Maritime law concerns activities that take place on “navigable waters”: rivers, oceans, inland seas, and lakes. Usually the term is understood to also encompass the docks, harbors, and shorelines that have contact with these waters, although jurisdictional disputes can arise under certain circumstances. A maritime lawyer may be any attorney who handles cases involving maritime law, but the most common reasons for seeking a Mississippi maritime lawyer tend to involve personal injury cases related to activities that take place on or adjacent to the many navigable waterways that pass through the state or touch its shores, or work injury cases that fall under one of the two major federal laws governing compensation for workers in the maritime industry. Lott Law Firm handles both of these types of cases. Owing to the complex jurisdictional questions that can sometimes arise, we also frequently encounter prospective clients who are not sure whether their cases belong properly to maritime law vs. state jurisdiction, and we are happy to answer questions to help you find the legal assistance appropriate to your case type. Call (228) 215-2787 to be connected with a member of our team at the office closest to you.
What Does a Maritime Lawyer Do?
According to the Gallagher Law Library at the University of Washington School of Law, a maritime lawyer may also be called an admiralty lawyer. The labels cover attorneys who practice either or both of two types of cases:
- Transactions or contract matters related to transportation by water
- Actions by individuals or entities that take place on the water or adjacent land that falls under the jurisdiction of maritime law
The first category is strongly related to business law, often with an emphasis on the negotiation of contracts and the management of contractual obligations or disputes arising over one party’s fulfillment of those obligations. Sometimes complex questions concerning international trade may come into play, particularly when a shipping venture involves cargo of a sensitive nature.
Notably, the second category may be subdivided into criminal vs. civil cases. The criminal cases would be brought by prosecutors and might or might not involve international concerns, depending on such considerations as whether the alleged violations are thought to have taken place in territorial vs. international waters and the citizenship of the parties involved.
State vs. Federal Jurisdiction for Civil Maritime Cases
Civil maritime cases, like their counterparts tied to land, involve claims brought by civilians against other civilian parties seeking remedy. Plaintiffs in these civil cases may often have the option to choose whether to file in state vs. federal court. However, if a Mississippi maritime lawyer files a case in state court whose circumstances bring the matter under the jurisdiction of maritime law, the Mississippi court will apply federal principles in hearing the case, and federal law will prevail over state law whenever the two are in conflict.
Types of Civil Cases Tried by Maritime Lawyers
On land, there is often a considerable divide between business law attorneys and those who try civil torts and work injury cases. Since maritime law is based less on the type of case and more on the location of the alleged violations (for criminal cases) or disputed matters (for civil cases), this could theoretically lead to confusion for individuals seeking the services of a Mississippi maritime lawyer.
For a variety of practical reasons, however, business owners and managers who are looking for assistance with transactional legal matters often begin by working with business law attorneys, rather than by looking for attorneys practicing admiralty law specifically. Individuals who look online for a Mississippi maritime lawyer are much more likely to be concerned with either personal injury cases or claims arising from work injuries sustained in the course of maritime employment.
LHWCA and Jones Act Cases
Like their compatriots in land-based occupations, employees in the maritime industry who suffer injury as a result of their job duties may be entitled to medical care coverage and compensation for wages lost during their recovery. Whereas employees in most jobs on land are covered by the workers’ compensation insurance the vast majority of employers are required to carry under state workers’ compensation laws, however, individuals employed on boats or in a variety of shipping and maintenance operations along Mississippi’s waterways are typically subject to one of two federal laws.
Each law covers a distinct set of employees; the two laws are mutually exclusive, meaning they cannot apply to the same case. A brief description of each law and its purview may serve to clarify when and how it applies, but you may also wish to consider discussing your situation with a Mississippi maritime lawyer at Lott Law Firm who may be able to help you understand your legal rights and options.
Personal Injury Claims: The Jones Act
Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute (LII) explains that the Jones Act allows seamen to file personal injury lawsuits against their employers for injuries sustained in the course of their job duties. The Act also allows for bereaved family members to file wrongful death claims when a seaman who would have been entitled to file a personal injury suit against their employer instead dies from work-related injuries. The Jones Act, also sometimes called the Merchant Marine Act, is markedly different from most modern workers’ compensation laws in that it relies on personal injury lawsuits to provide a path toward workers’ compensation.
