Tag: Maintenance and Cure

• Maritime Casualty

  How Rejecting Recommended Medical Aid Affects Maintenance and Cure

  • February 17, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Willfully Rejecting Recommended Medical Aid Could Result in Forfeiture of Maintenance and Cure Benefits A Jones Act seaman who is injured while in service of a vessel is generally entitled to maintenance and cure benefits until he reaches maximum medical improvement.  However, he potentially forfeits his right to maintenance and cure if he willfully rejects recommended medical […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Determining the Amount of Cure Owed to Your Seamen–Employees

  • February 10, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Cure Is Paid Only for Incurred Medical Expenses “Cure” is a shipowner’s obligation to pay necessary medical expenses for seamen injured while in service of its ships.  Seamen are only entitled to recover cure for medical expenses actually incurred rather than the amount charged.  (Medical bills are frequently charged/billed at a certain rate and then […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Successors’ Use of Prior Pre-Employment Medical Exams

  • November 24, 2015
  • By Allen & Gooch

  In Meche v. Doucet, 777 F.3d 237 (5th Cir. 2015), the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals discussed a Jones Act employer’s McCorpen defense to the payment of maintenance and cure benefits.  To successfully establish the defense, the employer must show (1) the claimant intentionally misrepresented or concealed medical facts; (2) the non-disclosed facts were […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Fifth Circuit: Punitive Damages Not Available for Unseaworthiness

  • November 10, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Fifth Circuit Reverses Itself on Punitive Damages The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently released a 73-page opinion in the en banc rehearing of McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C., No. 12-30714 (5th Cir. Sept. 25, 2014).  As reported previously, the court originally ruled that seamen may be able to recover punitive damages for their employers’ […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Seaman Status: Do Your Employees Qualify?

  • December 7, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Special Privileges Afforded to Seamen under Maritime Law A seaman enjoys special rights under the law that are not afforded to other employees, such as the right to receive maintenance and cure if injured while in service of a vessel and the right to sue their employer in tort under the Jones Act.  However, many […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Employers Not Entitled To Restitution Of Maintenance And Cure Benefits

  • June 3, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch

  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently released an opinion concerning a maritime employer’s obligation to pay maintenance and cure benefits. In Boudreaux v. Transocean Deepwater, Inc., 711 F.3d 501 (5th Cir. 2013), the Court tackled what it called a “novel” issue: whether a successful McCorpen defense automatically entitles an employer to restitution of maintenance and cure benefits […]

• Maritime Casualty

  5th Circuit Addresses How Collateral-Source Rule Applies to “Cure”

  • April 5, 2013
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  In Manderson v. Chet Morrison Contractors, Inc., 666 F.3d 373 (5th Cir. 2012), the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently addressed the application of the collateral-source rule when awarding a seaman with “cure.” The issue was one of first impression: whether a cure award should include the difference between the amount a seaman’s medical […]