Louisiana Jones Act Lawyer

If you work on a vessel in Louisiana, on the Mississippi River, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the inland waterways of South Louisiana, and you were injured on the job, the Jones Act is the most powerful legal tool available to you. It gives you rights that no other American worker has. And with 20 years of experience using it to win for offshore workers throughout Louisiana, The Maritime Injury Law Firm knows how to make it work for you.

Louisiana has more Jones Act seamen than any other state. More than 70,000 maritime jobs, on tugboats, barges, OSVs, drillships, fishing vessels, and the vessels that serve them, depend on the safety obligations that the Jones Act enforces. George Vourvoulias holds a Masters Degree in Admiralty from Tulane University Law School in New Orleans and has spent his entire career fighting Jones Act cases in Louisiana’s federal courts. This is not a practice area for him. It is his practice.

Call (504) 584-6300 — free and confidential, 24/7. No fee unless we win.

What Is the Jones Act?

The Jones Act, formerly the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, codified at 46 U.S.C. § 30104, is a federal law that gives injured seamen the right to sue their employer for negligence. It was passed in 1920 specifically to extend to maritime workers the same negligence protections that railroad workers had received under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act. In the century since its passage, thousands of federal court decisions have interpreted and refined it into the most worker-favorable negligence statute in American law.

The Jones Act operates on three pillars: the right to sue for negligence, the entitlement to maintenance and cure, and the protection of unseaworthiness. Together, these create a legal framework that is fundamentally different from — and significantly more protective than — what workers in any other industry receive.

The Jones Act is not workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system that caps recovery at a fraction of actual losses and bars lawsuits. The Jones Act allows full tort recovery — including pain and suffering, mental anguish, and long-term lost earning capacity — and it allows you to sue your employer directly. For a seriously injured offshore worker, the difference in potential recovery can be the difference between financial survival and financial ruin.

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The Jones Act's Uniquely Low Burden of Proof

The most important feature of the Jones Act is its causation standard, what lawyers call the ‘featherweight’ test. Under ordinary negligence law, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s negligence was the proximate cause of the injury — a high bar. Under the Jones Act, any negligence on the part of the employer that played any part, even the slightest, in producing the injury is sufficient to establish liability.

This means that even if your employer’s negligence was a minor contributing factor alongside other causes, including your own actions, they can still be held liable. The employer does not have to be the primary cause. They do not have to be a substantial cause. Any causation, however slight, is enough.

This standard exists because Congress recognized that seamen occupy a uniquely vulnerable position — isolated at sea, dependent on their employer for housing and transportation, without access to independent medical care, and without the ability to simply leave a dangerous workplace the way a land-based worker can. The courts describe seamen as ‘wards of the admiralty,’ with rights that are to be jealously protected.

Practical example: A deckhand slips on a wet deck and breaks his wrist. The employer argues the worker was not watching where he was going. Under workers’ comp, the worker’s own inattention could bar or significantly limit recovery. Under the Jones Act, if the employer’s failure to maintain adequate non-skid on the deck contributed at all to the fall — even slightly — the employer is liable. The worker’s comparative fault reduces the damages, but does not eliminate the employer’s liability.

Who Qualifies as a Jones Act Seaman in Louisiana?

Seaman status is the threshold question in every Jones Act case, and one of the most frequently contested issues, because employers regularly argue that injured workers don’t qualify in order to deny coverage. The test has two components:

The 30% connection test

You must have spent a substantial portion of your work time — courts generally use 30% as the benchmark — aboard a vessel or an identifiable fleet of vessels in navigation. “In navigation” means the vessel is afloat, in operation, capable of movement, and on navigable waters. Critically, it does not need to be moving — a vessel docked at Port Fourchon for loading, a barge moored at a fleeting facility on the Mississippi, and a drillship dynamically positioned over a deepwater well are all in navigation. The 30% test is evaluated across the entire employment relationship, not just at the moment of injury.

The contribution test

Your work must contribute to the function of the vessel or the accomplishment of its mission. This is a broad standard — deckhands, engineers, drillers, crane operators, cooks, and utility hands all contribute to a vessel’s function. Navigation duties are not required.

Louisiana’s navigable waterways, the Mississippi River, the Atchafalaya, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, and the Gulf of Mexico, all fall within the Jones Act’s reach. Workers injured on any vessel operating on these waters may qualify as seamen.

