If you lost a family member in an offshore accident, you may have an option to recover compensation and hold the at-fault parties accountable. A New Orleans Jones Act maritime accident wrongful death lawyer from our team can help you build a negligence case and pursue damages based on the Jones Act and other federal laws.
When you work with a New Orleans Jones Act maritime accident lawyer from Poolson | Oden Injury Lawyers, you have more than 80 years of combined experience handling your case. Our attorneys fight for the money you deserve. We have recovered $30+ million for clients over the last five years alone. Contact us today for a free, confidential case review. We can assess your case and discuss your options today.
Choose Our Team of Attorneys to Manage Your New Orleans Jones Act Wrongful Death Case
Poolson | Oden is a contingency fee law firm, meaning we do not get paid unless we win for you and your family. Our New Orleans personal injury lawyers represent injured workers and their families seeking compensation based on the Jones Act and other federal laws. These laws provide a path for offshore workers to secure a payout.
As you can see from our testimonials and case results, we have the experience and specialized knowledge necessary to take on maritime injury and wrongful death cases that are not covered by state workers’ compensation. We work to secure maximum compensation for each client based on the law, medicine, and factual circumstances of each case.
We put boots on the ground and use a full team approach when handling each case. Immediately upon hiring us, we begin putting together the pieces to your case by sending initial spoliation letters and investigating the accident. We also evaluate all available venues to file your lawsuit, conduct extensive research to best suit your case, and put in the extra work to increase our chances of recovering the money our clients need and deserve.
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Types of Damages Recoverable in a New Orleans Jones Act Wrongful Death
The Jones Act provides a way for injured maritime workers to recover compensation following an accident on a boat, barge, sea-faring vessel, or offshore rig. When a Jones Act seaman dies due to employer negligence or unseaworthy conditions, the law provides for specific compensatory damages. These damages are intended to ease the financial and emotional loss faced by survivors.
- Pecuniary (Economic) Damages
- Lost Wages and Financial Support: Compensation for the earnings, benefits, and financial contributions the deceased would have provided to their dependents over their expected working life.
- Funeral and Burial Expenses: Reasonable costs of funeral services and burial or cremation.
- Loss of Services: Value of tasks and household contributions the deceased would have performed, such as chores and other support to the family.
- Loss of Nurture & Guidance: Compensation for the loss of care, guidance, training, and support the deceased would have provided to dependent children or other dependents.
- Loss of Inheritance: Potential loss of inheritances that dependents may have suffered as a result of the seaman’s premature death.
- Non-Economic Damages (in Limited Circumstances)
- Pre-Death Pain and Suffering: If the seaman experienced pain and suffering before death, survivors may seek damages for this conscious pain and suffering between the injury and death.
- Who May Recover Damages
The personal representative of the deceased seaman’s estate must bring the claim, but eligible beneficiaries often include:
- Surviving spouse or partner
- Dependent children (minor or adult if financially dependent)
- Dependent parents
- Dependent siblings if no spouse, children, or parents survive
Some families may seek additional damages under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) or other laws. The Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) is a federal law providing a specific remedy for certain maritime deaths. It applies under the following conditions:
- Location: The incident causing death must occur more than three nautical miles from the shore of the United States. This is what the law defines as the “high seas.” Deaths within three nautical miles from shore are governed by state law, the Jones Act, or general maritime law.
- Cause: The death must result from a “wrongful act, neglect, or default” — meaning some form of negligence, misconduct, or unseaworthiness must be proven.
- Who may bring a claim: The claim may be brought by close and immediate family members—usually the spouse, children, parents, or other dependent relatives.
- Who is covered: DOHSA is not limited to seamen; it can also cover crew, passengers, and others who die in qualifying incidents on vessels or in qualifying aircraft accidents over international waters (for aviation, the threshold is 12 nautical miles from shore).
Practical Example of When DOHSA Applies
- If a maritime worker or passenger dies due to an accident, negligence, or vessel unseaworthiness while the ship is beyond the three-nautical-mile territorial limit from the U.S. coast, DOHSA governs the claim.
