Shipboard injuries can be hard to understand

The Jones Act and similar laws governing injuries to vessel crews, shipyard workers, and offshore oil workers are often straightforward. The difficult part can be proving certain types of injuries under the guidelines of these laws. If a deckhand trips on a cargo hatch and falls, the medical evidence is often clear. An MRI shows torn ligaments. But what about settings where things aren’t so clear-cut? Think of a tankerman aboard a barge who almost collapses on a summer day after working around…