When Does Maritime Law Apply to a Georgia Workplace Injury?

When the injured worker is a seaman, or when the injury happened on navigable waters or an adjoining maritime area while doing maritime work. A seaman can sue the employer for negligence under the Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104). A longshore, harbor, or ship-repair worker is covered by the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA). Both have their own deadlines, which differ from Georgia’s.

The two federal systems compared

	Jones Act (seamen)	LHWCA (maritime workers who are not seamen)
Who	A seaman: duties that "contribute to the function of the vessel or to the accomplishment of its mission", and a connection to a vessel in navigation "substantial in terms of both its duration and its nature" (Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 1995)	Employees injured "upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, building way, marine railway, or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing, dismantling, or building a vessel)" (33 U.S.C. § 903(a))
Remedy against the employer	"A civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer" (46 U.S.C. § 30104)	No-fault compensation benefits
Suit against a vessel	Under general maritime law	A negligence action "against such vessel as a third party" (33 U.S.C. § 905(b))
Key deadlines	3 years for a maritime tort claim (46 U.S.C. § 30106)	Notice to the employer and the deputy commissioner within 30 days; claim within 1 year; longer periods for an occupational disease that does not immediately disable (33 U.S.C. §§ 912, 913)

Who is a seaman

The Supreme Court set the test in Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis (1995): the worker’s duties must contribute to the vessel’s function or mission, and the worker’s connection to a vessel in navigation (or an identifiable group of vessels) must be substantial in duration and nature. As a guideline, “a worker who spends less than about 30 percent of his time in the service of a vessel in navigation should not qualify as a seaman”, a figure the Court called “only a guideline”. Status can change with the worker’s basic assignment.

The Jones Act incorporates the federal railroad-employee injury laws: “Laws of the United States regulating recovery for personal injury to, or death of, a railway employee apply to an action under this section” (§ 30104).

LHWCA deadlines in detail

Notice. Written notice of injury must be given “within thirty days after the date of such injury”, or 30 days after the worker knew or should have known of the relationship between the injury and the employment, to the deputy commissioner in the compensation district and to the employer (33 U.S.C. § 912(a)). For an occupational disease that does not immediately result in disability or death, notice is due within one year after the worker knew or should have known of the relationship between the employment, the disease, and the disability (§ 912(a)). Late notice does not bar the claim if the employer or carrier knew of the injury, if the deputy commissioner finds that the employer or carrier was not prejudiced, or if the deputy commissioner excuses the failure on the grounds the statute lists (§ 912(d)).
Claim. The right to compensation is barred “unless a claim therefore is filed within one year after the injury or death”, or within one year after the last voluntary payment; the time does not start until the worker knew or should have known of the connection to the employment (33 U.S.C. § 913(a)). A late claim is not barred unless the objection is raised at the first hearing (§ 913(b)(1)). For an occupational disease that does not immediately result in disability or death, a claim is timely if filed within two years after the worker knew or should have known of the relationship between the employment, the disease, and the disability, or within one year of the last payment of compensation, whichever is later (§ 913(b)(2)). The one-year period does not run against a minor or a mentally incompetent person while that person has no guardian or other authorized representative (§ 913(c)).
Vessel negligence suits. A covered worker injured by a vessel’s negligence may sue the vessel, but not when the injury was caused by fellow stevedores in a stevedoring job, and not against an employer that is also the vessel owner in shipbuilding or repair work (33 U.S.C. § 905(b)).

Where Georgia law still applies

A worker who is neither a seaman nor injured on navigable waters or an adjoining maritime area while doing covered work stays under Georgia workers’ compensation and its exclusive-remedy rule; see whether you can sue for a workplace injury or only get workers’ comp and when you can sue outside workers’ comp.

Facts that decide coverage

The worker’s job title and what share of working time was spent aboard a vessel in navigation.
Whether the vessel was in navigation, or in dry dock or under construction, during that time.
Exactly where the injury happened: aboard, on a pier or terminal, or inland.
Who employed the worker, and whether that employer also owns or operates the vessel.

Sources

General information about Georgia law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.