An injured seaman typically enjoys a trial by jury despite admiralty’s more traditional ‘bench’ trial. However, arbitration of a seaman’s injury claim is in a whole different boat. While arbitration to resolve domestic and international commercial maritime disputes is quite common in New York with the Society of Maritime Arbitrators, Inc. (SMA), seamen’s injury claims are rarely arbitrated.1
The seaman’s right “to bring a civil action at law, with the right of trial by jury, against the employer” was codified in the Jones Act. 46 U.S.C. §30104. Pursuant to the Jones Act, a seaman may demand a jury trial despite Rule 38(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Admiralty and Maritime Claims”), which specifically states that “these rules do not create a right to a jury trial on issues in a claim that is an admiralty or maritime claim under Rule 9(h).” The Jones Act was enacted by Congress in 1920 in response to several U.S. Supreme Court cases which had precluded seamen from recovering against their employers for negligence of the master or owner of the vessel.
