Help for Crew

If you work as a crew member on a commercial vessel, your safety is often at the mercy of others. You depend on the boat owner or operator to maintain a seaworthy vessel. You depend on your fellow crew to have the skills and knowledge appropriate for the job. And you depend on equipment manufacturers to supply cranes, winches, fishing nets, and other essential tools of the trade that function properly and safely. As a crew member you may suffer serious injury while at sea – injuries that may prevent you from working or even permanently diminish your quality of life.

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP has been successfully helping maritime injury victims for more than 20 years. Our attorneys have represented many crew injury claims, and we understand the applicable laws that apply to your case. For a free consultation, please submit our online form or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).  We handle maritime law claims from port cities along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, including New York, Philadelphia, Wilmington DE, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville FL, Fort Lauderdale FL and Miami.

Paid crew members on vessels registered in the United States are covered by the Jones Act, a law that covers seamen and certain other maritime workers for injuries sustained on the job, including compensation for:

• “Maintenance and cure" – the financial equivalent of the room and board a seaman would normally receive at sea;
• Medical treatment.
  
  

If you can prove negligence on the part of an equipment manufacturer or the owner of an unseaworthy boat, you may also be able to file claims for additional damages not covered by the Jones Act, including lost wages. An unseaworthy boat is a vessel not suited for its intended function – either because the boat itself has defects or is inadequately equipped for the job. unseaworthiness can have serious consequences, including sinking or explosions – and the crew members pay the ultimate price.

Regardless of what caused your injuries, you must act quickly to secure compensation. Jones Act and negligence claims have strict filing deadline, so it's important to contact a lawyer as soon as you can. As a crew member of a commercial vessel, you work long hours at a difficult and dangerous job – and you shouldn't have to struggle to pay your medical bills without adequate legal representation.

At Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, our most important goal is to help you get your life back on track – and we have a 20-year track record of success to help make that happen. If you have suffered injury while working as a crew member, please submit our online form or call 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636) for help with your case.