine if this law applies to your accident.
What Are the Most Common Ways Injuries Occur at Sea?
The ocean can be a dangerous place to work. Rough seas, faulty equipment, and human error can lead to catastrophic injuries or death. In 2017, maritime accidents killed over 1,000 people and injured many more.
Here are some of the common ways that injuries occur at sea:
- Slip and falls,
- Chemical burns,
- Electrocution,
- Falling from a height,
- Equipment entrapment,
- Falling objects, and
- Lack of ventilation in enclosed spaces.
Your employer owes you a duty to provide a safe work environment. If your employer’s negligence caused your accident, you may be able to sue. Contact De Santis Law Center for a free case evaluation to determine if your accident circumstances are eligible for a lawsuit.
Who Can Be Held Liable for My Maritime Injuries?
Under land-based workers’ compensation, you cannot sue an employer for workplace injuries. However, the Jones Act allows you to sue your maritime employer when their negligence caused your injury. Under the Jones Act, you can sue your employer when an owner, supervisor, or crew member negligently causes your workplace injuries.
What Damages Will a Maritime Injury Lawyer Help Me Recover?
Under the Jones Act, you can sue for all damages related to your injury. Damages fall into two broad categories.
Economic Damages
Economic damages include reimbursement for medical bills and rehabilitation costs, as well as lost wages and future lost wages. This compensation differs from that of maintenance and cure, which provides only medical treatment reimbursement and a meager living expense for a limited time.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages include the emotional damages related to your injury. This category includes compensation for pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life. These substantial damages are unavailable under maritime common law. Therefore, you must find a skilled maritime lawyer in San Diego who knows how to sue under the Jones Act.
How Much Will It Cost Me to Hire a Maritime Injury Attorney?
It costs you nothing to hire a maritime law attorney at De Santis Law Center. That’s because we work on contingency, meaning you don’t owe anything until we win your case. When we win you money, you pay us with a portion of your settlement. If we lose your case, you owe us nothing.
Why Do People Hire the De Santis Law Center for Maritime Injury Representation?
Our clients hire us because they want a maritime law attorney in San Diego who will fight for accident victims. We know that maritime employees work hard to provide for themselves and their families. When they are injured on the job by someone’s negligence, it can cause physical and emotional pain, along with financial losses. We can’t take away a victim’s pain, but we can try to make those responsible pay.
Our maritime lawyers in San Diego want all accident victims to have knowledgeable, zealous legal representation, regardless of their ability to pay. That’s why we work on contingency, meaning no victim has a financial barrier to obtaining our help.
We also don’t think a language barrier should stand between victims and justice. So, we have Spanish- and Italian-speaking staff members to counsel victims in their native language.
If you have been injured on the job at sea, you need an experienced maritime lawyer in San Diego. At De Santis Law Center, we have the necessary experience to help you pursue maximum compensation. We fight even the toughest liability cases with creative and novel legal theories. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your experience and learn about your legal options.