818
Opinion of the Court
by nonseamen. See, e. g., American Export Lines, Inc. v. Alvez, 446 U. S. 274, 282-283 (1980). Moreover, even as to seamen, we have held that general maritime law may provide wrongful-death actions predicated on duties beyond those that the Jones Act imposes. See, e. g., Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., supra, at 28-30 (seaworthiness). The Jones Act does not preclude respondent's negligence action.
DOHSA creates wrongful-death actions for negligence and unseaworthiness, see Moragne, supra, at 395, but only by the personal representatives of people killed "beyond a marine league from the shore of any State," 46 U. S. C. App. § 761. Respondent's son was killed in state territorial waters, where DOHSA expressly provides that its provisions "shall . . . [not] apply," § 767. In Moragne, after discussing the anomalies that would result if DOHSA were interpreted to preclude federal maritime causes of action even where its terms do not apply, 398 U. S., at 395-396, we held that DOHSA "was not intended to preclude the availability of a remedy for wrongful death under general maritime law in situations not covered by the Act," id., at 402. Or, "[t]o put it another way, . . . no intention appears that the Act have the effect of foreclosing any nonstatutory federal remedies that might be found appropriate to effectuate the policies of general maritime law." Id., at 400. DOHSA therefore does not pre-empt respondent's negligence action.
Finally, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), 44 Stat. 1424, as amended, 33 U. S. C. § 901 et seq., provides nonseaman maritime workers such as respondent's son, see § 902(3) (defining covered employees), with no-fault workers' compensation claims (against their employer, § 904(b)) and negligence claims (against the vessel, § 905(b)) for injury and death. As to those two defendants, the LHWCA expressly pre-empts all other claims, §§ 905(a), (b); but cf. Sun Ship, Inc. v. Pennsylvania, 447 U. S. 715, 723-726 (1980) (holding some state workers' compensation claims against employer not pre-empted), but it expressly
Page: Index Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007