Miami Maritime Personal Injury Attorney

How Maritime Personal Injury Law Differs from Standard Personal Injury Law

If you were injured in a car accident or on someone’s property in Miami, your claim proceeds under Florida state tort law. A maritime injury claim works differently. Federal admiralty law governs most injuries that occur on navigable waters, which means different courts, different statutes, and different procedural requirements than a standard personal injury case filed in state court.

The Jones Act

The Jones Act is a federal statute that gives injured seamen the right to sue their employer for negligence. A “seaman” under the Jones Act is a crew member who spends a significant portion of their work time aboard a vessel in navigation. If you qualify, the Jones Act allows you to seek compensation for injuries, medical expenses, and lost wages directly from your employer, separate from and in addition to other maritime remedies.

Maintenance & Cure

General maritime law provides a remedy called maintenance and cure: the vessel owner’s obligation to pay for an injured seaman’s medical treatment and basic living expenses during recovery, regardless of fault. This remedy exists independently of any negligence claim and can provide financial support while other claims are pending.

Unseaworthiness

The doctrine of unseaworthiness allows an injured seaman to bring a claim when a vessel or its equipment wasn’t reasonably fit for its intended purpose. Unlike a negligence claim, unseaworthiness doesn’t require proving that the vessel owner acted carelessly. If the condition of the ship or its gear contributed to the injury, an unseaworthiness claim may apply.

The Longshore & Harbor Workers Compensation Act

The Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides a separate compensation framework for dockworkers, harbor workers, and other port employees injured on or near navigable waters who don’t qualify as Jones Act seamen. The LHWCA operates under its own filing requirements and benefit structure, distinct from both the Jones Act and Florida workers’ compensation.

Filing Deadlines & Jurisdiction for Maritime Injury Claims in Miami

Deadlines in maritime cases are among the most unforgiving in any area of law. Missing a filing deadline can permanently bar a claim, regardless of how serious the injury was.

Cruise Passenger Deadlines

Cruise ship passenger injury claims are often subject to a one-year statute of limitations from the date of injury, far shorter than the two-year window that applies to most Florida personal injury claims. Many cruise lines also impose contractual notice requirements, sometimes as short as six months, requiring a passenger to formally notify the cruise line of a potential claim before the one-year lawsuit deadline even begins to run.

Forum Selection Clauses

Most major cruise lines operating from PortMiami include forum selection clauses in their passenger ticket contracts, requiring lawsuits to be filed in a specific federal court, typically in Miami, though some cruise lines require filing in other jurisdictions. Ignoring a forum selection clause can result in dismissal even if the case was filed before the deadline. Our firm is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the federal court in Miami where the majority of these cases are often filed.

Jones Act & LHWCA Deadlines

Jones Act claims for injured seamen typically carry a three-year statute of limitations. LHWCA claims operate under their own separate filing requirements, which differ from both the Jones Act and standard personal injury timelines. Because the applicable deadline depends on the claimant’s status, passenger, crew member, or harbor worker, and on the specific terms of any applicable contract, early consultation with a maritime attorney is critical to protecting your rights.