After an offshore rig explosion, the first legal question is whether you count as a seaman under the Jones Act. That answer decides whether you can sue your employer for negligence, whether your employer owes you maintenance and cure, and how long you have to act. For Louisiana oilfield workers, it is rarely as simple as a job title.
When a rig worker calls The Voorhies Law Firm after an explosion, we start with their work history before we ask about the blast. Which rig, which vessels, and how much time was spent aboard decide which law applies, and the rest of the case is built on that.
Who Counts as a Seaman Under the Jones Act
The Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 30104, gives an injured seaman a negligence claim against the employer. The statute does not define the word, so courts rely on the Supreme Court’s two-part test in Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis:
- The worker’s duties must contribute to the function or mission of a vessel
- The worker must have a connection to a vessel, or a group of vessels under common ownership or control, that is substantial in both duration and nature
Duration is the easier half. The Supreme Court’s rule of thumb is that a worker who spends less than about 30 percent of his or her time in the service of a vessel in navigation should not qualify.
Nature is where rig workers run into trouble. The Fifth Circuit, which covers Louisiana, tightened that part of the test in 2021 in Sanchez v. Smart Fabricators of Texas. The welder in that case spent roughly 90 percent of his employment aboard two jack-up rigs, and the court still held he was not a seaman because his work was not seagoing work.
The type of structure matters too. A jack-up rig or other mobile rig is generally treated as a vessel. A platform fixed to the sea floor is not, so a worker assigned to a fixed platform usually cannot qualify as a seaman on the strength of that work, whatever the job title says.
If your title does not tell you where you stand, your pay records and the names of the rigs and vessels you worked on usually will. Our oil rig accident lawyers can go through them with you.
What Causes Offshore Rig Explosions
The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion off the Louisiana coast killed 11 workers and injured 17 more. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board found that the blowout followed a failed cement job and misread pressure tests, and that neither BP nor Transocean had regularly inspected or tested the blowout preventer’s emergency systems.
Smaller explosions are less famous, but federal investigators keep finding some of the same kinds of failures:
- Well-control failures that let gas travel up the well, and safety equipment that does not work when it is needed
- Welding or cutting near equipment that holds hydrocarbons, without proper gas detection or a fire watch. Federal inspectors have flagged this repeatedly in the Gulf of Mexico, and a 2012 platform explosion that killed three workers happened during welding work on piping connected to oil tanks
- Poor communication between operators and the contractors doing the work, so that no one is sure what is happening where
Several companies are usually working on a rig at the same time. The operator, the drilling contractor, subcontractors, and equipment manufacturers can each share responsibility, which means the Jones Act claim against your employer is only one possible claim.
What a Jones Act Claim Can Recover
A seaman injured on the job does not go through workers’ compensation. Up to three separate claims may be available instead, and they are typically pursued together.
Maintenance and Cure
Your employer owes you a daily living allowance (maintenance) and payment for your medical care (cure) until you reach maximum medical improvement. It is owed whether or not anyone was at fault, so you do not have to prove negligence to receive it.
Negligence Under the Jones Act
You can sue your employer for lost wages, lost earning capacity, medical expenses (including long-term care for injuries such as severe burns), and pain and suffering. The standard for proving fault is lighter than in an ordinary injury case. Your employer is liable if its negligence played any part in the injury, even a very small one.
Unseaworthiness
If the vessel or its equipment was not reasonably fit for its intended use, the vessel owner can be held liable without anyone having to prove negligence.
If your own mistake contributed to the accident, your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but it is not eliminated. That is federal law, and it differs from Louisiana’s rule barring recovery for anyone found 51 percent or more at fault in an accident on or after January 1, 2026. The state rule does not apply to a Jones Act claim.
If You Are Not a Seaman
Workers who do not meet the seaman test still have options, and the deadlines can be much shorter. A worker on a fixed platform on the Outer Continental Shelf may be covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Under the Longshore Act, written notice of the injury generally must go to the employer within 30 days, and a claim generally must be filed within one year.
Set that beside the three years a seaman generally has to sue, and you can see how a worker can run out of time on the shorter deadline while believing the longer one applies. Workers in this group can often also bring negligence claims against third parties such as the platform operator, other contractors, or equipment manufacturers.
Filing a Jones Act Claim in New Orleans and Across Louisiana
Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims generally must be filed within three years of the injury under 46 U.S.C. § 30106.
You can file in Louisiana state court, including the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans. A Jones Act claim filed in state court generally cannot be removed to federal court, so the case can be tried to a Louisiana jury. Employers sometimes argue that a worker is not really a seaman in an effort to move the case, which is one more reason to settle the status question first.
Before you give a recorded statement or accept an early offer, find out which law applies to you. The answer changes what the claim is worth.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I covered by the Jones Act if I work on an offshore oil rig?
Possibly. It depends on the type of rig and on your actual duties. Workers assigned to mobile rigs such as jack-ups and drillships are more likely to qualify than workers on fixed platforms, but you also need a substantial connection to a vessel in both time and nature. Time on a vessel is only part of the test, as the Sanchez decision shows.
How long do I have to file a Jones Act claim in Louisiana?
Three years from the date of injury for Jones Act and unseaworthiness claims. If you turn out not to be a seaman, the Longshore Act’s 30-day notice requirement and one-year filing deadline may apply instead, so confirm your status early.
What is maintenance and cure?
Maintenance is a daily living allowance, and cure is payment for medical treatment. An injured seaman is owed both until reaching maximum medical improvement, and they are owed regardless of fault, which keeps them separate from a Jones Act negligence claim.
What if my loved one was killed in an offshore explosion?
Family members may have claims under the Jones Act or the Death on the High Seas Act, depending on the worker’s status and where the explosion happened. The deadlines and available damages differ, so speak with a wrongful death attorney as early as you can.
Speak With The Voorhies Law Firm About Your Offshore Injury
An offshore explosion can end a career in seconds, and the law that governs your claim depends on facts about where and how you worked. If you were hurt on a rig and are not sure whether you count as a seaman, that question is worth answering before you give anyone a recorded statement.
Call 504-875-2223 or contact us online for a free consultation, and bring your pay records, the names of the rigs and vessels you worked on, and any incident report you were given.