Alaska Personal Injury Lawyers

Alaska Maritime Lawyers, Helping Injured Workers Obtain Maintenance and Cure

Anyone who has spent any time working at sea understands that this is a life that is filled with risk and danger.  As a result, people are injured on a regular basis, and because of the prevalence of these workplace injuries several laws have been enacted designed to protect the rights of those who have been harmed.  One portion of federal law that provides for this protection to injured sea workers is known as maintenance and cure, and anyone who has been harmed while working at sea and who needs this form of recovery should seek the immediate help of Alaska maritime lawyers.  Below is a brief discussion of this form of legal protection.

Eligibility for Maintenance and Cure

Maintenance and cure is a form of recovery that's available to people who have either been injured or who have fallen ill while working at sea.  The employer who hired the injured or sick worker does not need to have been negligent such that this negligence led to the injury or illness.  Instead, the worker needs only to have become injured or ill while performing his or her job duties.

What is Maintenance?

Maintenance is the right for the injured or ill worker to receive payment for food and for lodging for each day that the worker is unable to return to his or her duties.  The specific amount of maintenance that's due is usually set out in an employment agreement, but experienced Alaska maritime lawyers can help an injured worker fight for a more reasonable payment amount to reflect the actual cost of living if the specified payment is unreasonably low.  This maintenance payment is to be paid until the injured or ill worker would have otherwise returned from the voyage that he or she is unable to attend.

What is Cure?

Cure is the basic reimbursement for medical expenses that have been incurred by the injured or ill sea worker.  The injured worker is entitled to receive full coverage from either the employer or the employer's insurance company for whatever reasonable medical care is required.  The worker is generally not required to pay any deductibles.  Coverage for this medical treatment is supposed to be paid until that worker has achieved ‘maximum medical improvement', which is the healthiest that the worker is going to get.  Many times, situations arise where the employer will require the injured or ill worker to obtain a second opinion from a doctor chosen by the employer.  These are situations where help from experienced Alaska maritime lawyers may be critically important.

How Alaska Maritime Lawyers Can Help

If you or someone you love has been injured while working at sea and you have had problems recovering maintenance, cure or your unearned wages to which you're entitled, you need to seek the help of Alaska maritime lawyers who have helped clients recover these costs as well as punitive damages, which are available for recovery in certain situations.  Contact Barber & Banker today to schedule a free initial consultation.