The Jones Act and FELA Injury Claim Toolkit

Tort > Maritime, Aviation, and Rail Injuries | Published 25 February 2025 - Updated 13 February 2026 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

What Is in This Toolkit

Thirteen working documents plus reference tables, in the order a case uses them.

The doctrine is in maritime, aviation, and rail injuries. The narrative orientation is hurt where the ordinary rules do not apply. The sequenced steps are in building a maritime, aviation, or railroad injury claim.

Decision Map

Situation	Instrument	Also read
First call	Intake worksheet (Form 1)	Evaluating a personal injury claim
Status contested	Seaman status worksheet (Form 2)	Handling a Jones Act seaman's injury claim
Seaman injured	Maintenance and cure demand (Form 3)	Guide, Part 3
Evidence at risk	Preservation letter (Form 4)	Issuing a litigation hold and preserving ESI
Vessel defect or crew failure	Unseaworthiness checklist (Form 5)	Guide, Part 3
Not a seaman, maritime work	Longshore worksheet (Form 6)	Workers' compensation
Railroad injury	Safety statute checklist (Form 7)	Guide, Part 6
Grade crossing	Preemption analysis (Form 8)	Guide, Part 7
Passenger injury	Ticket review (Form 9)	Guide, Part 11
Aviation	Preemption worksheet (Form 10)	Guide, Part 8
Limitation petition filed	Response plan (Form 11)	Guide, Part 10
Choosing where to file	Forum matrix (Form 12)	Guide, Part 12
Valuing the case	Damages matrix (Form 13)	Damages and remedies

Form 1 — First-Call Intake Worksheet

Client: ______ Incident: ______ Call date: ______ Days elapsed: ______

1. Location. ☐ vessel under way ☐ vessel moored ☐ pier, wharf, terminal ☐ shipyard ☐ railroad property ☐ aircraft ☐ airport ramp ☐ other ______ 2. Duties and employer. Employer ______ Title ______ Actual duties ______ 3. Time in the service of a vessel: ____% Source ______ 4. Vessel in navigation? Movements in the last 12 months ______ 5. Preliminary classification: ☐ seaman ☐ longshore ☐ railroad ☐ passenger ☐ recreational ☐ bystander ☐ ordinary employee ☐ unresolved 6. Entities: employer ______ owner ______ operator ______ charterer ______ terminal ______ contractor ______ manufacturer ______ 7. Deadlines identified and calendared? ☐ 8. First written notice to the vessel owner: ______ Six months expires: ______ 9. Preservation letter sent? ☐ Date ______ 10. Recorded statement given? ☐ yes ☐ no — obtain a copy immediately 11. Anything signed? ☐ yes ☐ no — obtain it before proceeding 12. Maintenance and cure demanded? ☐ Date ______

Drafting notes. Items 9 through 12 expire; complete them within forty-eight hours even while items 1 through 6 remain unresolved. Item 10 matters because claims representatives take statements within days, and the questions are designed to establish shore-based duties, an obvious hazard, or an alternative cause.

Form 2 — Seaman Status Worksheet

Element one — contribution to the vessel's function or mission. Duties performed: ______ How each serves the vessel: ______

Element two — connection to a vessel in navigation, substantial in duration and nature.

Duration. Total hours in the period: ______ Hours in the service of a vessel: ______ Percentage: ______% Source documents: timesheets ______ assignment records ______ vessel logs ______ payroll ______

Nature. Does the employment expose the worker to the perils of the sea? ______ Time under way: ______ Overnight aboard: ______ Duties performed while under way: ______

Vessel in navigation. Is the craft practically capable of maritime transportation? ______ Movements in the last 24 months: ______ Withdrawn from navigation? ______

Fleet doctrine. Assigned to an identifiable group under common ownership or control? ______

Timing. Assessed over the employment relationship; any reassignment changing duties? ______

Conclusion: ☐ seaman ☐ not a seaman ☐ genuinely disputed

If disputed, the record needed for summary judgment: ______

If not a seaman, proceed to Form 6 (longshore coverage under 33 U.S.C. § 902).

Drafting notes. Status is resolved on documents, not on the client's estimate of how much time they spent aboard. Obtain the timesheets and vessel logs early — they are the same documents the defense will use, and whichever side reads them first frames the motion. A vessel withdrawn from navigation ends the analysis regardless of everything else.

