|
|
 Acne (1,500)
Addictions (1,500)
Advice (1,500)
Allergies (1,092)
Alternative Medicine (1,500)
Anti Aging (1,500)
Breakup (1,500)
Cancer (1,499)
Dental Care (1,500)
Disabilities (1,500)
Divorce (1,500)
Elderly Care (1,498)
Goal Setting (1,500)
Hair Loss (1,500)
Health and Safety (1,497)
Hearing (1,500)
Law of Attraction (1,499)
Marriage (1,500)
Medicine (1,497)
Meditation (1,499)
Men's Health (1,500)
Mental Health (1,500)
Motivational (1,500)
Nutrition (1,495)
Personal Injury (1,499)
Plastic Surgeries (1,500)
Pregnancy (1,496)
Psychology (1,500)
Public Speaking (1,500)
Quit Smoking (1,500)
Religion (1,499)
Self Help (1,500)
Skin Care (1,500)
Sleep (1,500)
Stress Management (1,500)
Teenagers (1,492)
Time Management (1,500)
Weddings (1,500)
Wellness (1,500)
Women's Health (1,500)
Women's Issues (1,500)
|
The sea can be a very dangerous place to work. Ships, barges, rigs, and other sea-faring vessels share a high risk of causing on the job injuries. Even though rights to medical care for seaman have been around for centuries through Admiralty Law and Maritime Law, remedies against employers due to injured seaman have been inconsistent and variable. The Jones Act , specifically the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, was created to formalize the rights of seaman and provide workers with an opportunity to obtain damages if their employer is at fault. These benefits are available even if the worker is 100% at fault, but if the employer is at fault or negligent, damages are typically not available.
Maritime Law allows injured sailors to obtain damages from their employers for maintenance (basic living expenses) and cure (reasonable and necessary medical care). However, many times maintenance and cure does not provide for sufficient medical coverage. Maintenance can be as low as $8.00 a day, and cure is largely up to the employers standards of care. In addition, while the obligation to cure is ongoing, a seaman can lose his right to maintenance once he is able to work again. Compensation to cure in maritime law provides for “maximum medical cure” as opposed to “maximum medical improvement”. The former is more extensive and applies to the rights of seaman. “Maximum medical improvement” causes discontinuation of treatment once a condition can no longer be improved, or when treatment options are exhausted. “Maximum medical cure” includes an obligation to provide the injured seaman with medications and devices that improve the ability to function. In order to be qualified as a seaman, the injured party must be permanently assigned to his or her vessel and spend at least 30 percent of their time in service.
Personal injury cases under the Jones Act are handled through a trial by jury, and apply the legal doctrine of “comparative negligence”, whereby the jury determines what the damages are, and how much is allocated to each party. This is important because even if the injured party is found more than 50% negligent, they are still awarded that portion of monetary damages
|
|
|
