Maritime workers, including professional fishermen and those who work on oil rigs, have dangerous jobs. All it takes is one wrong move to put them at risk of falling into the water or coming into contact with dangerous equipment.
Most maritime workers try their best to move on calmly from an incident that causes minor injury. Some don’t even report incidents to management when they occur. They don’t want to disrupt the workflow for others and intend to ignore their injuries. Unfortunately, some maritime workers incur significant injuries that force them to not only report the incident but also to seek immediate medical attention.
Injured maritime employees do not have the protection of workers’ compensation coverage. Instead, they have the option of filing a lawsuit under the Jones Act. The law permits them to request maintenance and cure after employer negligence leads to an injury. What constitutes maintenance and what constitutes cure after a maritime work incident?
Cure refers to necessary medical care
Maritime workers who end up in the water may come close to drowning. The lack of oxygen in such situations can lead to traumatic brain injuries. Other workers may come into contact with heavy equipment. Those workers may incur spinal cord injuries, broken bones or even traumatic amputations.
There are a host of different injuries possible in a maritime work incident, and many of them require extensive medical support. In a Jones Act lawsuit, workers request compensation for cure or the medical treatment that they require. Expenses incurred immediately after an incident, and likely future medical expenses, can both contribute to the total amount of cure sought in a Jones Act lawsuit.
Maintenance relates to lost income
A request for maintenance reflects someone’s lost income immediately after they get hurt. Someone with a broken bone me require weeks away from their maritime job and may be unable to pay their bills until they get back to work. In cases involving more serious injuries, workers may have to adjust to a reduction in their long-term earning potential. A request for maintenance in a Jones Act lawsuit can replace lost wages and can also compensate workers for a reduction in the wages they can earn given the long-lasting symptoms of their injuries.
Injured maritime employees often need assistance determining how much to seek in maintenance and cure. Learning more about Jones Act lawsuits can help workers who need treatment and time away from work to recover from job-related harm.