Jones Act Lawsuit Loans Made Easy

Jones Act Lawsuits & Uplift Legal Funding

Uplift proudly provides fast and easy Jones Act lawsuit settlement loans to plaintiffs pursuing a ship workers compensation case.

The Maritime Law governs many insurance claims that are related to ships and cargo. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, more commonly known as the Jones Act, is federal legislation within the Maritime Law that protects workers on any type of ship or boat. It was modeled after the FELA act which protected railroad workers. A lawsuit against a nautical worker’s employer is very much like a traditional workman’s compensation case in that the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant was at fault.

However, when one considers just how many working parts there on a commercial sea vessel, it’s easy to see that these lawsuits can be very big deals. Not only that, it’s not just the people out on the rainy decks who are considered seamen. Cooks, bartenders, stewards, and captains also fall under the blanket of people covered by the law.

The most reliable lawsuit loans for Jones act cases

Uplift Legal Funding specializes in Jones Act lawsuit settlement loans and would be happy to help you get funding on your case. If you are in need of legal funding, apply online or give us a call at (800) 385-3660 to receive your cash advance.

If you’d like to learn more about how Uplift helps plaintiffs with their personal injury cases, visit our lawsuit loans page.

Who is considered under the Jones Act?

Only seamen are considered under the Jones act. All prepubescent jokes aside, seamen is a blanket term for all individuals that work on a ship. This includes the captain and various crew members. Due to the unusual nature of working in the shipping industry, an individual can expect to work for weeks on end, but receive multiple months off.

The Jones Act only covers seamen who work full time. If a seaman works part-time then they have to prove that they spend at least 30% of their time on a boat as either captain or a crew member. This means that both Dockworkers and shipbuilders are not considered on the Jones act. In order to pursue compensation if an injury occurs while on the job, they would have to go through the longshore and harbor workers compensation act.

Negligence and the Jones act

The Jones act enables seamen to be able to sue for negligence of the owner, captain, and other crew members on a ship. It is an employee-friendly law which means it places the burden of safe conditions on the owner/captain of the boat. It requires that the employer does the following:

• Safety – provide the seamen with a safe place to work
• Care – use care to maintain the vessel within reasonable safety conditions for the seamen,

This means that there is an array of things that a seaman can sue for if there is an accident:

• Deck maintenance – slippery substance on the deck(s)
• Damaged equipment – the breaking of equipment/ already broken equipment
• Lack of equipment – failure to provide the proper equipment to complete a job
• Inadequate training – improper training of the seaman or of the crew in general
• Work methods – encouraging work methods that are unsafe
• Co-workers – the negligence of the seaman’s co-workers
• Assault – any assault that occurs on the oat by other workers

The burden of proof

Usually, the burden of proof is placed heavily on the plaintiff. However, there is a special exception for Jones act cases. While the plaintiff still has to prove that there was negligence on the part of the employer, the standards are much lower than they are for standard negligence cases.

Under this statute, the individual only has to prove that there was negligence aboard the ship- no matter how small. This is known as a low standard of causation. This low standard of causation makes it extremely easy for workers to pursue a personal injury accident lawsuit.

Getting approved for Jones act lawsuit loans

If you find yourself in the above situation, the good news is that there are companies who are set up to provide you Jones Act lawsuit loans to keep on an even keel with insurance companies. Lawsuit loans, also called cash advances, are easy to get. Your attorney will work with a legal funding company to provide the following information:

• documentation about your injuries and any surgeries you have had
• information and documents proving that you were not at fault for the accident (such as expert reports)
• confirmation of the insurance information
• court documents

You can often get an answer to the amount of cash advance you are entitled to within 48 hours.

How much is my Jones act case worth?

This is an important question for lawsuit funding companies because your case value determines the amount of Jones Act legal funding you can qualify for.

Anyone with a job anywhere can get injured on the job. Even people at a desk job could still slip on an icy sidewalk at their job or handle a defective piece of equipment. On a boat, however, there are far more dangers. Even on good weather days, there are tons of heavy equipment that is used on a daily basis. Any of these can be used wrong by a fellow crew-mate or they could simply malfunction resulting in a personal injury that ranges in severity, the most severe being wrongful death.

Ropes, gears, pistons, turbines, anchors – any of these can cause tragic injuries even if all the rules are followed. When you add in the hazardous weather that these ships often encounter, the dangers increase exponentially.

Because of this extreme risk, injuries can be life-changing and you should be entitled to workers’ compensation. As with any type of lawsuit, the worse the personal injury, the more you could potentially recover in a lawsuit. Most ships carry very large insurance policies as well, so that is one more element in the plaintiff’s favor. While there is no one answer for how much a Jones Act case will settle for, verdicts can range from $20,000 to $200,000, and there have been verdicts in excess of $5,000,000. The extent of your injuries and other factors will determine where in the spectrum your personal injury is and how your Jones Act case will finish up.

How long will my Jones act case take?

This is the less optimistic answer. Insurance companies don’t stay in business by settling every claim they get for large sums right away. Jones Act cases, in particular, can stretch out because often a lawyer will need to line up experts in the field to research how the machinery failed or how the employer was negligent. Sometimes both the plaintiff and the defendant’s side will line up experts, and that can take even longer.

Jones Act cases can take years to finish. Not every worker can wait that long, especially ones whose injuries were so bad they can no longer work. How can you hold out until the end without having to take a small settlement offer just to keep your head above water? We provide cash advances to help you get the compensation you deserve!

Why choose Uplift Legal Funding?

Not every company specializes in Jones Act lawsuit loans. Our underwriters are knowledgeable about all the nuances of these types of cases. We also value customer service more than other companies.

You are more than a dollar sign to us; you are a person who needs help and we are there to provide it. We have among the lowest rates of any company and can get you an answer about your lawsuit settlement loan very quickly. You can apply online for a cash advance, or give us a call at (800) 385-3660 to get started.