What are Maintenance and Cure Benefits?

Under the Jones Act, one of the benefits seamen are entitled to is compensation for maintenance and cure. Since its creation in 1920, the Jones Act has been providing injured seamen with protection of their rights. It also protects families who have lost a loved one in an offshore accident. If you were injured because of the negligence of a co-worker or employer or the unseaworthiness of a vessel, you could have a case. Unseaworthiness refers to more than just an old vessel. It includes faulty machinery, lack of safety equipment, inadequate training, and more.

For any maritime worker, maintenance and cure compensation is required following an injury. Cure refers to all medical expenses that were necessary in the victim's recovery. Maintenance refers to rent, food, utilities, transportation, and any other living expenses. If you were injured on an oil tanker, you are entitled to receive compensation for medicals costs until you reach maximum medical improvement. This means that there is no medical treatment available to help you heal or that you are completely back to normal.

Some tanker companies will offer an injured employee between $15 and $35 a day for maintenance costs. Although this may the amount for room and board on the tanker, it may not be sufficient to sustain people on land. You do not have to accept their offer and an offshore accident attorney could help protect your rights and increase your compensation. Besides maintenance and cure, injured employees can also claim for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of companionship, loss of fringe benefits, and more. If you are confused as to what your rights are after an injury on an oil tanker, a legal representative could answer all your questions and provide you with invaluable legal counsel.