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• Brian, your book is a "what to do, and what not to do" guide.  Your book was a real eye-opener.  My company turned on me as soon as they realized I was seriously injured.  If I had read your book sooner, I would have avoided a lot of costly mistakes.  They really have a "bag" of tricks waiting on an injured worker.  I found everything in your book to be true.  These companies have a "kennel of pit bull attorneys" who attack injured workers legally, and use every trick in the book to keep from paying medical bills.  Captain Jim VickersMississippi

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Don’t let the wrong venue sink your Jones Act case

For months you’ve been out of work, barely able to support your family while the company stonewalls your efforts to get medical care after being injured by dangerous equipment on an unseaworthy vessel.

Now, all of that is about to change.

Just imagine…your lawyer tells you your maritime injury case is solid and the facts are on your side. Your employer knows you’ve got him dead to right and he’s offered up a settlement which on its face seems to your layman mind to be a good deal. But your attorney says you can, and will, do much better in front of a jury. So the offer is rejected and the case will proceed to trial.

Only once your claim goes to court, the wheels come off: your case is dropped for being filed in the wrong jurisdiction.

This scenario happened to Barry Casteel. Casteel sued his employer, Maryland Marine, Inc, after injuring his lower back while trying to break up a fight between two other crewmembers aboard the M/V Sandy Point when it was near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Casteel claimed that his employer violated Jones Act requirements to provide a safe work place and seaworthy vessel. He also sought maintenance and cure relief.

However, the District Court in Illinois, where the case was heard, dismissed the case because it should never have been filed in that venue, as the employer had no business contacts in the state of Illinois.

The rules on determining where to file Jones Act cases are complex due to the multi-layered nature of the maritime industry: the accident occurs in one place; the victim resides elsewhere; the vessel flagged in another country; crewing company in another state; employer based on another coast.

According to William W. Leith v. Oil Transport Company, Inc., and American Marine Corporation (1963):

“The venue provision of the Jones Act requires that actions be brought in ‘the court of the district in which the defendant employer resides or in which his principal office is located’. 46 U.S.C. § 688. If this were all, this action would clearly be in the wrong district, since it has long been held that, for venue purposes, a corporation "resides" only where it is incorporated. Suttle v. Reich Bros. Construction Co., 1948, 333 U.S. 163, 68 S.Ct. 587, 92 L.Ed. 614.”

State laws also play a factor on venue. In Texas, for example, House Bill 1608, signed into law in 2007, significantly changed venue filing options. Before that bill, seamen had the option to file in the county they resided in when they were injured. But under the general venue provisions of HB 1602, seamen were given two options. They could file either in the county where the defendant’s main office is located or the county where the seaman lived at the time of the cause of action.

There are exceptions depending on whether the accident occurred outside of the state.


The Jones Firm offers a free Maritime injury guide which reveals the truth about Maritime injury cases. This legal guide book was specifically designed to help injured Maritime workers win their Maritime injury legal claims. Attorney Brian Beckcom provides this Maritime injury book free of charge so victims of Maritime accidents can receive trusted information before bringing a case to trial.



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