Recovering Compensation for Lost Wages from a Mississippi Maritime Accident Claim

An injury at sea or on any navigable waterway brings a sudden and unwelcome halt to your ability to earn a living. The physical pain and medical challenges are immense, but they are often accompanied by a wave of financial anxiety. As the paychecks stop, the household bills, mortgage payments, and daily expenses continue to pile up. For maritime workers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, whose livelihoods depend on their physical ability to perform demanding jobs, the question of how to replace that lost income is immediate and pressing.

What Are Lost Wages in a Maritime Injury Claim?

When we discuss “lost wages” in the context of a maritime claim, we are referring to the total income you have been deprived of as a result of your injuries. This is a comprehensive calculation that goes far beyond your base hourly rate or salary. Your full compensation package must be accounted for to reflect the true financial impact of the accident.

A complete lost wage claim can include:

Regular Earnings: The standard salary or hourly pay you would have received.
Overtime Pay: Maritime work often involves significant overtime, which must be factored into your average earnings.
Bonuses and Profit Sharing: Any regular or anticipated bonuses that you missed out on due to your inability to work.
“Found” or Per Diem: The value of lodging and meals provided while you were working on the vessel.
Vacation and Sick Pay: The value of any paid time off you were forced to use or lost.
Value of Benefits: The cost of employer-provided benefits that were lost, such as contributions to health insurance plans, retirement accounts (like a 401(k)), and pension plans.

This compensation is typically broken into two distinct categories: past lost wages and future lost wages. Past wages cover the period from the date of your injury until the conclusion of your case. Future lost wages, a far more complex calculation, addresses the income you will be unable to earn for the remainder of your working life.

What Does “Loss of Earning Capacity” Mean?

Loss of earning capacity, also known as future lost wages, represents the money you would have likely earned in the future had you not been injured. This is a vital component of any serious maritime injury claim, as it acknowledges that a permanent or long-term disability can alter your entire career trajectory. It compensates you not just for the job you lost, but for the full career you will never have.

Determining the value of lost earning capacity involves looking at several personal and economic factors:

The nature and severity of your injuries.
Your age, education, and skill set.
Your specific job history and earnings record.
Your potential for promotions, raises, and career advancement.
Whether you can return to your previous job in any capacity.
If you must take a different, lower-paying job because of your physical limitations.

For example, a 30-year-old deckhand who suffers a career-ending back injury has lost more than his current salary. He has lost 30-plus years of potential earnings, promotions to mate or captain, and accumulated retirement benefits. A fair settlement or verdict must reflect that entire lifetime of loss.

What Are the Legal Foundations for Recovering Lost Income?

Maritime law provides several avenues for injured workers to seek compensation for their losses, including lost wages. The path you take depends on your job, your employer, and the circumstances of your injury.

The Jones Act: This federal law is a foundational protection for seamen. It allows an injured seaman to bring a negligence claim against their employer. If your employer, the vessel’s captain, or even a fellow crew member acted carelessly, and that carelessness contributed to your injury in any way, the employer can be held liable for damages. These damages include payment for past and future lost wages. The standard of proof for negligence under the Jones Act is often described as “featherweight,” meaning you only need to show that the employer’s negligence played any part, however small, in causing your harm.
The Doctrine of Unseaworthiness: Independent of the Jones Act, vessel owners have an absolute and non-delegable duty to ensure their vessel is “seaworthy.” This means the ship, its equipment, and its crew must be reasonably fit for their intended purpose. If an unseaworthy condition—such as a broken ladder, faulty machinery, an incompetent crew member, or even an unsafe work procedure—causes your injury, the vessel owner is strictly liable. You do not need to prove they were negligent, only that the unseaworthy condition existed and caused your injury. A successful unseaworthiness claim also allows for the recovery of lost wages.
Maintenance and Cure: This is an ancient and fundamental right of a seaman who falls ill or is injured in the service of a vessel. “Cure” is the right to necessary medical treatment, and “Maintenance” is a daily stipend meant to cover basic living expenses like rent and food while you recover. While these payments provide an immediate lifeline, the daily maintenance rate is often modest and rarely covers a worker’s full income and household expenses. Therefore, a separate claim for lost wages under the Jones Act or the doctrine of unseaworthiness is almost always necessary to bridge the financial gap.

Who Is Eligible to Make a Maritime Lost Wage Claim?

The ability to file a claim under the Jones Act hinges on whether you qualify as a “seaman.” The definition is broad and generally includes anyone who has a substantial connection to a vessel or an identifiable fleet of vessels in navigation and whose work contributes to the vessel’s mission.

