Louisiana Maritime & Admiralty Law Attorneys
Your Maritime & Admiralty Law Attorneys
Louisiana’s best maritime lawyers are here to explain how admiralty law (or maritime law) governs maritime questions and offenses regarding maritime activities. Admiralty jurisdiction extends to all cases of damage or injury caused by a vessel on navigable water.
Our New Orleans best offshore injury lawyers help you understand that this jurisdiction depends on two key factors: the existence of a vessel and navigable waters.
- A Vessel: Every description of watercraft or other artificial contrivance used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation on water.
- Navigable Waters: Waters used, or capable of being used, in their ordinary condition as “highways for commerce.” Commerce requires that the waters must be capable of transporting goods, passengers, or significant commercial activity. For example, pleasure fishing and recreational boating may not be sufficient for an admiralty law claim.
Maritime Contracts and Jurisdiction
Admiralty jurisdiction also extends over maritime contracts, and such claims fall solely into the federal court system. A maritime contract is one directly or substantially related to navigation.
- Determining Jurisdiction: Courts usually draw a line between contracts to provide goods and services directly to the vessel (pertaining to navigation and management) and those that simply affect a vessel or its voyage.
- Mixed Contracts: A contract is “mixed” if it contains both maritime and non-maritime elements. The general rule is that a mixed contract is not within admiralty jurisdiction unless it is wholly maritime. However, courts will use their discretion to determine if the “primary purpose” of the contract is maritime.
Maritime Tort Claims
Admiralty jurisdiction also covers maritime tort claims. The general test for such claims involves two steps:
- The tort occurred on navigable waters.
- The relevant activity had a maritime “connection or flavor.”
A major question to ask is: Does the type of incident involved have the potential to disrupt maritime commerce? Even a land-based tort may have a sufficient maritime nexus. However, locality alone is not enough—for example, a plane crash in the high seas is not automatically a maritime tort.
Seaman’s Remedies & Status
A large majority of admiralty law questions deal with Seamen’s remedies. A “seaman” is a member of the crew of a vessel or a worker on a vessel who is exposed to the perils of the sea as an incident of employment.
- Who Qualifies? Any individual engaged or employed in any capacity on board a vessel would qualify. This does not include scientific personnel or sailing school instructors/students.
- Status Requirement: An employee has seaman status when he has an employment-related connection to a vessel in navigation. A claimant cannot be a seaman if he is permanently assigned to a vessel that is neither operating on navigable waters nor preparing for navigation.
Maintenance and Cure
A seaman who suffers an injury or illness while in the service of his ship must be provided “Maintenance and Cure” under a no-fault system. This includes:
- Payment of medical expenses.
- Wages until the end of the voyage.
- A sum for living expenses during the period of treatment.
The seaman’s employer (not necessarily the vessel owner) is liable for maintenance and cure. This obligation arises if the injury occurs or the illness becomes manifest while the seaman is in the service of his ship.
- Employer Liability: If the employer fails to provide prompt, adequate medical treatment and this causes the condition to worsen, they may be liable for compensatory damages, including pain and suffering.
- Exceptions: No maintenance and cure will be provided if the injury occurred through the seaman’s own willful misconduct, such as intoxication.
The Duty of Seaworthiness
A vessel and its operators owe members of the crew an absolute duty to furnish a seaworthy vessel—one reasonably fit for its intended use. This requirement extends to conditions that arise during the voyage, not just the shipowner’s fault.
- Scope: The vessel operator does not have to be the employer, as the operator owes this duty to crew members employed by others.
- Competent Crew: The seaworthiness obligation also promises a competent crew.
- Modern Context: The importance of seaworthiness claims has diminished slightly, as the Jones Act allows recovery against the employer for injuries caused by crew member negligence.
The Jones Act
Under the Jones Act, an injured seaman (or his survivors) may bring an action against his employer. If a seaman is killed by employer negligence, within or beyond three miles from shore, his beneficiaries may recover.
- Employer Control: An employee must show the employer maintained some control over him. A Jones Act employer need not own or operate the vessel.
- Scope of Employment: The injury must have occurred during the course of employment. Even a seaman assigned temporarily ashore may satisfy this requirement.
- Proving Negligence: The seaman must prove some negligence chargeable to the employer, defined as the failure to exercise reasonable care. Failing to furnish a safe place to work or violating a safety statute can qualify as negligence.
Filing a Claim: There is a three-year statute of limitations for a seaman to file a Jones Act claim. It may be brought in federal or state court; if filed in state court, it is not removable.
Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act (LHWCA)
The LHWCA is a federal act granting coverage to injured maritime workers not covered by the Jones Act.
- Who is Covered? Employees engaged in maritime employment (loading, unloading, building, repairing vessels) who are injured while performing their job over navigable waters. The worker must spend more than an insubstantial amount of time working on the water.
- Exclusions: Clerical, secretarial, security, or data processing workers are often excluded if covered by state Worker’s Comp.
- Scope: The LHWCA covers any injury or illness that arises out of and occurs in the course and scope of employment.
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA)
Finally, the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act provides remedies for platform injuries. While maritime law treats movable structures as vessels, stationary platforms are treated as land.
- Distance Rules: In Louisiana, a claim occurring more than 3 miles from shore qualifies as a federal claim. A claim within 3 miles qualifies as a Louisiana state claim.
- Surrogate Law: If no federal law applies, the proper state law (such as Louisiana law) acts as surrogate federal law. Litigants take state law entirely, including the state statute of limitations, not the federal maritime statute.
- Workers’ Comp: A State’s workers’ compensation laws can apply to injuries occurring on platforms within territorial or inland waters.