Form 3 — Maintenance and Cure Demand

Dear ______,

This firm represents ______, who was injured on ______ while in the service of the ______ .

Demand. We demand payment of maintenance and cure. The obligation arises from the employment relationship and is owed without regard to fault, negligence, or unseaworthiness, from the date of injury until maximum medical improvement.

Cure. Please confirm that all reasonable and necessary medical expenses will be paid directly, including ______ [treatment recommended to date]. Enclosed are the records and bills.

Maintenance. Please confirm the daily rate you intend to pay and its basis. Our client's actual daily cost of food and lodging ashore is $______, supported by ______ [lease or rent records, utility bills, and food expenses]. A rate fixed by an agreement negotiated years ago does not necessarily establish the obligation.

Payment schedule. Please advise how frequently maintenance will be paid and to what address.

Notice. Unreasonable failure to pay maintenance and cure exposes the owner to compensatory damages for any aggravation of the condition, and willful and arbitrary refusal supports punitive damages and attorney fees. We will document any delay, underpayment, or refusal.

Reservation. This demand is without prejudice to our client's claims for negligence under 46 U.S.C. § 30104 and for unseaworthiness under the general maritime law, which are separate and additional.

Drafting notes. Send this on day one. Three purposes: it obtains the benefit, it starts the documentation of any refusal, and it establishes that the claim is being handled by counsel who understands the remedy. The rate paragraph matters — many employers pay a nominal contractual rate and are never challenged on it.

Form 4 — Preservation and Spoliation Letter

Dear ______,

This firm represents ______ regarding the incident of ______ aboard, involving, or at ______ . We request that you preserve and suspend routine destruction of the following.

Physical evidence. The ______ [winch, line, ladder, handhold, walkway surface, component] in its post-incident condition, without repair, replacement, or alteration, until inspection by our expert. Please advise immediately if it must be moved or if operational necessity requires repair, so that inspection can be arranged first.

Electronic data — these overwrite on cycles measured in days: ☐ Voyage data recorder ☐ Engine monitoring and alarm data ☐ Locomotive event recorder ☐ Flight data ☐ Vessel or train position data ☐ Video from any camera with a view of the location ☐ Dispatch and radio recordings ☐ Electronic logs

Operational records. Logs, crew lists, watch schedules, manifests, work assignments, and orders for the period ______ .

Maintenance records. Work orders, inspection reports, deferred repair items, survey findings, and out-of-service reports for the ______ [vessel, locomotive, aircraft, equipment] for the preceding ______ years.

Prior incidents. Reports, claims, and complaints involving the same vessel, location, equipment, or condition for the preceding ______ years.

Personnel. Training, qualification, certification, and disciplinary records for those involved.

Communications. Electronic and written communications concerning the incident, the condition, or any repair.

Regulatory. Any casualty report, notification, or inspection finding.

Please confirm in writing that a hold has been implemented and identify the custodians notified. Failure to preserve may support a spoliation instruction.

Drafting notes. Send on day one. The electronic data block is the urgent part: recorders overwrite, and a letter sent in week three arrives after the data is gone. The prior incidents request supports both notice and unseaworthiness, and the maintenance records frequently contain the deferred repair that becomes the case.

Form 5 — Unseaworthiness Theory Checklist

The claim is against the vessel owner, on a near-strict standard, for a vessel, its appurtenances, or its crew not reasonably fit for their intended purpose. Check every theory the facts support.

☐ Defective equipment — the specific item: ______ Prior failures: ______ ☐ Missing or inadequate equipment — what was not provided: ______ ☐ Improper appurtenance — wrong tool or gear for the task: ______ ☐ Unsafe method of work — the ordered or customary method: ______ ☐ Inadequate crew — insufficient number for the task: ______ ☐ Untrained or incompetent crew — training records: ______ ☐ Crew member of unusually violent disposition, where an assault occurred: ______ ☐ Slippery or obstructed working surface, with the cause and duration: ______ ☐ Inadequate lighting, ventilation, or access: ______ ☐ Failure to maintain, with the deferred repair identified: ______

Owner identification. Registered owner ______ Owner pro hac vice ______ Bareboat charterer ______ Manager ______ Is the owner also the employer? ______ Negligence claim under 46 U.S.C. § 30104 pleaded separately? ☐ Maintenance and cure demanded? ☐

Drafting notes. Unseaworthiness does not require negligence or notice, which makes it the strongest of the three remedies where the facts support it — and it runs against the owner, who may be a different and better-capitalized entity than the employer. Plead it separately and identify the owner precisely.

