A claim for unseaworthiness is a unique feature of maritime law in the United States and provides seamen (those who work aboard commercial vessels on the inland rivers and oceans) with a right to recover damages for injuries they suffer as a result of the vessel on which they are working being defective in some way. While often brought alongside Jones Act claims, unseaworthiness is a different and unique concept all together.
A vessel can be rendered unseaworthy by any number of defects in its equipment, crewing, or other conditions of the vessel. Additionally, an unseaworthiness claim does not turn on the issue of fault or blame in the same way that a Jones Act negligence claim does. Rather, a vessel owner can be hit with an unseaworthiness claim simply because the vessel was unseaworthy even if the owner was otherwise prudent and regardless of whether the unseaworthy condition was known or should have been known.
Because of the “no-fault” nature of unseaworthiness coupled with the unpredictability and danger of work on the water, unseaworthiness claims can arise seemingly out of nowhere and seriously jeopardize your interests. Liability for unseaworthiness can apply for failures related to the ship’s hull, its cargo storage, tools, ropes and lines, provisions of food and water, furniture, personal protection equipment, the lack of equipment, and even the crew members themselves. Unseaworthiness claims are often brought by an employee-seaman against his employer but can be brought by non-employee seamen who happen to be aboard your vessel, broadening your risk even more.
Because of the complexity of the doctrine of unseaworthiness and how it often interplays with Jones Act claims, consulting with a seasoned maritime attorney such as those at Goldstein and Price, Attorneys at Law, is important to ensure that you do not fall victim to one of these complex claims.