Jones Act Precludes Claim for Loss of Consortium

A California appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's decision sustaining a demurrer and finding that loss of consortium claims are not available under general maritime law or the Jones Act. "There being no evidence that loss of consortium was historically available in personal injury unseaworthiness actions, coupled with the observation that a parallel statutory scheme does not allow for recovery of loss of consortium, we conclude loss of consortium is unavailable in this case," the court said. Tracy Simerley was injured while working on a ferryboat owned by the Golde...