While following the news on the BP Oil spill, many reports are referring to the Jones Act. We feel that this act may not be too familiar to everyone and that we would provide you with an overview of the act and its importance in the BP Oil Spill.

The Jones Act,46 USC 688, was introduced in 1920 and was formerly known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The Jones Act was introduced to provide coverage for workers on barges and vessels who are injured or killed through their employers negligence.

The Jones Act covers the vast majority of workers on ships, from the captain down to the cooks, ship hands and treats them all as equals.

The Jones Act can be used to get compensation to cover past and future lost wages, past and future medical expenses, vocational and occupational retraining, pain and suffering, psychological suffering, and loss of consortium.

At the moment, the Jones Act has come under fire from many officials who claim that the Act is slowing down the clean up operation in the Gulf Of Mexico. The reasoning behind this belief is that the Act says that ships operating in US waters must be US owned and have a US crew.

Many are calling for the Act to be waived, as it was after 9/11, to allow better equipped foreign ships to help with the operation.No decision has been made on this yet.

If you feel you have a personal injury case under the Jones Act 1920, be sure to get in contact with a personal injury attorney to see if you are entitled to compensation.

You can do so by visiting and completing a free, case evaluation form.

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