Most crew members that are injured on ships or vessels don’t know their legal rights. Too often, injured seaman do or say things to lose their case. If you are an injured Jones Act Seaman, you need to take immediate steps in order to protect you and your family’s future. You need to take steps to prevent losing your Jones Act lawsuit. Here is a checklist for injured Jones Act Seaman and others injured aboard ships, boats and vessels.

Jones Act Seaman Checklist - How To Keep From Sinking Your Jones Act Injury Case

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Injured Seaman Checklist - - How To Keep From Losing Your Case


Most crew members that are injured on ships or vessels don't know their legal rights. Too often, injured seaman do or say things to lose their case. If you are an injured Jones Act Seaman, you need to take immediate steps in order to protect you and your family's future. You need to take steps to prevent losing your Jones Act lawsuit. Here is a checklist for injured Jones Act Seaman and others injured aboard ships, boats and vessels:


1. YOUR HEALTH AND SAFETY MUST BE YOUR FIRST CONCERN

After you are injured aboard a vessel or in the service of the vessel your first concern must be your health, safety and medical treatment. Nothing is more important than your health and safety. Often times this means emergency medical treatment. The very first concern following any accident must be your health and safety and the health and safety of others.


2. IMMEDIATELY REPORT YOUR INJURY

Always report your injury. Do not wait. If you are injured at 4:40 a.m., report your injury at 4:40 a.m. Don't wait until the next day to report your injury.


3. A PHOTO CAN BE PRICELESS

A few photos taken of the incident site as soon after the incident as possible can be priceless. If you can't take them, ask a fellow crew member to take a few photos for you. Try and get a few different angles and points of view. A photo after the incident will head off a lot of "defenses" later. "Defenses" is a code word for the lies that the insurance company lawyer will tell the jury about what "really" caused your injury.


4. A WITNESS CAN REALLY HELP

Frequently you will be transported off the vessel after an injury. If at all possible
try to get the names and contact information of all of the witnesses to the accident and witnesses to how the scene looked right after it happened before being transported off the vessel.



5. SAY NO TO ACCIDENT REPORTS OR WITNESS STATEMENTS

Do not fill out any accident reports or give any witness statements. You have no legal obligation to do so. Simply report your injury. Remember this: anything you say or write will be used against you in a court of law. You can and should avoid this trap by refusing to give any type of written or recorded statement.



6. DO NOT ADMIT FAULT

Many insurance adjusters will try and speak to you right after an accident in an attempt to get you to admit that the accident was your fault. Don't fall for this trick. You just got injured - - there is no requirement to speak to the insurance adjuster.



7. DON'T SIGN ANYTHING

Never, ever, ever sign any documents until you speak to a lawyer. This includes medical authorizations, accident reports, etc. You never have to sign documents in order to receive maintenance and cure.

There is no requirement that you fill out any accident reports or sign any documents in order to obtain maintenance and cure or other damages. No matter what anyone tells you or threatens you with - don't sign anything.



8. CHOOSE YOUR OWN DOCTOR

Under the law you get to choose your own doctor. Do not treat with the company doctor. When you are injured in the service of the vessel, or during a voyage, your Jones Act employer has an obligation to provide you with medical treatment until you reach maximum medical improvement. This is called "cure." It is very important that you chose a treating physician that is not a "company doctor."

Any lawyer that says they are going to send you to "their doctor" is trouble. Juries smell these shenanigans a mile away. A quick way to ruin your case is to get mixed up with a doctor that "works with" your lawyer. You need a doctor that is going to put your medical interests first and "call it the way they see it." Don't let a bad apple lawyer sink your case before you even start.

The choice of physician is yours. At the end of the day, nothing is more important than you making the best medical recovery possible.


9. DO THE RIGHT THING

Always do the right thing. Never lie or fudge about anything. You must be honest. If you are caught in a lie, you will usually lose your case.



The Turley Law Firm Lawyers accept cases in the following locations in California: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Long Beach, Sacramento, Oakland, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Bakersfield, Riverside, Stockton, Chula Vista, Fremont, Irvine, Modesto, Glendale, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Oxnard, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Rancho Cucamonga, Santa Clarita, Garden Grove, Ontario, Pomona, Santa Rosa, Salinas, Palmdale, Hayward, Pasadena, Torrance, Corona, Lancaster, Catalina Island, Bodega Bay, Bethel Island, Half Moon Bay, Eureka, Avalon,  Escondido, Alameda, Orange, Elk Grove, Sunnyvale, Fullerton, Thousand Oaks, El Monte, Simi Valley, Concord, Visalia, Vallejo, Ventura, Ventura Harbor, Marina del Ray, Morro Bay, Inglewood, Santa Clara, Pacific Ocean,  Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach , Port of San Pedro, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Channel, San Clemente Island,  San Joaquin River, San Francisco Harbor, San Francisco Bay, Stockton, Port of Stockton, Port of Sacramento, Port San Luis, California Delta, Lake Tahoe, Colorado River, Port of San Diego, Sausalito, Santa Cruz, San Pedro,  San Diego Harbor, Stockton, Oceanside Harbor, Catalina Island, Dana Point, Newport Harbor, Ventura Harbor, Port Hueneme, Vallejo, Crescent City, Yuba City, Wilmington, and the Channel Islands, and the navigable waterways of the the United States and the navigable waters of California.

The Turley Law Firm handles all type of boat and ship accidents and we are boat accident lawyers, including Jones Act lawyers, unseaworthiness lawyers, boat negligence lawyers, maintenance and cure lawyers,  cruise ship lawyers, recreational boating lawyers, boat accident lawyers, ship accident lawyer, boat collision lawyer, ship collision lawyer, barge accident lawyer, barge lawyer, derrick attonrey, floating work platform lawyer,  PWC accident lawyer, personal watercraft accident lawyer, sailboat accident lawyer, water ski accident lawyer, sailing accident lawyer,  tanker lawyer, offshore lawyer,  and river accident lawyers.

 

 

 


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The Turley Law Firm
626 Broadway, Suite 625
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 234-2833
Fax: (619) 234-4048
Toll Free: 866-963-0540


The San Diego, California personal injury law firm of The Turley Law Firm serves clients across  Southern California area. We give you straight talk about your legal options. We have handled cases from San Diego to Imperial Beach to Oceanside to Escondido to El Cajon, everywhere in between, such as: Alpine, Camp Pendleton, Cardiff, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado,  Del Mar, Eastlake, Encinitas, La Mesa, La Costa, La Jolla, Lakeside, Lemon Grove, Mission Bay, NAS San Diego, National City, Naval Station San Diego, North Island, North County, Pacific Beach, Point Loma, Port of San Diego, Poway, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe, San Marcos, San Diego Harbor, Santee, Solana Beach, South Bay, Spring Valley, Vista.

We handle cases across California, including: Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Orange County, Imperial County, Los Angeles County, and Ventura County, Colorado River, Mexico, Cabo, Pacific Ocean and all the Oceans and waterways across California and the World.


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