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Rights of Injured Seamen

By C. Steven Fury

Injured seamen are not covered by worker's compensation. Rather they are entitled to benefits under maritime law, a form of federal common law, and the Jones Act. Admiralty Courts of the United States have historically looked upon seamen with favor as "wards of the Admiralty." The general maritime laws protecting seamen come to us from antiquity, dating back to the law of the Isle of Rhodes as early as 900 B.C. and through medieval times and the Admiralty courts of England . The attitude of the courts toward injured seamen generally works to their benefit in court, but has an unwanted side effect. Many injured seamen, most doctors and other health professionals who provide them with care, and even employer's representatives charged with administering seamen's benefits, do not understand their rights.

“Seamen” include all workers regularly employed aboard vessels. A seaman is any employee who is (1) more or less permanently assigned; (2) to a vessel in navigation and (3) whose duties aid in the accomplishment of the vessel's mission. The plaintiff in a leading Supreme Court case was a paint foreman and found by the Court to be a seaman. Fishermen, musicians, or cooks on cruise vessels and fish processors are all commonly determined to be seamen. Certainly, ferry workers, deckhands on tugs and blue water sailors are considered seamen under the law.

An injured seaman's remedies fall primarily into two categories. First, a seaman injured while in service of the vessel is entitled to " maintenance ," " cure ," and " unearned wages ." Second, the seaman is entitled to seek damages from either his or her employer or the owner of the vessel if he or she can establish liability. The liability theories are unseaworthiness of the vessel under the general maritime law or negligence of the employer under the Jones Act.

MAINTENANCE AND CURE

A. Entitlement to Maintenance and Cure

The vessel owner's duty to provide maintenance and cure to a seaman who is injured or falls ill while "in service of the vessel" has been recognized for centuries. The right to maintenance and cure is implicit in the contractual relationship between the seaman and the employer. Payment is due to the injured seaman without regard to negligence or other fault on the part of the employer or vessel owner. There is no requirement that either the injury or illness have a causal relationship with the seaman's employment or that it arise while the seaman is even on the vessel. So long as the seaman is "generally answerable to the call of duty," he is entitled to the payment of maintenance and cure, even if injured off the vessel, including while on shore leave.

 

 
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