Hurt building on the water? Start with the work — it points to your claim.
Marine construction is its own world: pile driving, dredging, and bridge, pier, dock, and terminal work, done from barges and over open water. The hazards — a failed line, a swinging load, a fall to the water — are severe, and the law that covers you usually depends on the job you do and how you were hurt.
What counts as marine construction work — and what covers an injury?
Marine construction is over-water construction: pile driving, marine welding, crane and rigging work from barges, commercial diving, and elevated work above the water, on bridges, piers, docks, terminals, and dredging projects. Most of these workers are covered by maritime law, not ordinary workers’ compensation — often as Jones Act seamen if assigned to a barge or vessel, or under the Longshore Act for waterfront construction. That usually means a far larger recovery, but which law applies turns on your job and how you were hurt.
Key takeaways
- Marine construction work is largely covered by maritime law, not land workers’ comp.
- Crew assigned to a barge or vessel are often Jones Act seamen.
- Waterfront construction workers often fall under the Longshore Act, with a third-party claim available.
- Your trade and the way you were hurt usually decide which law applies.
- The right classification can mean a far larger recovery.
What do you do on the water?
Marine construction injuries are easiest to understand by trade. Find the work that matches yours — each page walks through the hazards, who is usually responsible, and what covers you.
The mechanism often drives the case.
How an injury happened usually points straight to who is responsible and what failed. These are the patterns we see most in marine construction.
Sound like your situation? Calling us is confidential, costs nothing, and starts nothing you don’t choose to start.
Text (713) 489-2297What the other side will argue — and how it’s met.
If you were assigned to a barge or vessel, you may be a Jones Act seaman — which opens negligence, unseaworthiness, and maintenance and cure. Seaman status turns on a substantial connection to a vessel or fleet (Chandris / Sanchez), proved through your actual assignments.
For waterfront construction, the Longshore Act often applies — but it also preserves a § 905(b) third-party claim against a negligent vessel, and other negligent contractors and equipment makers can be pursued too.
Maritime law uses pure comparative fault, so your own share reduces but never bars a recovery — and the hazard is usually the company’s. In one dredge case the firm tried, a jury found the injured worker zero percent at fault.
Frequently asked questions about marine construction injuries
Is a marine construction worker covered by the Jones Act?
Often, yes. A worker assigned to a barge or other vessel can be a Jones Act seaman, with the right to sue the employer for negligence plus unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure. Waterfront construction workers who are not seamen are usually covered by the Longshore Act instead.
What is the difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore Act for construction work?
The Jones Act lets a seaman assigned to a vessel sue the employer for negligence and recover full damages; the Longshore Act is a federal compensation system for non-seaman maritime workers that also preserves a third-party negligence claim against a vessel. Which applies turns on your connection to a vessel.
Who can be responsible for a marine construction injury?
Potentially several parties: the employer, the owner of the barge or vessel, the makers of cranes, rigging, and other equipment, and other contractors on the project. More than one can share responsibility for the same injury.
Do I have to prove the company was at fault?
Not entirely. The Jones Act requires only that the employer's negligence played some part, however slight; an unseaworthiness claim requires no negligence at all; and maintenance and cure is owed regardless of fault. Comparative fault can reduce, but does not bar, a recovery.
What should you do after a marine construction injury?
Get medical care and make sure the injury is reported in writing. Preserve evidence early, including incident reports, photos, equipment, and witness names, and do not give a recorded statement or sign anything before talking to a lawyer.
From our cases
What happens when you text us
Tell us what happened — in your own words, as much or as little as you want.
We review it free. You learn whether maritime law protects you and what your options actually are.
You decide. Nothing is filed, and no one contacts your employer, unless you choose to move forward.
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Reach out even if…
- You think the accident was partly your fault — under the Jones Act, your own fault reduces a recovery but does not bar it.
- You already gave a statement or signed something — a release signed under pressure can be challenged.
- You still work for the company — talking to a lawyer is confidential, and retaliation for pursuing a claim can itself be actionable.
- You’re not sure your case is “big enough” — that’s exactly what a free review is for.
Hurt on a marine construction job? Find out what covers you.
Doyle Dennis Avery LLP represents marine construction workers hurt on the water — pile drivers, welders, crane and rigging crews, divers, and waterfront crews. Tell us what you do and how you were hurt, and we’ll tell you what covers you. A case review costs nothing.
This page is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Whether a given structure is a “vessel,” and whether a worker is a Jones Act seaman, an LHWCA harbor worker, or covered under OCSLA, are fact-intensive questions that depend on the specific circumstances. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome. Doyle Dennis Avery LLP · Houston, Texas. This is attorney advertising.
