What Is Maintenance And Cure?

Maintenance and Cure are both ancient maritime remedies for seamen who are injured while in the service of a ship or vessel and are owed to them under the law. Maintenance and Cure are paid out in addition to what you can recover for negligence or unseaworthiness. If your employer refuses to pay maintenance or cure you can sue them just for maintenance or just for cure. Many times, a letter from an experienced maritime lawyer results in employers beginning to pay maintenance and agreeing to pay medical expenses (cure). Even in the facts of your case may not give rise to Jones Act liability, the maintenance and cure claim may still be pursued to secure these benefits for the injured seaman.

Maintenance

Maintenance consists of weekly checks an employer must pay Jones Act workers when regular pay stops because of an injury or disease. Every Jones Act employer has the legal duty to provide a daily “subsistence” rate to its workers. The maintenance pay must cover reasonable living expenses (room and board) while ashore until the injured seaman is found fit for duty or placed at maximum medical improvement (MMI) by his physician. Maintenance is paid out without considering fault or negligence. If however you were injured due to the negligence of your employer, the ship or vessel owners, or other potential maritime defendants, then you may have a right to file a separate Jones Act lawsuit or other maritime law cause of action to recover potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The amount of maintenance is generally between $15-$30 dollars per day. The rule is that the employer must pay you what it would cost for you to live on land in the same manner you lived offshore on the vessel. We advocate that maintenance pay should cover actual costs and so we obtain bills from our clients for the following items: rent, utilities, transportation cost, and food. We submit these bills along with our legal demand for maintenance pay. Maintenance should be paid regardless of the availability of other income.

Our experienced and internationally successful maritime injury attorneys know how to help you financially during the pendency of your offshore injury case. You may be awaiting a large settlement. Speak to us about the options we have for financial assistance. Many states allow lawyers to facilitate financial aid to clients.

Cure

In addition to maintenance benefits, each injured seaman is entitled to receive cure benefits for his or her conditions which manifest while in service to the vessel – payment of reasonable medical expenses during their time of recovery. The medical treatment you received must be “curative” in nature for your expenses to be covered. You do not, however, have to go to a “company doctor.” You can choose a physician you trust to assist you in your medical decision-making.

If you have been injured as the member of a crew of a vessel in navigation or while working offshore, you may qualify for Maintenance and Cure benefits. Contact the experienced Maintenance and Cure Lawyers of Schechter, Shaffer & Harris, L.L.P. by email at info@smslegal.com or by phone at (800) 836-5830.