Maintenance & Cure

Injured Seamen Entitled to Reasonable Living Costs and Health Care Expenses

When a seaman or commercial fisherman gets hurt, he has the ability to sue his employer. The seaman also has the right to obtain maintenance and cure for medical bills and living expenses on land. The amount of living expenses includes rent or mortgage, heat, light, groceries, and incidentals. These continue until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement and can return to work.

For information about your right to maintenance and cure, contact the maritime lawyers at Latti & Anderson. Call 1-800-392-6072 for a free initial consultation.

Maintenance and cure benefits are paid without regard to fault in the injury

Maintenance and cure, unlike a claim for damages under the Jones Act, is awarded regardless of fault for the injury. In that sense it is somewhat like workers’ compensation benefits. Typically, employers are eager to declare that an injured worker has reached maximum medical improvement and can return to work, eliminating the need to pay the worker maintenance and cure. To that end, they often encourage injured workers to visit the company doctor--a doctor who may support the employer's effort to put a cap on maintenance and cure by declaring the employee fit to return to work.

Injured seamen have the right to see the physician of their choice

At Latti & Anderson, our lawyers educate clients about their rights under the maintenance and cure provisions of the Jones Act. We make sure clients understand that they are under no obligation to receive treatment from a company-recommended doctor. We help injured seamen obtain proper medical care from the physician of their choice, making sure that the proper tests are conducted and the right diagnosis is made while the company pays their health care expenses.

We help stop collection notices

We also help seamen who have received collection notices or experienced other financial problems because the employer has not filed the claim in a timely way. Until the claim is filed and approved, an injured employee may not receive payment for living expenses. It is frequently necessary to take the employer to court in order to obtain the right amount of maintenance and cure. If this happens, the court will usually require the employer to pay attorney's fees as well.

A seaman injured in any way on the job is entitled to maintenance and cure. Contact our law firm to learn about your rights under this feature of the Jones Act. We serve clients throughout the country.

Free initial consultation - Most cases handled on a contingency basis