Jones Act Cases |
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Phone: (361) 883-1683 Fax: (361) 883-1694 Email: economist@economicconsulting.com |
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MARITIME LITIGATION
Personal injuries and wrongful deaths at sea are subject to the provisions of the Jones Act. Addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit in multiple decisions, special rules apply to the estimation of damages in such cases. Dr. Horner has consulted in numerous cases involving injury or death at sea, and is familiar with the legal requirements for economic analysis in this context. |
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Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Pfeifer, 462 U.S. 523, 103 S. Ct. 2541, 76 L. Ed. 2d 768 (1983). This decision offers extensive discussion of the estimation of lost earnings and earning capacity.
See also Culver v. Slater Boat Co., 722 F.2d 114 (5th Cir. 12/22/1983), known as “Culver II.” (Note: It appears that Culver II no longer governs damage calculations under FELA and Jones Act cases. See Pattern Jury Instructions for the Fifth Circuit, Instruction 4.12.)
From Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Instructions:
4.12 LOSS OF FUTURE EARNINGS (REPLACEMENT FOR CULVER II) If you find that the plaintiff is entitled to an award of damages for loss of future earnings, there are two particular factors you must consider. First, you should consider loss after income taxes; that is, you should determine the actual or net income that plaintiff has lost or will lose, taking into consideration that any past or future earnings would be subject to income taxes. You must award the plaintiff only his net earnings after tax. This is so because any award you may make here is not subject to income tax. The federal or state government will not tax any amount which you award on this basis. Second, an amount to cover a future loss of earnings is more valuable to the plaintiff if he received the amount today than if he received the same amount in the future. Therefore, if you decide to award plaintiff an amount for lost future earnings, you must discount it to present value by considering what return would be realized on a relatively risk free investment.
Important notice: The above information is not legal advice. A qualified attorney should be consulted on all matters of law. |