Did your maritime employer fail to cover medical and living expenses after an injury? Contact a top maintenance and cure claims lawyer in Los Angeles to seek the compensation and medical benefits you deserve.
Maritime work demands physical strength, technical skill, and acceptance of significant risk. When injury or illness strikes while you’re serving aboard a vessel, maritime law guarantees specific benefits to support your recovery. These protections exist because Congress recognized centuries ago that seamen face unique dangers and deserve special safeguards when they can no longer work.
As an injured maritime worker, maintenance and cure is your most basic right. No matter who hurt you, your employer has to pay for your living expenses and medical care until you are fully healed. This duty exists regardless of fault, negligence, or any other factor. If you were working on the ship when you got hurt or sick, you are eligible for these benefits.
Yet shipping companies and maritime insurers routinely deny valid claims, delay payments, and dispute medical treatment for maritime injury cases. They count on injured workers not understanding their rights or lacking the resources to fight back.
The Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor has a long history of holding maritime employers accountable for injured seamen, helping clients secure maintenance and cure benefits while protecting them from employer retaliation and bad-faith tactics.
Do You Need a Maintenance and Cure Claims Lawyer?
If you’ve been injured or become ill while working at sea, your employer owes you immediate benefits. These payments are called maintenance and cure, and they’re your right under maritime law.
Unfortunately, shipping companies and their insurers routinely deny these claims or pay far less than what you deserve.
Every day without these benefits means you’re covering medical bills and living expenses out of your own pocket while unable to work. A maintenance and cure claims lawyer can force your employer to pay what they owe and protect you from their tactics to avoid responsibility.
What Is Maintenance and Cure Under Maritime Law?
Maintenance and cure are two separate benefits that vessel owners must provide to injured or ill seamen. This is a no-fault system, meaning you don’t need to prove your employer did anything wrong to receive these payments.
Maintenance covers your daily living expenses while you recover. This replaces the room and board you would have received aboard the vessel. Cure pays for all medical treatment related to your injury or illness until you reach maximum recovery.
These benefits are among the oldest protections in maritime law, dating back centuries before the United States was founded.
Who Qualifies as a Seaman for Maintenance and Cure?
You may qualify as a seaman if a substantial portion of your work is performed on a vessel in navigation and you contribute to the vessel’s mission. This definition covers many maritime jobs beyond what most people think of as traditional sailors.
Covered Maritime Roles
The definition of a seaman includes, but is not limited to, the following roles:
Deckhands and Engineers
These are workers who directly operate and maintain the vessel’s systems.
Commercial Fishermen
Crew members are employed on various types of fishing vessels.
Tugboat Operators
Personnel who work aboard harbor and ocean-going tugboats.
Offshore Workers
This includes those working on drilling rigs, oil platforms, and supply vessels that qualify as vessels in navigation.
Vessel Cooks and Support Staff
Anyone whose job functionally supports the vessel’s mission and operations, including crew members on cruise ships, is included.
You are covered even if your injury happened while you were on shore leave, provided you were still considered “in service of the vessel” at the time of the incident.
Are Illnesses and Pre-Existing Conditions Covered?
Yes, maintenance and cure covers both injuries and illnesses that develop while you’re working. Heart attacks, infections, food poisoning, and other medical conditions that arise during your employment are all covered.
Pre-existing conditions are also covered if your work made them worse. If you had a bad back before starting work, but the physical demands of your job aggravated it into a catastrophic injury, your employer must provide benefits. They cannot deny your claim simply because you had a medical condition before you were hired.
What Does Maintenance Cover?
Maintenance should cover your actual reasonable living expenses, not some arbitrary low amount your employer wants to pay. Many companies try to get away with paying $30 to $50 per day, but these daily maintenance rates rarely cover real-world costs, especially in California.
Your maintenance payments should comprehensively cover all of your necessary, everyday living costs while you are recovering, including:
Housing Costs:
Your monthly rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, and homeowner’s insurance.
Utilities:
Costs for essential services like electricity, water, gas, and trash service.
Food and Groceries:
All your necessary food and grocery expenses.
Basic Transportation:
Costs associated with getting around, such as necessary travel to medical appointments.
To make sure you are paid the full amount you are owed, you must keep detailed records of all these expenses with receipts and bills. This proves your actual costs and protects you from lowball offers.
What Does Cure Cover?
Cure requires your employer to pay for all reasonable medical treatment until you reach maximum medical improvement. This means treatment continues until your doctor says your condition won’t improve with further care.
The cure obligation includes doctor visits, hospital stays, surgery, prescription medications, physical therapy, and any other treatment your physician recommends. Your employer must pay these bills directly or reimburse you promptly.
How Long Do Maintenance and Cure Last?
Benefits continue until you reach maximum medical improvement or are declared fit to return to duty. This can be weeks, months, or even years, depending on your condition.
Employers often try to cut off benefits early by claiming you’ve reached maximum improvement when you haven’t. They may pressure their doctors to declare you fully recovered or hire independent medical examiners to dispute your treating physician’s opinions.
Can You Choose Your Own Doctor?
You have the absolute right to select your own treating physician for cure benefits. Your employer cannot force you to see only their company doctor or limit your choice of medical providers.
Be wary of doctors recommended by your employer or their insurance company. These physicians may be more concerned with minimizing the company’s costs than providing you with proper medical care. Always seek treatment from doctors you trust who will put your health first.
How Is the Maintenance Rate Calculated?