Workers who frequently qualify in Louisiana

Deckhands, able seamen, and mates on tugboats, towboats, and barges
Drillers, assistant drillers, dredgers, derrickmen, roughnecks, and roustabouts on drillships and MODUs
Engineers, motormen, and electricians aboard vessels
Crane operators, riggers, and deck crew on OSVs and supply vessels
Tankermen and mates on tank barges and tankers
Captains and officers on any vessel type
Cooks, stewards, and utility crew serving aboard vessels
Commercial fishermen on shrimp boats, oyster luggers, and finfish vessels
Crew boat and fast supply vessel personnel

Workers who may or may not qualify — case-specific analysis required

Service hands who rotate between multiple rigs: qualification depends on total vessel time across assignments
Jack-up rig workers: depends on whether the rig was in vessel or platform status
Workers who split time between a vessel and a shore facility: depends on percentage of time aboard
Fleeting yard workers: depends on how much time is spent aboard vs. working from the dock

If your employer has told you that you don’t qualify as a seaman, or if you’re not sure, that determination deserves independent legal analysis before you accept it. George has challenged seaman status arguments successfully many times.

The Three Legal Pillars of a Jones Act Case

1. Jones Act negligence

The Jones Act allows injured seamen to sue their employer for negligence. The employer’s duty is to provide a reasonably safe place to work, reasonably safe equipment, a sufficient and competent crew, and safe working conditions. Any failure in these obligations that contributes to a seaman’s injury — however slightly — establishes liability.

Negligence under the Jones Act includes:

Failure to maintain safe deck surfaces: worn non-skid, accumulated oil or drilling mud, inadequate drainage
Insufficient crew for the task: requiring workers to perform operations shorthanded that require more hands
Defective or inadequately maintained equipment: cranes, winches, mooring lines, safety gear
Failure to provide adequate training for the tasks required
Dangerous orders: directing crew to perform tasks in unsafe conditions
Negligence of a fellow crewmember: the employer is liable for the negligent acts of any crew member
Failure to respond appropriately to a known medical condition or injury

2. Unseaworthiness

Separate from the Jones Act negligence claim, vessel owners owe an absolute, non-delegable duty to provide a seaworthy vessel — one that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose. This duty does not require proof of negligence or knowledge of the defect. If any condition of the vessel contributed to the injury, the vessel owner is liable — period.

Unseaworthy conditions include defective equipment, an inadequate crew, improperly maintained decks and structures, improper tools for the work, and dangerous cargo stowage. The unseaworthiness doctrine provides a separate and independent basis for recovery from the Jones Act negligence claim, and pursuing both simultaneously strengthens the overall case.

3. Maintenance and cure

Maintenance and cure is an absolute obligation — rooted in general maritime law, not the Jones Act specifically — that requires vessel owners and operators to support an injured seaman from the day of injury until maximum medical improvement, regardless of fault. No negligence need be proven. No seaman status dispute can suspend it. It is owed from the moment of injury.

Maintenance covers the seaman’s daily living expenses while recovering ashore: rent or mortgage, utilities, food, and transportation to medical appointments. Daily rates are set by the employment contract or applicable legal standard — many employers pay the minimum, which is frequently below what the law actually requires.

Cure covers all necessary medical expenses: doctor visits, surgery, hospitalization, physical therapy, medications, diagnostic imaging, and all related costs through maximum medical improvement.

Unearned wages are also owed — the wages the seaman would have earned through the end of the voyage or contract period in which they were injured.

Employers who wrongfully deny, reduce, or terminate maintenance and cure face serious additional consequences — punitive damages and attorney’s fees on top of the underlying injury claim. If your employer has cut off your maintenance and cure, reduced your daily rate without justification, or declared maximum medical improvement before you have actually stabilized, call us immediately.

