Pre-existing conditions and a seaman’s right to maintenance and cure

The Gulf Coast Jones Act attorneys at Denena & Points emphasize that the right to maintenance and cure is an age-old right of ill and injured seamen that has since been codified in the Jones Act and other maritime laws. Where a seaman suffered an injury or illness while in service to a vessel, he can claim maintenance and cure as a matter of right.

The exceptions to the employer’s obligation to provide maintenance and cure are rare. And doubts and ambiguities will generally be resolved in favor of the seaman. Even where a seaman had an injury or illness that pre-existed his service to the vessel, he cannot be denied maintenance and cure so long as he disclosed that condition prior to employment.

So employers generally require a pre-employment physical examination and questionnaire. And unless the seaman fraudulently or knowingly conceals a pre-existing condition from his employer, his employer cannot later deny the seaman maintenance and cure.

Our Gulf Coast Jones Act attorneys caution that where the seaman has knowingly or fraudulently concealed a pre-existing condition, the employer does have a valid defense to a claim for maintenance and cure. To establish the validity of the defense and dismiss a claim for maintenance and cure for a seman’s injury or illness, the employer must show:

• That the seaman intentionally concealed or misrepresented medical information. Proof does not rely on the seaman’s subjective intent here. It relies on an objective evaluation. If the non-disclosed information would have been important to the employer in making his decision to hire or not to hire, the test is met.
• The non-disclosed medical information would have been material to the employer’s decision to hire or not to hire.
• There is a causal connection between the illness or injury for which maintenance and cure is claimed and the information on a pre-existing condition that the seaman failed to disclose prior to hire.

Our Gulf Coast Jones Act attorneys suggest that seamen be aware of this exemption to the maintenance and cure provisions, and always disclose relevant pre-existing conditions during a pre-employment physical exam and questionnaire. And if your employer resists his obligations to provide you with maintenance and cure for an illness or injury that you have contracted in service of his vessel, be sure to contact us for aggressive help in securing your age-old seaman’s rights.

Our Gulf Coast Jones Act attorneys have more than 14 years of experience helping injured victims obtain the just financial recoveries they deserve after a work injury or illness. And we offer a free initial legal consultation and will not charge you attorney’s fees unless you win your claim. You have nothing to lose and a solid financial foundation for your future to gain. Call or email us today.