The boat captain worked the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, and when he wasn’t operating a boat, he was working on them and around the dock.
But when Dize got sick and sued his employer in 2008, claiming a boat maintenance project led to a deadly respiratory illness, he quickly found himself navigating stormy waters.
His bosses said his work did not qualify him to be a “seaman,” a designation needed to sue his employer under a federal law.
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I know that my opinion counts for nothing but if you worked at all in getting a boat or ship from point A to point B than you are a seaman. If you subsequently did maintenance work on any vessel while on land or sea you were still a seaman. If you didn't actively help to get the vessel to point B then you were just a passenger even if you did work while on the vessel.
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