The federal Jones Act may provide damages to a commercial fisherman who is hurt during the course of his employment. In order to recover damages pursuant to the Jones Act, the commercial fisherman needs to prove that his vessel was unseaworthy or that his employer was negligent. If a commercial fisherman is killed in the course of his employment, then his surviving family members may also have a cause of action pursuant to the Death on the High Seas Act if the family can prove that the vessel was unseaworthy or the employer was negligent and that their loved one died as a result.