Form 6 — Longshore Coverage and Vessel Negligence Worksheet

Coverage under 33 U.S.C. § 902. Status — engaged in maritime employment? Duties: ______ ☐ longshoring ☐ ship repair ☐ shipbuilding ☐ shipbreaking ☐ harbor work ☐ other Excluded category (master or member of a crew, and others)? ______ Situs — injury upon navigable waters or an adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or adjoining area customarily used for vessel work? Location: ______

Benefits. Liability without fault under 33 U.S.C. § 904; compensation calculated under 33 U.S.C. § 908. Average weekly wage: ______ Disability category: ______ Scheduled loss? ______ Notice and filing deadlines: ______ Calendared? ☐

Vessel negligence claim preserved by 33 U.S.C. § 905. ☐ Turnover duty — was the ship and its equipment turned over in a condition allowing an expert stevedore to work with reasonable safety? Hidden hazard known or knowable? ______ ☐ Active control duty — was the area under the vessel's active control at the time? ______ ☐ Duty to intervene — did the vessel know of the hazard and know the stevedore was unreasonably failing to protect against it? ______ Is the employer also the vessel owner? ______ (limits the claim)

Third parties. Equipment manufacturer ______ Terminal operator ______ Other contractor ______ Employer lien under 33 U.S.C. § 933: amount ______ approval required before settlement? ______

Drafting notes. The three vessel duties are the entire scope of the claim; attempts to argue general negligence against the vessel fail. The lien line must be addressed before any third-party settlement — settling without the required approval can forfeit compensation benefits.

Form 7 — Railroad Safety Statute Checklist

The ordinary claim under 45 U.S.C. § 51 requires only that carrier negligence played any part. A safety statute violation does more: it supports liability without proof of negligence and eliminates the comparative fault reduction under 45 U.S.C. § 53.

☐ Locomotive condition — was the locomotive or any part or appurtenance in improper condition or unsafe to operate, contrary to 49 U.S.C. § 20701? Component: ______ ☐ Safety appliance — defective handhold, step, ladder, sill step, coupler, brake, or running board? ______ ☐ Track and roadbed standards — applicable federal requirement and the condition: ______ ☐ Blue signal or other protection rules — the requirement and the violation: ______ ☐ Hours of service — was the employee on duty beyond the permitted period? ______ ☐ Carrier's own rule adopted pursuant to a federal regulation — the rule and the departure: ______

Also confirm: ☐ Assumption of risk is unavailable under 45 U.S.C. § 54. ☐ Any release or benefit arrangement examined against 45 U.S.C. § 55, which voids exemption devices but permits a set-off for the carrier's contributions. ☐ Three-year period and non-removability under 45 U.S.C. § 56. ☐ Event recorder data demanded before the equipment returns to service.

Drafting notes. Work this checklist in every railroad case. A single defective handhold converts a contested comparative fault dispute into a full-value claim, and the component is frequently repaired within days.

Form 8 — Rail Preemption Analysis

The question: does 49 U.S.C. § 20106 preempt the state law theory?

1. The state law theory: ______ 2. Has the federal government prescribed a regulation covering the subject matter? Regulation: ______ Does it substantially subsume the subject? ______ 3. Does an exception apply — a more stringent state requirement addressing an essentially local safety hazard, not incompatible with federal law and not unreasonably burdening interstate commerce? ______ 4. Savings provision. Does the claim allege: ☐ failure to comply with a federal standard of care ☐ failure to comply with the carrier's own plan, rule, or standard created pursuant to a federal regulation ☐ failure to comply with a state law, regulation, or order not incompatible with the federal scheme 5. For a grade crossing, were federal funds used to install the warning devices, and were the devices installed and operating? ______ 6. Conclusion: ☐ preempted ☐ not preempted ☐ preempted in part — reframe the theory as ______

Drafting notes. Run this before evaluating any crossing case. Item 4 is the plaintiff's route through preemption in most jurisdictions, and it requires identifying the federal standard or the carrier's own plan with precision rather than pleading generic negligence.

