The Jones Act is a federal legislation. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 is commonly refereed to as the Jones Act after the Bill’s sponsor senator Wesley L. Jones of Washington.
It allows an injured sailor damages for injuries due to negligence of the ship-owner, the captain or the fellow members of the crew. The US Supreme Court has ruled that any worker who spends more than 30% of his time in the service of a vessel on navigable waters is a sailor or seaman under the provisions of the Jones Act.
Benefits under the Act take care of both maintenance and cure aspects and it is usually much higher than in worker compensation cases.
The aggrieved seaman can bring an action for damages under the Jones Act either in a US federal court or in a state court.
