Article by John W. Sims
The American law of maritime personal injury and death, as we know it today, is of relatively recent origin. With the exception of the right to maintenance and cure, it has scant precedent in either continental or British maritime law. Narrow in scope and almost static until the early twentieth century, it has become one of the most dynamic, complex and rapidly changing areas of the law as both the courts and the Congress have sought to fashion new remedies to meet the social, economic and human needs resulting from ever-expanding maritime operations.
The legislative milestones of this ongoing process are the Jones Act, the Death on the High Seas Act, the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act of 1927, its 1972 amendments and the abolition of the doctrine of laches. The judicial milestones are The Harrisburg, The Osceola, the Jensen case, the drastic revision of the concept of unseaworthiness in the 1940's and its extension to the Sieracki seaman, the "nullification of Section 905" through Ryan and Reed v. Yaka and, more recently, the creation of the general maritime law of wrongful death in Moragne.
Despite the need for uniformity, long recognized both by the courts and the legislature, the American law of maritime personal injury and death has developed erratically, and its future course is difficult to predict. Writing in 1975, Professors Gilmore and Black concluded that "the perils of the sea, which mariners suffer and shipowners insure against, have met their match in the perils of judicial review." The statement remains true.
This article is intended to provide an overview by tracing the more significant steps in the development of the American law of maritime personal injury and death. Detailed treatment of specific areas of the law is found in subsequent articles appearing in this issue.
About the Author
John W. Sims. J.D., Tulane University School of Law. Member of the Louisiana Bar. President, The Maritime Law Association of the United States.
Citation
55 Tul. L. Rev. 973 (1981)