The Louisiana Supreme Court in Fulmer v. State of Louisiana, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, 2010-2779 (La.7/1/11), clarified that seamen employed by the State of Louisiana may assert a claim for damages against the State of Louisiana under the Jones Act. The Supreme Court held that because the State of Louisiana has consented through Article XII, Section 10 of the Louisiana Constitution to suits for personal injury, claims against the State of Louisiana under the Jones Act brought by state-employed seamen are not prohibited under the Louisiana Worker’s Compensation Act or the Louisiana Constitution.
According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana admiralty and maritime attorney, Scott Andrews, the most common Jones Act and maritime claims against the State of Louisiana arise out of ferry accidents, primarily on the Mississippi River. Claims are brought by employed seamen injured while working on state run ferries and by passengers injured in ferry accidents, such as once such case handled by Scott Andrews when a New Orleans ferry collided with the dock causing a passenger to fall from the stairs on the ferry.