Editorial Standards & Review

Who Writes and Reviews This Content

Content is researched and written by the Jones Act Calculator editorial team and fact-checked against the primary sources listed below. We are engaging a licensed maritime attorney to serve as named legal reviewer; until that review is in place, nothing on this site should be read as legal advice, and we encourage you to confirm any legal point with a licensed maritime attorney in your jurisdiction.

Sourcing Standards

We prioritize primary and government sources over secondary commentary. Settlement and verdict ranges are synthesized by cross-referencing multiple independent sources rather than relying on a single figure. Our core sources include:

• Federal statutes:the Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104), the maritime-tort limitations period (46 U.S.C. § 30106), and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. § 901 et seq.).
• Controlling case law: U.S. Supreme Court and circuit precedent, including Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009); Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347 (1995); and Rogers v. Missouri Pacific R.R., 352 U.S. 500 (1957).
• Government safety & injury data: BSEE OCS performance reports, USCG marine casualty data, NIOSH commercial-fishing surveillance (CFID), and BLS occupational fatality census (CFOI).
• Disclosed legal outcomes: publicly reported verdicts and law-firm settlement disclosures from Gulf Coast jurisdictions, used as directional reference points, not guarantees.

How Our Settlement Ranges Are Built

The calculator's estimates are algorithmic models, not predictions of any specific case. The full methodology, including variable weighting and its limitations, is documented on our calculator methodology page.

Updates & Corrections

Statistical pages are reviewed on a quarterly cadence and re-dated when underlying data changes. If you find an error — a stale citation, an out-of-date rate, a miscited case — email help@jonesactcalculator.com and we will review and correct it.