Under the Jones Act, an employer is vicariously liable for the death of an employee killed aboard a drilling vessel when a co-worker’s gun discharged accidentally, a federal judge has ruled. Even though the employer "clearly delineated" its prohibition against weapons in several forms, including in an employee handbook and in an agreement signed by the owner of the gun, the employer still must pay the deceased worker’s family nearly $1.2 million, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled Thursday in Amanda Beech vs. Hercules Drilling Co. L.L.C.