- For aircraft, DOHSA applies to fatal accidents more than 12 nautical miles from shore.
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Types of Recoverable Damages Under DOHSA
DOHSA restricts damages to pecuniary (economic) losses. Recoverable damages typically include:
- Loss of financial support the decedent would have provided
- Funeral and burial expenses (some courts allow this; others do not)
- Loss of inheritance
- Counseling and other out-of-pocket expenses related to the death
Non-economic damages, such as compensation for pain and suffering of the decedent, or loss of consortium (companionship/love), are generally not available. An exception exists for certain commercial aviation incidents where non-economic damages—such as loss of care and companionship—are allowed.
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Who May Sue Under DOHSA
- Spouse
- Children
- Parents
- Dependent relatives
(Other relatives, such as siblings or stepchildren, are generally excluded unless they were legal dependents of the decedent.)
Exclusive Remedy and Relation to Other Laws
- Preempts State and General Maritime Law: When DOHSA applies, it preempts state wrongful death statutes and general maritime law.
- Jones Act Claims: DOHSA does not preempt claims under the Jones Act. If both the vessel owner and decedent’s employer were liable, concurrent claims may be possible, but the available damages remain limited under DOHSA for that portion of the claim.
Statute of Limitations
- Three years from the date of the decedent’s death to file a DOHSA claim. Certain cruise ticket contracts may shorten this period.
Our maritime accident lawyers will explore all the options available to your family to adequately compensate you for your loss and hold the liable party or parties accountable.
Our New Orleans Maritime Accident Wrongful Death Lawyers Explain How the Jones Act Works
The Jones Act, found under 46 U.S. Code § 30104, offers a way for injured maritime workers or their families to pursue compensation to pay for their treatment, related expenses, and lost income.
The Jones Act is necessary because most offshore and sea-faring workers do not qualify for workers’ compensation. Workers’ comp falls under state laws, and state laws do not usually apply to work on the open sea.
Unlike workers’ compensation, Jones Act claims are fault–based. Meaning, they require injured workers or the families of those who died to sue the employer, boat owner, captain, or another liable party and show how negligence led to their injuries or death and identify the negligent party. Our attorneys often find that those who oversee the vessel’s operation:
- Failed to provide a safe working environment
- Allowed unreasonable and unsafe conditions to remain
- Did not provide adequate training or oversight
- Retained careless, reckless, or unqualified workers
- Could have prevented serious and even fatal accidents
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Filing a Jones Act Claim?
According to the federal statute of limitations, 46 U.S.C. § 30106, you likely have three years from your loved one’s death to file a Jones Act case. However, investigating and building these claims takes time. We need to preserve evidence and begin work on your case as soon as possible.
Our New Orleans Jones Act Attorneys Know How Maritime Accidents Cause Wrongful Deaths
Unfortunately, offshore and maritime work is dangerous. When employers fail to properly follow all safety regulations, the risks of injury increase. Maritime workers face extreme weather, rough seas, working with heavy machinery, and the potential for vessel collisions. Limited access to immediate, life-saving medical care further increases the risks of catastrophic or fatal injuries.
Our attorneys understand the many ways offshore and sea-faring workers can lose their lives in on-the-job accidents. We can help you build a case if your loved one died because of any of the following causes or many others:
- Vessel sinking or capsizing
- Falls overboard, Man-Overboard
- Drowning
- Fire or explosion
- Equipment malfunction or machinery accident
- Falls on deck
- Collision with another vessel or structure
- Hazardous material exposure
- Heavy cargo or load-related accident
- Fishing gear entanglement
Discuss Your Maritime Accident Wrongful Death Case With Our New Orleans Jones Act Team
Poolson | Oden provides free, confidential consultations for families who lost a loved one due to an offshore or maritime accident. We can assess your case and explain how a New Orleans Jones Act maritime accident wrongful death lawyer from our firm can help you pursue compensation based on your loved one’s accident and death.
Contact us today to learn more about your legal options.