This can include a wide range of maritime professionals:

Deckhands and officers on ships
Engineers and other technical crew
Cooks, stewards, and other service personnel
Commercial fishermen
Workers on barges and tugboats
Some offshore oil rig workers assigned to a vessel

For maritime workers who do not qualify as seamen, such as dock builders, ship repairers, and many longshoremen, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) provides a different system for benefits, which also includes compensation for lost wages. The rules for calculating these benefits differ from those under the Jones Act.

How Are Past and Future Lost Wages Calculated?

Proving the full extent of your lost wages is a detailed process that requires meticulous documentation and, in many cases, professional analysis.

Calculating Past Lost Wages

This is the more straightforward part of the calculation. It involves gathering all of your pre-accident pay records and adding up what you would have earned between the date of the injury and the date of a settlement or trial. This requires collecting pay stubs, W-2s, and employment records to establish a clear earnings history.

Calculating Future Lost Wages (Loss of Earning Capacity)

This is where significant complexity arises. You cannot simply multiply your last year’s salary by the number of years you have left to work. The calculation must be precise and justifiable, which is why it almost always requires the testimony of qualified professionals.

Vocational Experts: A vocational professional will evaluate your medical condition, work history, and transferable skills. They will offer an opinion on whether you can ever return to your old job, if you can perform a different type of work, and what you can expect to earn in a new role. Their analysis is vital for establishing the difference between your pre-injury and post-injury earning potential.
Economic Experts: An economist takes the information from the vocational expert and your past earnings records to project the total value of your loss over your entire work-life expectancy. They factor in variables like inflation, interest rates, and expected pay raises to calculate a present-day value for your future lost earnings. This ensures the compensation you receive today is sufficient to cover losses that will accrue for decades to come.

What Documentation Is Needed to Prove a Lost Wage Claim?

A strong claim for lost wages is built on solid evidence. The more thorough your documentation, the more difficult it is for an employer or their insurance company to dispute the value of your loss. Your legal team will work to gather and preserve this important information.

Key documents include:

Income Tax Returns: Typically for the three to five years preceding the accident.
Pay Stubs: For at least a year before the injury to show a consistent record of regular and overtime pay.
W-2 and 1099 Forms: To verify total annual compensation.
Employment Contracts or Union Agreements: These documents may outline pay scales, guaranteed hours, and scheduled raises.
Employer Statements: A letter from your employer confirming your rate of pay, benefits, and typical work schedule.
Records of All Compensation: Documentation of bonuses, trip pay, profit sharing, and other forms of income.
Medical Records and Doctor’s Reports: These are essential for establishing the extent of your injuries, your physical limitations, and your prognosis for recovery.
Expert Reports: The formal written reports from the vocational and economic professionals who have assessed your case.

What Are Common Challenges in Lost Wage Claims?

Maritime employers and their insurance carriers often look for ways to minimize the value of a claim. An experienced maritime attorney will be prepared to counter these tactics.

Disputing Your “Seaman” Status: If you cannot be classified as a Jones Act seaman, your claim for negligence is barred. Employers may argue your connection to the vessel was insufficient.
Arguing Comparative Fault: Under maritime law, if you are found to be partially at fault for your own injury, your compensation can be reduced by your percentage of fault. The defense may try to shift as much blame as possible onto you.
Using Pre-existing Conditions Against You: The defense may hire its own doctors to argue that your inability to work stems from a previous injury or degenerative condition, not the recent accident.
Challenging Your Work Ethic: The company might suggest you were not a reliable employee or that you would not have earned promotions, in an effort to devalue your future earning capacity.
Offering a Lowball Settlement: Insurance companies may try to offer a quick, small settlement before you have a full picture of your long-term medical needs and your total lost earning capacity.

Have You Suffered a Maritime Injury? Contact Reeves & Mestayer Today

If you have been injured while working on the water, you have rights under federal maritime law. Securing the full compensation you are owed for lost wages, medical bills, and other damages requires swift action and knowledgeable legal guidance.

The legal team at Reeves & Mestayer is committed to helping injured maritime workers in Mississippi and along the Gulf Coast fight for the financial resources they need to move forward. We can help you document your losses, engage the right professionals to calculate your future needs, and stand up to the companies that put profits ahead of safety.

We invite you to contact us for a free, confidential consultation to discuss your case. Call us at 1-855-558-2977 or reach out to us online. Let us help you chart a course toward the fair compensation you and your family deserve.