Form 9 — Passenger Ticket Review

Carrier: ______ Ticket or contract obtained? ☐ Date of injury: ______

☐ Notice period for a personal injury claim: ______ Expires: ______ ☐ Limitations period for suit: ______ Expires: ______ ☐ Forum selection clause: designated court ______ ☐ Choice of law clause: ______ ☐ Was reasonable notice of the terms given — how were the terms delivered, and was there an opportunity to reject? ______ ☐ Do the periods comply with applicable statutory minimums? ______ ☐ Arbitration clause? ______ ☐ Limitation of liability provisions: ______

Substantive. Standard of care ______ Notice of the condition required? ______ Prior incidents at the same location ______ Shipboard medical care involved? ______

For recreational vessels: does general maritime law apply through the locality and connection tests? ______ Anticipate limitation under 46 U.S.C. § 30505.

Drafting notes. Read the ticket before the medical records. Contractual periods are frequently a fraction of any statutory period, and a passenger who consults counsel eight months later may already be out of time.

Form 10 — Aviation Preemption Worksheet

1. Carriage. ☐ domestic ☐ international — if international, the treaty is the exclusive remedy; confirm the two-year period, the accident definition, and a permissible forum.

2. The claim targets: ☐ a safety standard ☐ a price, route, or service ☐ a product defect ☐ premises condition ☐ ground operations

3. Field preemption of the standard of care. Federal regulation covering the conduct: ______ Does state law supply only the remedy? ______ Policy framework at 49 U.S.C. § 40101.

4. Economic preemption under 49 U.S.C. § 41713. Is the claim related to a price, route, or service? ______ Does it seek to enforce a self-imposed undertaking? ______

5. Defendant's role. ☐ carrier ☐ owner ☐ lessor ☐ manufacturer ☐ maintenance provider ☐ airport If owner or lessor not in possession or control, check 49 U.S.C. § 44112.

6. Manufacturer claims. Statute of repose applicable? ______ Exception available — misrepresentation to the regulator, replaced component, or other? ______

7. Conclusion: ☐ state standard applies ☐ federal standard supplies the duty ☐ claim preempted ☐ treaty governs

Drafting notes. Complete this before drafting the complaint. A claim pleaded on a state standard of care where federal standards govern invites a motion that reframes the case at the worst time, and the treaty's two-year period is unforgiving.

Form 11 — Limitation of Liability Response Plan

Petition filed: ______ Security deposited: $______ Monition date: ______ Claims deadline: ______

Step 1 — Timeliness. Under 46 U.S.C. § 30511, the petition must be filed within six months after the owner received written notice of a claim. Date of first written notice to the owner: ______ Document: ______ Six months expired: ______ Untimely? ☐ yes — move to dismiss ☐ no

Step 2 — Privity or knowledge. Under 46 U.S.C. § 30505, limitation is available only if the loss occurred without the owner's privity or knowledge. Individual owner aboard or operating? ______ For a corporate owner, the managing agent with responsibility for the vessel: ______ Evidence of knowledge: prior complaints ______ deferred repairs ______ inspection findings ______ internal communications ______ crew reports ______

Step 3 — Fund value. Appraisal relied on: ______ Independent appraisal obtained? ______ Pending freight included? ______

Step 4 — File a claim in the proceeding by the monition date regardless of any challenge, to avoid default.

Step 5 — Stipulation protocol to recover the jury. ☐ Single claimant, or all claimants joining ☐ Stipulate to the value of the limitation fund ☐ Stipulate to the district court's exclusive jurisdiction over all limitation issues ☐ Waive any res judicata claim from a judgment obtained elsewhere on limitation issues ☐ Agree the owner's right to limit is decided by the district court after liability is tried elsewhere ☐ Priority stipulation among claimants where multiple claims exceed the fund

Step 6 — Move to lift the injunction and proceed in the chosen forum.

Drafting notes. Step 1 is checked first because it is dispositive and because plaintiff's counsel often started the clock themselves with a demand letter. Step 5 is the standard mechanism for restoring a jury, and it must be negotiated among all claimants where the fund is inadequate.