What You Can Recover Under the Jones Act

A successful Jones Act case in Louisiana can produce compensation across a broad range of economic and non-economic damages:

Economic damages

Past medical expenses — every treatment, surgery, hospitalization, and medication since the injury
Future medical expenses — projected costs of ongoing care, future surgeries, and long-term treatment
Past lost wages — all income lost from the date of injury through resolution of the case
Future lost earning capacity — if your injury limits your ability to work at your prior capacity, you are entitled to the present value of what you would have earned over your remaining working life
Maintenance payments — the daily living expense payments owed from injury through MMI
Cure payments — all medical costs owed through MMI
Unearned wages — wages owed through the end of the voyage in which injury occurred
Vocational rehabilitation costs — if retraining for a new career is required

Non-economic damages

Physical pain and suffering — past and future
Mental anguish and emotional distress
Loss of enjoyment of life — limitations on activities previously enjoyed
Embarrassment, humiliation, and disfigurement
Loss of consortium — impact on the marital relationship

Punitive damages

In cases of particularly egregious employer conduct — most commonly, the willful and wanton refusal to pay maintenance and cure despite clear legal obligation — courts can award punitive damages beyond compensatory damages. These are not available in every case, but they are a real remedy in Louisiana maritime law and one George pursues aggressively when the facts support it.

Jones Act vs. workers' compensation — the difference in numbers

Under Louisiana workers’ compensation, an injured worker typically receives 66.67% of their pre-injury wages during recovery, subject to weekly caps, plus medical expenses with no recovery for pain and suffering or future earning capacity. Under the Jones Act, full tort recovery — including pain and suffering, mental anguish, and lifetime earning capacity — is available with no statutory cap. For a 35-year-old deckhand earning $65,000 per year who sustains a permanent disabling injury, the difference between a workers’ comp outcome and a full Jones Act recovery can be measured in hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

What Maritime Employers Do After an Injury — and How We Counter It

After 20 years of litigating Jones Act cases against Louisiana maritime employers and their insurers, George has seen the same tactics used repeatedly. Knowing what to expect is the first step in protecting yourself.

The quick settlement offer

Many injured seamen receive a settlement offer within days or weeks of their injury — before they fully understand their rights, before their injuries are fully diagnosed, and before any attorney has evaluated their case. These early offers are calibrated to resolve claims at minimum cost to the employer. They routinely represent a small fraction of what the case would actually be worth with proper legal representation. Once you sign a release, you cannot go back.

The company doctor

Employers direct injured workers to company-affiliated physicians who have a financial relationship with the employer’s insurance carrier. These doctors have a documented pattern of minimizing documented injury severity, expediting maximum medical improvement determinations, and clearing workers for return to duty before they are medically ready. You have a legal right to your own independent physician. George advises every client to exercise that right immediately.

The recorded statement

Insurance adjusters contact injured workers quickly to obtain recorded statements. These statements are not taken to help you — they are taken to create a record that can be used to minimize your claim. Statements about how the accident happened, your prior medical history, and your current symptoms can all be weaponized against you. Do not give a recorded statement before speaking with a maritime attorney.

The seaman status challenge

Employers routinely argue that injured workers do not qualify as seamen under the Jones Act — particularly for workers in ambiguous employment situations like service hands, jack-up rig workers, and workers who split time between a vessel and a shore facility. This argument, if accepted, pushes the worker toward LHWCA coverage or workers’ compensation with its more limited recovery. George has successfully challenged seaman status arguments in Louisiana federal court on many occasions.

The comparative fault overstatement

Employers and their insurers aggressively attribute fault to injured workers to reduce their damages exposure. Under the Jones Act’s comparative fault system, worker fault reduces the award proportionally — it does not eliminate it. But if an employer can convince a worker that they were substantially at fault, that worker may accept a settlement that does not reflect the employer’s own significant responsibility. An independent legal evaluation of fault allocation is essential before any settlement.

What to Do After a Jones Act Injury in Louisiana

Report your injury in writing immediately. Fill out an injury report that describes every unsafe condition that contributed — darkness, slippery surfaces, defective equipment, insufficient crew, co-worker negligence. Be thorough. This report is evidence.
Ensure the injury is recorded in the vessel’s official log. Maritime vessels are required to maintain logs. Your injury should be entered at the time it occurs. If you are told it will not be recorded, document that refusal.
Photograph everything. The scene, the equipment, and your injuries. Get witness names and contact information. Note what supervisors said and did in response to your injury.
Do not give a recorded statement. The company’s adjuster works for the company. Do not speak to them before speaking to a maritime attorney.
Choose your own doctor. You have a legal right to an independent physician from day one. Exercise it. Do not rely exclusively on a company doctor.
Call us before signing anything. Call (504) 584-6300 before signing any document from your employer or their insurer. This includes documents they describe as ‘routine.’ Once signed, a release is permanent.

