According to statistics on deaths and injuries, commercial fishermen have the most dangerous job in the U.S. If you are a commercial fisherman, you are not covered by typical state workers’ compensation insurance. You are protected under several maritime laws that provide workers in this dangerous industry compensation and benefits for injury, accident, or illness.
The Dangerous Job of Commercial Fishing
As the most dangerous job in the country, there are many ways in which a commercial fisherman can become injured or even killed while working.
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, fishermen had 610 nonfatal injuries and illnesses between 2003 and 2009. During that same period, 334 workers died on the job.
The most common injuries included accidents with objects or equipment on the fishing vessel and overexertion. Most of the fatal accidents occurred in Alaska, with Massachusetts and Florida coming in second and third place.
Most deaths resulted from sinking or capsizing vessels or falling overboard. Most of these workers’ actual causes of death were drowning or hypothermia.
Maintenance and Cure
The ancient law of maintenance and cure is the first law that gives rights to injured or sick commercial fishermen.
If you qualify as a seaman, which means you spend at least 30 percent of your time on a vessel, and your work contributes to the vessel’s purpose, you are entitled to maintenance and cure compensation from your employer when you are injured or become sick while working.
Most fishermen qualify under the law of maintenance and cure. Your employer does not have to have been negligent in the incident for you to get compensation for maintenance.
This includes your daily living expenses while you can’t work aboard the ship. Cure refers to medical expenses resulting from a work injury or illness.
The Doctrine of Unseaworthiness
Commercial fishermen injured on the job may also qualify for rights under the doctrine of unseaworthiness. This law states that ship owners must provide workers with a seaworthy vessel.
If they do not, injured workers can sue for damages if that injury resulted from a deficiency that made the ship unseaworthy.
Being unseaworthy does not just mean a ship cannot navigate or float. Unseaworthiness could result from any lack of maintenance or equipment defects that put workers aboard the ship at risk of an injury or illness. A vessel is unseaworthy if any aspect is faulty or poorly maintained.
The Jones Act
As a commercial fisherman and a seaman, you also have rights under the Jones Act. This law applies to all seamen and occurs when a seaman is injured or becomes ill on the job because of some negligence on the employer’s part.
Your burden of proof to get compensation through the Jones Act is low. You only have to prove that your employer was negligent and that the negligence contributed, even in small part, to your injury or illness.
You can use your rights under the Jones Act if your employer is not giving you the compensation you believe you deserve. The Act allows you to sue for damages, including lost wages, lost future wages, medical expenses, and even pain and suffering.
The Alaska Fishermen’s Fund
Because so much commercial fishing occurs in Alaskan waters, and many illnesses and fatalities aboard shipping vessels occur there, the state created the Alaska Fishermen’s Fund.
This provides another source of compensation if a commercial fisherman is injured on the job, even if that injury occurred offshore.
If you work on a commercial fishing vessel and have been injured, know your rights. State workers’ compensation programs do not cover you, but several specialized maritime laws cover you.
You have rights, and those include compensation for your injury. Contact an experienced maritime lawyer to help you get the money you deserve.