In addition to maintenance and cure, a seaman may recover against a shipowner under the Jones Act if the shipowner was negligent or the ship was unseaworthy. A shipowner's failure to pay maintenance and cure not only give rise to a claim for maintenance and cure, but may also support a cause of action under the Jones Act for breach of the duty to provide maintenance and cure.

This naturally follows from the nature of the seaman's work. Even if injured through his own willful misconduct, the seaman is at the mercy of the shipowner. The seaman may be many miles offshore, unable to leave the ship and unable to obtain his own medical care. The law, therefore, requires the shipowner to provide such prompt and adequate medical care as is reasonable under the circumstances.

An employer owes a seaman a higher duty of care under the Jones Act than an ordinary negligence case, and the employer can be liable if its breach of that duty, no matter how small, contributed in any way to causing the seaman's injury. Although a seaman contributed to causing his own injury, the employer's liability may be reduced. Even if the seaman assumed the risk of injury by intentionally proceeding with a dangerous activity aware of the risks- this will not reduce the amount of compensation under the Act.

Failing to provide a safe place to work can give rise to a Jones Act claim, if the unsafe place is the vessel or if it is another place under the employer's control. An unseaworthiness claim also may be pursued If the employer is also the owner of the vessel, and the injury is caused by an unsafe condition on the vessel. An employer also can be liable if there is a violation of a safety statute which is the cause of the injury. An employer can also be liable for failing to provide adequate medical care.

The Jones Act is a federal law that provides remedies to seamen who are injured while working on a vessel. The Jones Act extends the provisions of the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA), a statute that provides remedies for injured workers, to provide similar remedies for seamen. As a result, an injured seaman can recover damages from the employer when an employer or a co-worker's negligence causes an injury.
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