For many people who work at sea, the maritime industry can be incredibly remote. Cargo ships have to cross oceans and seas. Deep-sea fishing boats go far from the shore in order to seek the necessary catch. Cruise ships traverse the globe, crossing oceans and sometimes traveling days from land.
While these remote locations can be exciting and unique, they are also dangerous. Injuries in remote locations have a higher likelihood of becoming fatal or resulting in severe complications. Deep-sea fishing is known as one of the deadliest professions for a reason.
A major part of the problem is that emergency medical care is not readily available. If someone suffers a spinal cord injury at home in the city, they can be taken to the hospital relatively quickly. The same injury on a ship that is hours from shore, let alone the nearest hospital, can have much more significant complications because the emergency treatment that the patient needs is heavily delayed.
The significant problem with delayed care
It is not just the maritime industry that has an issue with delayed medical care. Studies that look at traumatic death risks find that these risks are almost always higher in rural areas. A car accident on a rural road is more likely to be deadly, for instance, because it delays how long it takes first responders to get to the scene and how long it takes to get the patient to the hospital.
In many ways, maritime accidents are similar, except that the distance to the hospital can be much greater. Ships often have doctors, but they may be limited in what they can treat or what supplies they have on hand.
Since the serious injury risks are so high in this industry, it is important that all maritime workers understand exactly what legal options they have.