Supreme Court Denies Maritime Worker Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take a maritime law case involving a widow from Smith Island, Maryland.

The court said Monday it won’t consider the case of Jennifer Dize, whose husband William Dize spent two decades working as a boat captain for the Association of Maryland Pilots. William Dize sued his employer under the Jones Act in 2008, claiming a boat project left him with a fatal lung disease.

The Association of Maryland Pilots argued he didn’t qualify as a seaman entitled to sue under the Jones Act and won in three courts in Maryland.

Some experts had urged the Supreme Court to take the case, saying it could prove important to thousands of maritime workers who spend long periods on land and shorter bursts at sea.