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Jones Act Results for Louisiana Seamen

Neal v. International Offshore Services, LLC — Jury Verdict: $1,600,000 in favor of our client, a deckhand on the Mississippi River and the sole survivor of a collision that killed his three crewmates. George secured a settlement that covered the client for the rest of his working life.

Akers v. The Columns Hotel, et al — Jury Verdict: $2,200,000 in favor of the plaintiff.

Edwin J. Turcios v. LaPorte Plumbing & Heating — Cash Settlement: $442,725. Client required two surgeries. When the insurer refused to authorize the second, George forced coverage through litigation and negotiated full settlement.

George prepares every Jones Act case as if it is going to trial. Most maritime employers and their insurers settle when they know the attorney on the other side is genuinely prepared to try the case and has a record of winning. That preparation is what produces settlements that actually reflect the value of the case.

Full Jones Act results

What Louisiana Jones Act Clients Say

"George represented me when I got injured working on a tow boat. The company was playing pretty rough with me, but George was able to get them to provide my medical care and got me a large settlement. If you work on boats, like I do, I recommend George Vourvoulias if you are looking for a lawyer who knows maritime law."

— Curtis Watson, Lead Deckhand

"I was working on the Mississippi River as a deckhand when we were collided with by an upbound vessel pushing 40 barges. I was the only survivor. I hired George Vourvoulias and he went to work right away. He listened to my story and came up with a plan on how to deal with the insurance companies and the big boat owners. George's plan worked and he was able to get a settlement that covered me for the rest of my life."

— Nate Dugan, Deckhand

"I hired George Vourvoulias after I suffered a back injury at work and a surgery that left me worse off than I was before. I was nervous because I was unable to work or earn any money. George explained everything to me and guided me through the process."

— Darren Holmes

Why The Maritime Injury Law Firm for Your Jones Act Case

Masters Degree in Admiralty, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans — one of the premier maritime law programs in the world, located in the center of American maritime law
20+ years practicing exclusively in Jones Act and maritime law — this is the only type of case we handle
Admitted to the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals — the courts where Jones Act cases in Louisiana are decided
Member: Trial Lawyers College (TLC), Louisiana State Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, International Society of Barristers
Every case prepared for trial — which produces higher settlements even in cases that never reach a courtroom
You work directly with George throughout your case — not a paralegal, not a junior associate
100% contingency fee — no fee unless we recover for you. No upfront costs, no hourly charges.
We represent seamen only — never vessel owners, employers, or insurers

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A note on firm size and results: Large firms with hundreds of attorneys routinely market themselves as having recovered ‘over $1 billion.’ That figure typically includes mass tort and class action settlements where thousands of cases are aggregated and the firm played a limited role in each individual outcome. What matters for your Jones Act case is the individual result — what was recovered for clients in cases like yours. George has tried Jones Act cases to verdict and won. That track record, case by case, is what you should evaluate when choosing an attorney.

Jones Act Representation Across Louisiana

The firm is based in New Orleans — the center of the Jones Act legal community in the United States — and represents seamen injured on Louisiana’s waterways and in the Gulf of Mexico from every corner of the state. Because the Jones Act is federal law, your location in Louisiana does not affect your ability to pursue a claim.

Louisiana Jones Act practice areas:

We also represent Jones Act seamen in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and throughout the Gulf Coast.

Frequently Asked Questions About The Louisiana Jones Act

What is the difference between the Jones Act and regular workers’ compensation?

Workers’ compensation is a state-law no-fault system that pays a percentage of wages and medical expenses but bars lawsuits against employers and does not compensate for pain and suffering. The Jones Act allows full tort recovery — including pain and suffering, mental anguish, and lifetime lost earning capacity — and it allows you to sue your employer directly for negligence. Seamen are specifically excluded from Louisiana workers’ compensation. Their protections under the Jones Act are significantly more comprehensive.

I work on a jack-up rig. Do I qualify for Jones Act protection?

