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.

Maritime law governs many insurance claims related to ships and cargo. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, more commonly known as the Jones Act, is federal legislation within maritime law that protects workers on any type of ship or boat. It was modeled after the FELA, which protected railroad workers. A lawsuit against a nautical worker’s employer differs from a traditional workers’ 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 are on a commercial sea vessel, it is easy to see that these lawsuits can be highly complex. Furthermore, it is not just the people out on the rainy decks who are considered seamen. Cooks, bartenders, stewards, and captains are also 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 for 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 covered under the Jones Act?

Only seamen are covered under the Jones Act. All prepubescent jokes aside, “seamen” is a blanket term for all individuals who 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, they have to prove that they spend at least 30% of their time on a boat as either a captain or a crew member. This means that both dockworkers and shipbuilders are not covered under 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 sue for the 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 or captain of the boat. It requires the employer to do the following:

• Safety – provide the seamen with a safe place to work
• Care – use care to maintain the vessel in reasonably safe conditions for the seamen

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

• Deck maintenance – slippery substances on the deck
• Damaged equipment – breaking or already broken equipment
• Lack of equipment – failure to provide the proper equipment to complete a job
• Inadequate training – improper training of the seaman or the crew in general
• Work methods – encouraging unsafe work methods
• Co-workers – the negligence of the seaman’s co-workers
• Assault – any assault that occurs on the boat 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 that are set up to provide you with Jones Act lawsuit loans to keep you 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 insurance information
• Court documents

You can often get an answer regarding the amount of the cash advance you are entitled to in as little as 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 can get injured on the job. Even people with desk jobs could slip on an icy sidewalk or handle a defective piece of equipment. On a boat, however, there are far more dangers. Even on good weather days, a great deal of heavy equipment is used on a daily basis. Any of this equipment can be used incorrectly by a fellow crewmate, or it could simply malfunction, resulting in personal injuries that range 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 may be entitled to compensation under the Jones Act. As with any type of lawsuit, the worse the personal injury, the more you could potentially recover. Most ships carry very large insurance policies as well, which is one more element in the plaintiff’s favor. While there is no single 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 on the spectrum your injury falls and how your Jones Act claim will resolve.

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 receive for large sums right away. Jones Act cases, in particular, can stretch out because a lawyer will often 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 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 those whose injuries are so severe they can no longer work. How can you hold out until the end without taking 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 cases. We also value customer service more than other companies do.

You are more than a dollar sign to us; you are a person who needs help, and we are here to provide it. We offer some of 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.