Unseaworthiness

Unseaworthiness is a claim that lets a seaman recover from a vessel's owner when the ship, its equipment or its crew were not reasonably fit for their intended use. The owner can be liable without proof of negligence, and the claim is often brought together with a Jones Act claim.

Origin

The shipowner's duty to provide a seaworthy vessel is an old principle of maritime law. U.S. Supreme Court decisions in the first half of the twentieth century developed it into a form of liability that does not depend on fault. Congress removed the remedy for longshore workers covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act in 1972, so today it belongs mainly to seamen.

Significance in Asbestos Context

For merchant mariners and other seamen, asbestos insulation in engine rooms, boiler rooms and living quarters can be argued to have made a vessel unseaworthy, because it exposed the crew to an unreasonable hazard. The claim is against the vessel owner, often the seaman's employer, and works alongside the Jones Act, which covers the employer's negligence. Unseaworthiness does not require proving the owner was careless, only that the condition existed and caused the injury. It has limits: the Supreme Court held in 2019 that punitive damages are not available for unseaworthiness. It is generally not available to Navy service members against the government, whose claims are barred by other doctrines. Many shipping companies that owned vessels with asbestos are long gone, which can limit who can be sued.

Example Sentence

The merchant seaman's family brought a Jones Act claim and an unseaworthiness claim against the tanker company, alleging that asbestos lagging in the engine room made the vessel unfit.

Related Terms

Jones Act, General Maritime Law, Admiralty Jurisdiction, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), Feres Doctrine, Shipyard Exposure

Notes

• If you worked as a merchant mariner, collect your discharge papers and the names of ships and companies you sailed with.
• Claims by seamen have their own deadlines under maritime law; talk to a lawyer promptly after a diagnosis.