Carolyn is an attorney and partner with the law firm of Latti & Anderson LLP. Latti and Anderson LLP...
Attorney Profile
Maintenance & Cure Rights
Injured Seamen are Entitled to Maintenance and Cure (i.e., Reasonable Living Costs and Health Care Expenses)
When a seaman or commercial fisherman gets hurt while working, he or she is entitled to maintenance and cure. Maintenance is a daily amount of money that is supposed to cover the seaman's daily living costs such as rent or mortgage, heat, light, groceries, and incidentals. Cure is the payment of the seaman's medical expenses. The seaman's right to get maintenance and cure continues until the seaman reaches a point of maximum medical improvement, meaning that his doctor thinks that he is as recovered as he is going to get, regardless of whether he is able to return to work.
Many times the employer or its insurance company will only pay a fraction of the full amount that the seaman is entitled to under the law. We can help the commercial fisherman or merchant seaman get all of the maintenance and cure that the seaman or commercial fisherman is entitled to under the General Maritime Law.
For information about your right to maintenance and cure under the Jones Act, 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 paid 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 to maintenance and cure under 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 conduct-ed and the right diagnosis is made while the company pays their health care expenses.
Seeing the Company Doctor or an "IME"
Even if you choose not to see the company doctor for your treatment, the employer or its insurer may insist at some later point during your recovery that you see one of its doctors for an exam. They will call it an "Independent Medical Exam" (IME), and will tell you that it is just to allow them an independent analysis of your case, but don't be fooled. The "company doctor" is not independent. He or she is hired to represent the interests of your employer and the insurance company. Their job is to find you fit for duty. It they don't, the company will find someone who will. Employers and insurance companies usually use the company doctor or the IME to try to cut off your entitlement to maintenance and cure before you are ready to return to work. Don-'t let them push you around. If your employer or its insurance company wants to send you to an "IME," you should call the maritime lawyers at Latti & Anderson at 1-800-392-6072 before you go.
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 under the Jones Act. Contact our law firm to learn about your rights, as we serve clients throughout the country.