Getting hurt while working at sea brings a unique set of worries. You may wonder how you will pay for treatment, cover your bills and survive while you are unable to work.
Maritime law offers a safety net built just for crew members. It is called maintenance and cure, and it gives you certain rights the moment an injury or illness strikes during your service. Here is what those rights involve.
What maintenance and cure is based on
This remedy comes from your relationship with the vessel, not from anyone being at fault. If you become sick or injured while serving aboard a ship, the vessel owner owes you these benefits. You do not have to prove that the employer was careless or that the vessel was unsafe. Your service alone triggers the right to support.
Maintenance
Maintenance is a daily payment meant to cover your basic living costs while you recover on shore. Think of the food and lodging you would normally receive aboard the vessel. This payment usually begins on the day you leave the ship rather than the day you were hurt. It is designed to keep a roof over your head and food on your table during your recovery.
Cure
Cure is your right to reasonable medical care for the injury or illness. This covers the treatment needed to help you heal, including doctor visits, hospital stays and related care. You are expected to keep your costs reasonable, but the burden falls on your employer to show that any treatment was excessive or unnecessary.
Unearned wages
Beyond daily support and medical care, you may also be owed the pay you would have earned. Unearned wages generally cover the income you would have received through the end of the voyage or your contract period. This can include overtime, bonuses and other earnings tied to the work you could no longer perform.
These benefits continue until you reach maximum medical cure. That point arrives when further treatment is not expected to improve your condition. Even ongoing comfort care does not extend the payments once doctors agree you will not get better. Since crewmember injuries can lead to disputes over these rights, you should seek legal guidance to protect what you are owed.