Are you looking for a Jones Act lawyer in Alton, IL?
At Goldstein and Price, L.C., we provide Jones Act representation grounded in more than 60 years of work on behalf of clients in Alton, IL.
If you were hurt working aboard a towboat, barge, or other vessel near Alton, the rules governing your claim differ from the ones most injured workers face. Seamen are not covered by Illinois workers’ compensation. Their recovery runs through federal maritime law instead.
Goldstein and Price, L.C. has handled admiralty and maritime matters for more than 60 years, and our attorneys are admitted in both Illinois and Missouri. When you need our Alton, IL Jones Act lawyer, we can review what happened and tell you honestly whether you have a case. Reach out to schedule a consultation.
Jones Act Lawyer Alton, IL
A Jones Act lawyer represents seamen who were injured because their employer, a coworker, or the condition of the vessel fell short of the care the law requires. The Jones Act is a federal statute that lets a seaman injured in the course of employment sue the employer for negligence and have a jury decide the case.
Illinois has 1,118 miles of navigable waterways moving 90.6 million tons of goods a year, according to IDOT marine data, and a large share of that traffic passes Alton on its way through the Melvin Price Locks and Dam. The deckhands, mates, engineers, and pilots working those tows are the people who qualify as seamen under the Act, and they are the clients our Alton Jones Act attorneys represent.
Types of Jones Act Cases We Handle in Alton
Most Jones Act claims on this stretch of river come off towboats and barges, but the Act reaches any vessel in navigation and any crew member assigned to it. Our Alton, IL Jones Act attorneys handle the injury categories below for seamen working the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. Each requires proof of negligence, and each benefits from an investigation that starts while the logs and witnesses are still available.
- Towboat injuries. Crew on line boats and harbor boats get hurt building tow, transiting locks, and working wires under load. We look at crewing levels, fatigue, and the orders that put the seaman there.
- River accidents. Collisions between tows and allisions with bridge piers, docks, and lock walls injure crew without warning. The dangers of shared waterways grow in high water and at night, and we reconstruct how the vessel was being navigated.
- Slip and fall on deck. Wet steel, spilled fuel, and worn non-skid account for a large share of seaman injuries. We document the deck condition and the maintenance record behind it.
- Line handling and rigging injuries. Ratchets, wires, and mooring lines under strain can crush a hand or knock a deckhand off his feet when they part. We examine whether the rigging was sound and whether crew was trained on it.
- Equipment and machinery incidents. Winches, capstans, and engine room hazards cause amputations and burns. Defective gear can also support a separate unseaworthiness claim against the vessel owner.
- Falls overboard. A man overboard on the Mississippi is frequently a death case. We look at rail conditions, work vest policies, and how quickly the crew responded.
- Docking and undocking injuries. Fleeting operations, barge shifts, and landing maneuvers put crew between moving steel. We rebuild the sequence from the logs and the people on deck.
- Burns and electrical injuries. Galley fires, engine room flashes, and faulty wiring on older boats cause serious burns. We pull the inspection history of the equipment involved.
- Chemical exposure. Crews on tank barges and chemical tows can be exposed to cargo vapors over months or years. These long-term claims depend on careful reconstruction of the seaman’s work history.
- Wrongful death. When a seaman dies from a work injury, the Jones Act allows the personal representative to bring the claim. We handle these cases for surviving spouses and children.
Why Choose Goldstein and Price, L.C. as my Jones Act Lawyer in Alton, IL?
Six Decades on the Inland River System
Goldstein and Price, L.C. has practiced admiralty and maritime law for more than 60 years, and our attorneys know the towing companies, terminal operators, and marine insurers who work this part of the Mississippi. Our personal injury lawyer in Alton, IL is familiar with handling these types of claims.
Neal W. Settergren, handles maritime, commercial, and insurance matters in and out of the courtroom. He graduated from Washington University School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif. Robert Nienhuis has tried cases in 13 states since 1976, belongs to the Maritime Law Association of the United States, and was listed in Best Lawyers in America for admiralty and maritime law every year from 2012 through 2024. He has also been named a Missouri and Kansas Super Lawyer.