A “tradeoff” of sorts is central to the logic underpinning workers’ compensation laws in most states: Employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance that covers work-related injuries for all employees (including part-time workers), and employees are prohibited from filing personal injury lawsuits over work-related injuries in most cases (there are sometimes limited exceptions when a third party is held to be liable). Even though the Jones Act was passed well after states had begun to pass laws establishing requirements for “no-fault” workers’ compensation insurance that obviated both the employer’s liability and the workers’ obligation to prove fault, the Jones Act relies on the fault-based model of civil torts.
LHWCA: A Maritime Answer to Work-Injury Compensation
The LHWCA contains provisions that function in a manner more similar to the workers’ compensation laws on record in most states (including Mississippi) and covers workers not covered by the Jones Act employed on the United States’ navigable waters and adjoining docks, piers, harbors, and shorelines. Passage of the Act established a compensation program similar to the workers’ compensation insurance that most states require most employers to carry.
Like state-mandated workers’ compensation programs, the benefits provided to injured employees under the LHWCA are funded by employers and their private insurance providers (some employers, both on land and under the LHWCA, are self-insured). While state workers’ compensation programs are subject to the regulations and oversight of state agencies like the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC), however, LHWCA compensation is administered by the United States Department of Labor (DOL).
Mississippi Maritime Lawyer for Boat Accidents
Most Mississippians are likely already aware that motor vehicle collisions are among the more frequent causes leading to personal injury lawsuits. Although individuals not working in the legal profession may not often have occasion to consider the technicalities, many may also recognize that personal injury cases like those arising from car accidents fall under the broad heading of civil torts law – civil because these cases involve one civilian party seeking remedy from the court for some grievance in their dispute with another party, as opposed to being tried by government prosecutors for the violation of a law, and torts to distinguish these cases concerning alleged wrongdoing from other types of civil disputes, such as contracts or probate matters. Even if you have never been a party to such a case, you probably also know that the vast majority of personal injury cases are tried in the state courts.
Jurisdiction for Boat Accident Cases
Boating accidents are, like their motor vehicle counterparts on land, frequent sources of personal injury claims. With boat accident cases, however, often the plaintiff will have the choice of filing their complaint in state vs. federal court, even if the boat accident took place on navigable waters, according to a 2022 report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). If a Mississippi maritime lawyer does file a client’s boat accident case in the state court system, a Mississippi court will apply federal rules to the case for “substantive” matters, whereas the Mississippi Rules of Procedure will govern how the case is managed.
Federal maritime law has traditionally applied a more generous standard for comparative negligence than the laws in many states, and the apportionment of liability in a personal injury case can have an enormous impact on the outcome. For Mississippi residents, however, there may be little difference between state torts law vs. federal maritime law on this point, as Miss. Code. Ann. § 11-7-15 ensures that courts in this state will apply the standard of “pure” comparative negligence.
Concurrent Jurisdiction and Choice of Venue
The fact that federal law will prevail over state law for substantive considerations may easily lead individuals evaluating whether and how to pursue compensation for injuries caused by boat accidents to wonder whether there is any practical difference between filing a maritime law case in state vs. federal court. The answer will vary depending on the circumstances, but often it comes down to convenience: State courts tend to be more geographically distributed throughout a state than the federal district courts, so for many plaintiffs the logistical burden associated with trying a case in the Mississippi state courts is lower than it would be for pursuing compensation through the federal court system.
Consult With a Mississippi Maritime Lawyer
The two types of cases that are most likely to lead people in the United States to seek a maritime lawyer are business law, related primarily to water-dependent commercial activities such as shipping, and injury cases, which can include both civil torts in the personal injury category as well as work injury claims of a type that on land would normally fall under state workers’ compensation laws. Any of these cases can raise perplexing questions regarding jurisdiction, in addition to the usual complexities that attend civil cases. A conversation with a Mississippi maritime lawyer may help to clarify the factors that are likely to have the greatest impact on your personal situation, so call Lott Law Firm at (228) 215-2787 today to book a consultation.