Form 12 — Forum Decision Matrix

Claim	State court available?	Removable?	Jury?	Notes
Railroad, 45 U.S.C. § 51	Yes	No, per 45 U.S.C. § 56	Yes	Plaintiff's choice
Jones Act at law	Yes	Generally no	Yes	Expect a removal attempt
Unseaworthiness with a Jones Act count	Yes	Generally no	Yes	Plead together
Unseaworthiness alone	Yes, saving to suitors	Depends on the basis	Depends on the designation	28 U.S.C. § 1333
Admiralty designation	Federal	Not applicable	No	Deliberate choice
High seas death, 46 U.S.C. § 30302	Admiralty	Not applicable	No	Pecuniary loss only
Longshore compensation	Administrative	Not applicable	No	33 U.S.C. § 901
Vessel negligence, 33 U.S.C. § 905	Yes	Depends	Depends	Separate from compensation
Passenger claim	Per the ticket's forum clause	Depends	Depends	Read the ticket
Aviation	Varies	Often	Yes	Preemption drives the analysis
Limitation proceeding	Federal, admiralty	Not applicable	No, absent stipulation	Form 11

Decision: ______ Pleading consequences: ______

Drafting notes. Decide the forum before drafting, because the admiralty designation, the counts included, and the defendants named all follow from it. Where a jury matters, plead the counts that preserve it and avoid designating the claim in admiralty.

Form 13 — Damages Matrix by Regime

Element	Seaman	Longshore	Railroad	High seas death
Past and future lost earnings	✔	Scheduled	✔	Pecuniary
Medical expenses	✔ plus cure	✔	✔	—
Pain and suffering	✔	✘	✔	✘
Loss of society	Restricted	✘	Restricted	✘
Punitive damages	Maintenance and cure refusals	✘	Generally ✘	✘
Found (room and board)	✔	—	—	—
Comparative fault reduction	✔	n/a	✔ unless a safety statute was violated, per 45 U.S.C. § 53	✔
Jury	✔ at law	✘	✔	✘

Set-offs: advances ______ maintenance paid ______ carrier contributions permitted by 45 U.S.C. § 55 ______ Liens: compensation lien under 33 U.S.C. § 933 ______ health plan ______ provider ______ Experts retained: vocational ______ economic ______ marine or rail operations ______ life care planner ______

Drafting notes. Build the model to the regime rather than to habit. A demand that includes pain and suffering in a compensation claim, or loss of society in a high seas death case, signals that counsel has not done the analysis.

Reference Tables

Statutes

Authority	Subject
46 U.S.C. § 30104	Jones Act negligence
46 U.S.C. § 30106	Three-year maritime tort period
46 U.S.C. § 30302	Death on the high seas
46 U.S.C. § 30303	Pecuniary loss recovery
46 U.S.C. § 30501	Limitation framework
46 U.S.C. § 30505	Limitation; privity or knowledge
46 U.S.C. § 30511	Limitation procedure; six months
33 U.S.C. § 901	Longshore compensation scheme
33 U.S.C. § 902	Status and situs definitions
33 U.S.C. § 904	Liability without fault
33 U.S.C. § 905	Exclusive remedy; vessel negligence
33 U.S.C. § 908	Compensation for disability
33 U.S.C. § 933	Third-party actions; lien
45 U.S.C. § 51	Railroad employer liability
45 U.S.C. § 53	Comparative negligence; safety statute exception
45 U.S.C. § 54	Assumption of risk abolished
45 U.S.C. § 55	Exemption devices void; set-off
45 U.S.C. § 56	Three years; concurrent jurisdiction; no removal
49 U.S.C. § 20106	Rail preemption and savings
49 U.S.C. § 20701	Locomotive condition
49 U.S.C. § 40101	Aviation policy; field preemption
49 U.S.C. § 41713	Price, route, and service preemption
49 U.S.C. § 44112	Owner and lessor limitation
28 U.S.C. § 1333	Admiralty jurisdiction; saving to suitors

Deadlines

Item	Period
Maritime tort	Three years, 46 U.S.C. § 30106
Railroad	Three years, 45 U.S.C. § 56
Longshore notice and filing	Short statutory periods
Passenger notice and suit	Per the ticket
International carriage	Two years, treaty condition
Vessel owner's limitation petition	Six months from written notice
Electronic recorder data	Days to weeks before overwrite

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