Maintenance and Cure Explained

ARTICLE 3 OF 5

Maintenance and cure are traditional maritime benefits that may be owed to a qualifying seaman who becomes ill or injured while in the service of the vessel. They are separate from a Jones Act negligence claim. A seaman does not ordinarily have to prove that the employer caused the accident before maintenance and cure obligations arise.

Maintenance generally refers to a reasonable contribution toward the seaman's food and lodging while recovering ashore. Cure generally refers to reasonable and necessary medical treatment related to the illness or injury until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement. Maximum medical improvement does not necessarily mean a complete recovery. It generally means that further curative treatment is not expected to materially improve the condition.

Disputes often arise over the daily maintenance rate, the choice of medical providers, whether a treatment is necessary, whether a condition is related to service of the vessel, and whether maximum medical improvement has actually been reached. An employer may ask for medical records, examinations, or other information before continuing benefits.

Maintenance and cure should not be confused with the full measure of damages that may be available in a Jones Act or unseaworthiness case. Those claims may seek compensation for losses such as past and future wages, loss of earning capacity, pain, impairment, and other damages that maintenance and cure do not fully address.

An injured seaman should keep records of medical treatment, prescriptions, mileage, lodging, household expenses, rent or mortgage obligations, and communications with the employer or claims administrator. Those records can become important if the amount or duration of maintenance and cure is disputed.