Possibly. Jack-up rigs are considered vessels under the Jones Act when they are floating and moving between drilling locations — when they are ‘drilling from hole to hole.’ Workers who spend at least 30% of their work time on the rig while it is in vessel status may qualify as Jones Act seamen. This is one of the most contested seaman status issues in Louisiana federal courts. Employers aggressively argue that jacked-up rigs are not vessels to deny coverage. Do not accept that argument without an independent legal evaluation.

What if I was injured on a Louisiana vessel but I live in another state?

It does not matter where you live. Jones Act claims are federal law claims filed in federal court. George is admitted in all three Louisiana federal districts and the Fifth Circuit. Many of his clients live in other states but were injured on Louisiana vessels or while working on Gulf operations that originate from Louisiana ports. Where you live has no effect on your rights.

The company is telling me I have a workers’ comp claim, not a Jones Act claim. What should I do?

Get an independent legal evaluation immediately. This is one of the most common tactics maritime employers use to reduce their exposure — characterizing a worker as a land-based employee covered by workers’ compensation rather than a seaman covered by the Jones Act. The economic difference is enormous. Workers’ comp caps your recovery; the Jones Act does not. George will evaluate your employment situation and give you an honest assessment of whether you qualify as a Jones Act seaman.

How long do I have to file a Jones Act claim in Louisiana?

Three years from the date of injury. However, this deadline is not the practical deadline — evidence disappears, witnesses become unavailable, and vessel logs can be altered or lost far sooner. In cases involving ongoing maintenance and cure disputes, certain procedural deadlines can be even shorter. The sooner you retain counsel, the stronger your evidentiary position. Call us as soon as possible after your injury.

What if I signed something after my injury?

It depends on what you signed. A routine injury report does not waive your rights. An accident report or medical authorization similarly does not waive your rights. However, a release — a document that settles your claim in exchange for a payment — may waive your rights permanently. If you signed a document and are unsure what it means for your legal options, call George. He can review what was signed and advise on whether and how any rights were affected.

Can I be fired for filing a Jones Act claim?

Retaliation against a seaman for filing a legitimate Jones Act claim is illegal under federal law. If your employer terminates you, fails to recall you for future hitches, reduces your hours, or otherwise retaliates against you for pursuing your legal rights, that retaliation is itself an actionable claim. Document any adverse employment action that follows your injury or your decision to seek legal representation. Fear of retaliation — while understandable given the close-knit nature of Louisiana’s maritime industry — should not prevent you from pursuing what you are owed.

The company paid my medical bills but says I owe them money from my settlement if I win. Is that right?

The interaction between maintenance and cure payments and a Jones Act settlement is a legitimate legal issue that requires careful analysis. In general, employers cannot simply recoup maintenance and cure payments out of a Jones Act settlement — particularly if the employer was negligent in causing the injury, which triggers the full Jones Act damages framework. The specific terms of your maintenance and cure arrangement and any documents you signed regarding those payments are important. Get legal advice before agreeing to any recoupment arrangement.

I have a pre-existing back injury. Does that mean I can’t file a Jones Act claim?

No. The Jones Act explicitly protects workers whose pre-existing conditions are aggravated, accelerated, or combined with employer negligence to produce a current disability. The employer takes you as they find you — if your back was already vulnerable and their negligent working conditions caused it to herniate or worsen, they are liable for the full extent of what their negligence produced. Employers routinely argue that pre-existing conditions bar or limit recovery. This is a standard defense tactic that an experienced Jones Act attorney knows how to counter.

What does ‘maintenance and cure’ actually pay? The daily rate seems very low.

Maintenance rates vary. Many employment contracts specify a fixed daily maintenance rate — historically these have been as low as $15-$35 per day, which is well below what it actually costs to live. The law requires the maintenance rate to cover ‘necessary’ expenses, and courts have increasingly been willing to evaluate whether contractual rates are actually adequate. Additionally, if your employer’s maintenance payments are insufficient and that insufficiency causes you additional harm — for example, you cannot afford to get to medical appointments — that creates additional liability for the employer. George evaluates maintenance adequacy in every case and pursues additional amounts when the evidence supports it.

Contact a Louisiana Jones Act Lawyer Today

The Jones Act exists because Congress recognized that seamen — isolated at sea, dependent on their employers, and exposed to some of the most dangerous working conditions in any American industry — needed stronger legal protection than any other worker. George Vourvoulias has spent 20 years making that protection real for injured seamen throughout Louisiana. He will fight for you too.

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