Your maintenance rate should reflect your actual documented living expenses in your area. If you live in an expensive city like Los Angeles or San Francisco, your rate should be much higher than that of someone living in a rural area with lower costs.
Union contracts sometimes set daily maintenance rates, but these can be challenged if they don’t cover your reasonable expenses. Document all your monthly costs and save receipts to prove what you actually spend on basic living needs.
What Are Unearned Wages?
Unearned wages are separate from maintenance and cure. These are the wages you would have earned from your injury date until the end of your voyage or employment contract.
If you were hired for a specific trip or time period, you’re entitled to the full wages for that period even though you couldn’t complete the work due to injury. This applies regardless of who was at fault for your injury.
What If Your Employer Delays or Denies Benefits?
Shipping companies use standard tactics to avoid paying what they owe. They may demand recorded statements, ask you to sign broad medical releases, or claim your injury was due to misconduct on your part.
Recorded statements:
You’re not required to give these and should decline until speaking with an attorney
Medical releases:
Only provide limited releases that apply specifically to your injury claim
Misconduct allegations:
These are often false attempts to deny legitimate claims
Don’t let these pressure tactics work. Your employer’s insurance adjusters are trained to find reasons to deny or minimize your claim.
Can You Recover Punitive Damages for Willful Nonpayment?
Yes, if your employer willfully refuses to pay maintenance and cure benefits, you can recover punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this right in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend.
This means if your employer acts in bad faith by unreasonably denying or delaying benefits, they can be forced to pay additional money as punishment. This powerful remedy helps ensure employers take their obligations seriously.
What’s the Difference Between Maintenance and Cure and a Jones Act Claim?
These are two types of maritime law claims, though you may be entitled to both:
| Maintenance and Cure | Jones Act Claim |
| No-fault benefit you’re automatically entitled to | Must prove employer negligence caused your injury |
| Covers living expenses and medical bills only | Covers all damages including pain, suffering, and lost future wages |
| Should start immediately after injury | Typically resolved through settlement or lawsuit |
| Ends at maximum medical improvement | No limit on potential recovery amount |
A Jones Act claim can provide much more compensation, but it requires proving your employer’s Jones Act negligence contributed to your injury.
What Should You Do After an Injury or Illness at Sea?
Taking the proper steps immediately protects your claim and ensures you get the benefits you deserve.
Report the Injury and Get Medical Care
Report your injury to the captain or your supervisor right away. Fill out an accident report and get a copy for your records. See the ship’s medical officer if needed, but insist on seeing your own doctor on shore as soon as possible.
Document Living Expenses and Save Receipts
Start keeping detailed records of all your monthly expenses immediately. Save receipts for rent, utilities, groceries, and other basic needs. This documentation proves what your actual maintenance rate should be.
Avoid Recorded Statements and Broad Releases
Politely decline to give recorded statements to the company or its insurance representatives. Don’t sign any documents or medical releases until you’ve spoken with a maritime attorney who can protect your interests.
Call the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor
Contact an experienced maritime lawyer right away. We handle all communications with your employer and their insurance company, allowing you to focus on getting better instead of fighting for benefits.
Why Hire the Law Offices of Charles D. Naylor?
We represent injured maritime workers from our Long Beach offices, providing experienced advocacy for seafarers. Our location gives us deep knowledge of the marine industry and the tactics employers use to deny claims.
We’ve recovered millions of dollars for injured seamen through maritime injury verdicts and settlements and have a proven track record of forcing employers to pay the benefits they owe. We advance all case costs and only get paid when we win your case, so there’s no financial risk to you.
Maintenance and Cure FAQs
Do Maintenance Payments Count as Taxable Income?
No, maintenance and cure benefits are generally not considered taxable income under federal tax law.
Can My Employer Force Me to Give a Recorded Statement About My Injury?
No, you have no legal obligation to provide a recorded statement to your employer or their insurance company about your injury.
What Happens If I am injured while on Shore Leave?
You’re still entitled to maintenance and cure benefits if you were injured during shore leave, as long as you were still in the service of the vessel.
Are Pre-Existing Medical Conditions That Get Worse at Work Covered?
Yes, if your work duties caused a pre-existing condition to flare up or worsen, it’s covered under maintenance and cure.
How Quickly Can a Lawyer Get My Benefits Started?
An experienced maritime attorney can often get your maintenance and cure benefits started or increased within days of being hired.
Can I Be Fired for Filing a Maintenance and Cure Claim?
It’s illegal for employers to retaliate against you for exercising your legal rights, though it sometimes happens despite the law.
Can Union Contract Rates Be Challenged If They’re Too Low?
Yes, maintenance rates set in union agreements can be challenged if they don’t cover your reasonable living expenses in your area.
Will My Employer Have to Pay My Attorney’s Fees If They Wrongfully Deny My Claim?
Yes, employers can be ordered to pay attorney’s fees and punitive damages if they willfully refuse to pay valid maintenance and cure claims.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim for Unpaid Benefits?
Act promptly to protect your claim, because unreasonable delays can lead to dismissal.
Free Consultation With a Maintenance and Cure Claims Lawyer
You shouldn’t have to choose between paying your bills and getting proper medical care after a work injury. We advance all costs for your case and charge no attorney’s fees unless we successfully recover compensation for you.
Our maritime attorneys are available around the clock to handle urgent situations and can often get your benefits flowing within days of taking your case. Don’t let another day pass while your employer refuses to meet their legal obligations.
Call 888-440-5829 now or fill out our free case review form for immediate help with your maintenance and cure claim.
