Biloxi Jones Act Attorney

When you are a mariner injured on the job, you need the advice of a lawyer with experience in admiralty and maritime law. In Biloxi and nearby Gulfport, a large portion of the workforce is employed on vessels and floating offshore oil rigs. Gardner Law Firm helps you understand if your employment gives you mariner status and qualifies you for the legal protections of the Jones Act. Maritime law is complex, and Gardner Law Firm meets the challenge.

Jones Act maritime law

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, known as the Jones Act, provides comprehensive relief for injured maritime workers. To be eligible for protection under the Jones Act, a Biloxi lawyer must first establish your mariner status by demonstrating that you—

• Contributed directly to the function or mission of the vessel
• Spent more than 30% of your work time associated with the vessel

Next, your Biloxi Jones act claims attorney makes sure that your accident injury fits the conditions required by the Jones Act:

• You sustained an injury while working on permanent assignment to a vessel in a navigable waterway
• The injury was caused by negligence of another crew member or by an unseaworthy condition

The compensation available in a Jones Act claim is well worth the effort required to establish fault on the part of the crew or the ship's owner.

Establishing fault in a Biloxi Jones Act claim

In maritime accident cases involving a specific negligent act by a single crew member, establishing fault can be straightforward:

• Another crew member bumped you with a pole and you fell down a ladder
• The deckhand responsible for preparing your harness failed to secure it
• A mariner making a repair failed to warn you of an unsafe area

However, if your injuries were caused by a generally unsafe condition on the vessel, our Biloxi Jones Act attorneys pursue the issue of unseaworthiness. Most unseaworthy claims are based on the owner's inadequate inspection or improper maintenance of areas on the vessel, such as—

Poor design leading to instability Worn anti-slip surfaces Cluttered decks

Lack of proper lifting equipment Inadequate safety equipment Unsafe food preparation

Biloxi maritime lawyer James Gardner knows how to establish unseaworthiness as grounds for a Jones Act claim.

Gardner Law Firm knows your rights under the Jones Act

Nearly all maritime on-the-job injuries are covered by the special protections of the Jones Act. If you work on the water in the Gulfport channel and you have been injured, schedule an interview with the Biloxi Jones act lawyers of Gardner Law Firm. We have additional offices conveniently located in Pascagoula and Hattiesburg, MS.