Jones Act Lawyer
Understanding Maintenance & Cure
You fell down a set of slick stairs on a ship and wrenched your back badly after you were directed to perform a task in adverse conditions. Since the accident, you've been in nearly constant pain and unable to work. You've accumulated a stack of medical bills and become worried about how you'll provide for your family. These are common concerns of any offshore worker who suffers a serious injury or extended illness.
Any maritime worker who suffers a serious injury or illness offshore legally deserves paid medical treatment and time to recover until they're fit for work again. The lawful obligation of a maritime employer to pay maintenance and cure benefits to injured or ill crew is a well-established part of general maritime law. Maintenance benefits include room and board, food and utilities. Meanwhile, cure benefits cover doctor and hospital bills, medicine and necessary medical tests.
The law is clear about the rights of injured or sick seamen to maintenance and cure benefits. Still some maritime employers think they can pick and choose which benefits to pay for injured or sick offshore workers. Some employers act as if they know better than the doctor which medical tests are necessary. Other employers try to pinch pennies on paying an appropriate per diem rate for room and board.
Protecting Your Right to Maintenance and Cure Benefits
An offshore injury attorney may be able to protect your right to receive maintenance and cure benefits. At Arnold & Itkin LLP, we have handled many maintenance and cure claims for offshore workers across the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the United States. We are committed to seeing that injured and ill maritime workers receive the maintenance and cure benefits to which they're entitled. We have helped many injured offshore workers in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and other coastal states obtain financial help to pay their medical bills, pay rent and put food on the table.
As an offshore maritime worker, you are entitled to maintenance and cure benefits regardless of whose fault an accident was. The concepts of maintenance and cure are a well-established part of general maritime law. Even if you caused an accident, you still are entitled to paid maintenance and cure benefits. The law is on the side of injured maritime workers. The U.S. Supreme Court has said maintenance and cure benefits should be full and inclusive—a concept some maritime employers have trouble grasping. You need an experienced offshore injury lawyer to stand up for you and ensure that your employer pays the full maintenance and cure benefits that you are justly owed.
Courts have found that maintenance benefits include reasonable expenses for rent, room, electricity, phone, food and transportation. Some employers try to nickel and dime an injured seaman and pay outdated maintenance rates of $15 to $35 per day, claiming that is the cost of a bunk and meals aboard ship.
Similarly some employers may try to pick and choose which medical services they will cover for injured or ill workers. Cure benefits include all reasonable medical expenses, including doctors and hospital bills, diagnostic tests, x-rays, MRI and CT scans, prescription medications and physical therapy.
Offshore Injury Attorney: Holding Employers Accountable
At our firm, we hold maritime employers accountable for providing full and inclusive maintenance and cure benefits. If you are interested in finding out more about what an attorney at our law office can do to assist you in seeking and recovering full benefits for your claim, feel free to call us for a free and confidential consultation.
Contact an offshore injury attorney at our firm to discuss maintenance and cure benefits for your claim.