A Record Built in Federal and State Courtrooms
Our attorneys have taken Jones Act, unseaworthiness, and maintenance and cure disputes through jury trials and appeals in the Southern District of Illinois and in courts up and down the river system. Those representative cases were won on seaman status, causation, and damages, the same questions your case will turn on. We prepare every matter as though it will be tried. The settlement value of a Jones Act claim depends on the other side believing that.
What Is Important To Understand About Jones Act Cases?
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Jones Act Cases
The Jones Act is a negligence statute. A seaman must show the employer failed to use reasonable care and that the failure played some part in causing the injury. That causation burden is lighter than in an ordinary Illinois negligence case, but it is not automatic, and the employer will argue the seaman’s own carelessness contributed to the harm. Comparative fault applies, so a seaman found partly responsible sees the award reduced by that percentage.
Damages under the Act fall into a few categories:
- Past and future lost wages, including lost earning capacity if you cannot return to vessel work
- Medical expenses beyond what the employer covers through maintenance and cure
- Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life
- In a death case, the financial losses of the surviving family
Maintenance and cure is a separate obligation. The employer owes it regardless of fault, from the date of injury until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement, and an unreasonable refusal to pay it can expose the employer to additional damages. A Jones Act lawyer in Alton, IL will usually pursue both claims together.
Important Aspects of a Jones Act Case
Seaman status is the threshold question, and employers contest it more often than injured workers expect. The Act protects a crew member whose work contributes to the function of a vessel in navigation and who has a substantial connection to that vessel or an identifiable fleet. Whether you can make a Jones Act claim depends on that connection more than on your job title. Several other points shape the case:
- Your employer is the defendant under the Jones Act, though the employer and the vessel owner are often the same company
- Many river workers learn only after an injury that they are not eligible for state workers’ compensation, which is the gap the Act fills
- The statement you give the company after the injury will be used, so get advice before you sign anything
- Federal law sets a three-year deadline for maritime personal injury and death claims, measured from when the cause of action arose, and waiting to find out whether you are too late to file is a costly way to learn the answer
Transportation and material moving occupations recorded 1,391 fatal work injuries in 2024, the most of any occupational group in BLS fatality data. Vessel crews sit inside that group. That is why an Alton Jones Act lawyer should be involved early.
The Jones Act Case Timeline
No two cases move at the same pace, but the sequence rarely changes. A typical Alton, IL Jones Act claim runs through these stages:
- Injury report and initial medical care, with maintenance and cure payments beginning right away
- Investigation, including vessel logs, incident reports, Coast Guard filings, and witness interviews
- Continued treatment until you reach maximum medical improvement, which sets the value of future losses
- Demand and negotiation with the employer and its marine insurer, which resolves many claims
- Suit in state or federal court, discovery, and trial if the parties cannot agree, often 12 to 24 months from filing
What to Bring to Your Jones Act Consultation
Bring whatever you have to your consultation. Missing paperwork does not disqualify you, but more at the first meeting means a faster and thorough evaluation.
- Employment records, pay stubs, and your vessel or fleet assignment history
- Any incident report, accident statement, or written communication with the company
- Medical records and bills, and the name of every provider you have seen
- Photographs of the location, equipment, or injury, and the names of crew members who were aboard
- Letters from the employer’s insurer, including maintenance and cure paperwork
The consultation is a conversation. We will ask about the vessel, your job, and what happened, and by the end you’ll know whether we think you have a Jones Act claim and what comes next.
Alton Waterways, Courts, and Local Resources
Alton sits just below the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers and a few miles above the Melvin Price Locks and Dam. Injured seamen from this area file in one of two places.
- State court cases go to the Madison County Circuit Court at 155 N. Main Street in Edwardsville, which is part of the Third Judicial Circuit.
- Federal cases are filed with the Southern District of Illinois at the Melvin Price Federal Building in East St. Louis.
- A seaman may bring a Jones Act case in either court, and the employer generally cannot move it, so the choice of forum is one of the first strategic decisions our Jones Act attorneys in Alton make.
Reach Out to Goldstein and Price, L.C. to Schedule a Consultation
A Jones Act claim starts with a conversation about what happened on the vessel. We will listen, ask questions, and give you an honest evaluation of your claim. Our office responds to new inquiries promptly, and we can meet in person or by phone depending on where you are recovering. Contact us to schedule a confidential case review with an Alton Jones Act attorney at Goldstein and Price, L.C.