Visit us anytime at https://www.asbestosclaims.law/. Asbestos in the Maritime Industry
Anyone who worked in the Maritime Industry prior to the Mid-1980s may have been exposed to hazardous asbestos.
For decades, shipbuilders, parts manufacturers, and even the United States Navy relied on asbestos products to keep their vessels safe from fire.
Experts believe that, in spite of international treaties regulating the use of asbestos aboard ships, many sailors and longshoremen remain at-risk for asbestos exposure.
The passage and revision of federal laws has made it substantially easier for veterans and private industry workers to receive compensation for the costs associated with serious asbestos-related conditions, including mesothelioma and other cancers.
Hazardous Asbestos Was Used to Build Sailing Vessels of all Kinds
Between the 1930s and late 1980s, almost every United States Navy vessel was constructed with asbestos-containing materials.
Large ships, including aircraft carriers and destroyers, were often built with literal tons of asbestos.
Ironically, shipbuilders often intentionally ordered and fabricated asbestos products, believing that the mineral’s natural properties could prevent potentially catastrophic fires.
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Federal Statutes Could Afford Maritime Workers and Their Loved Ones Significant Compensation
There are two primary Federal laws protecting maritime workers who are injured, and both can apply to injuries from asbestos exposure:
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, popularly known as the Jones Act, is a federal statute extending the Employer’s Liability Act to seamen.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act is a federal law that provides for the payment of compensation, medical care, and other rehabilitative services to employees who sustained serious, employment-related injuries on the United States’ navigable waters or in adjoining areas used by the maritime industry.
The Jones Act and Asbestos Injuries
The Jones Act intends to protect seamen who sustain injuries aboard American maritime vessels.
The Jones Act covers sailors, divers, deckhands, mechanics, drillers, fishermen, pilots, and ny other person employed aboard a watercraft
The Jones Act requires that seamen be provided with:
Reasonable rations of food water and water, appropriate shelter, medical care, and safe working conditions.
The Jones Act allows Maritime workers to seek compensation in court.
If an employer negligently exposes a seaman to asbestos, and the seaman later develops an asbestos-related disease like mesothelioma, the worker could file a lawsuit in state or federal court.
The Jones Act provides legal relief for damages such as:
Past, present, and anticipated medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning potential, physical pain and suffering, emotional pain and suffering, and wrongful death.
The Jones Act does not cap the damages an injured seaman could recover in court.
Unlike Worker’s Compensation claims, Jones Act claims allow a worker to seek full compensation for their injuries, including medical bills, lost work, lost wages, and even emotional pain and suffering.
The Jones Act has certain exceptions:
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (aka the Jones Act) has several important exceptions.
An individual is only entitled to file a personal injury claim under the Jones Act if they spent at least 30 percent of their working time aboard a vessel in navigable waters.
Shipbuilders, longshoremen, and watercraft manufacturers are not typically entitled to claim relief under this statute.
While the Jones Act might exclude certain employees, other maritime workers could pursue relief under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and Asbestos Injuries
Who is covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act?
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act is designed to provide enhanced disability benefits to maritime industry employees who suffered serious injuries on the job.
However, this statute has a strict interpretation of who may be considered a “maritime” worker.
You could receive benefits if you worked as:
A longshoreman, harbor worker, civilian contractor at a U.S. military base, shipyard mechanic, or any other person who is or was actively engaged in “maritime” work within a reasonable distance to a navigable body of water.
Depending on your state of residence, you may be able to receive benefits from a Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation claim as well as an ordinary workers’ compensation claim.
You can get all the help you need with maritime-related claims or anything else involving asbestos at our website, http://www.AsbestosClaims.law.
