Know Your Rights
If you've ever been on a towboat, ship, jackup rig, etc. when an injury has occurred, you know that the company lawyers and claims representatives are usually on board as soon as possible doing their best to make the accident appear to be the worker’s fault, and thus reduce the amount of money that the company will be forced to pay on the claim. This is why it is so important that the injured worker have their own attorneys be on the case as soon as possible, in order to conduct an investigation independent of the company's people.
In addition to your rights under the Jones Act and for unseaworthiness, you, as a maritime employee, have a right to maintenance payments should you be injured or become ill while aboard the vessel and must get off for medical attention. You are entitled to maintenance payments from the date you get off to the date you are released to return to the vessel, or you have reached the point of maximum medical cure. This is to be paid for every calendar day you are off, not for scheduled days on the vessel. Even if you have ATO (accumulated time off) days coming to you, this is to have no effect on your maintenance pay. Your ATO days are part of your wages for the days you were on the vessel, and are not to be used should you have to get off the towboat, ship, etc. due to an injury that happened while on the job. Any disability payments made by an insurance company under a long- or short-term disability plan are NOT credited against maintenance, but are additional to maintenance. The company is NOT entitled to deduct anything from maintenance, not even child support or wage deduction orders. If the company is not paying you your full maintenance, you should probably consult an attorney who is familiar with maritime law.
You are NOT eligible for maintenance payments should you get off the vessel due to an illness or physical condition which you knew of prior to getting on the vessel. If an illness which you had no reason to know of causes you to leave the vessel, the company owes you maintenance even though the illness is "not their fault." Most companies will only pay maintenance for illness if they are forced to do so by a competent maritime attorney.
The maritime employee also has the right to treatment by a physician of his or her own choice. You are not obligated by law to go to a company doctor to keep your benefits in force. You should be suspicious any time a company representative makes a doctor's appointment for you or tells you that he wants to go to the doctor's office with you. These are sure signs that the doctor is very friendly to the company and will minimize the extent of your injury.
The insurance company's rules require that an ACCIDENT REPORT be provided in the event of an injury. Since your financial future may very well be at stake, it is unwise and unfair to yourself and your family to hold back on saying what the employer did wrong or what equipment or place was defective. Be brief, but be sure to state what caused the injury, keeping in mind the need to establish negligence. It will be very difficult, if not impossible, to convince a jury of something, which you could have put in the accident report but did not. If you fell because of oil on the deck put it in the accident report; otherwise the company lawyer will be able to argue to the jury that what you say you fell in really was never there because you didn't put it in the accident report.
If an injury is caused, wholly or partly, by a defect in equipment or a work area it is very important that the defect be recognized and noted. Such a defect can provide ironclad evidence of the vessel's unseaworthiness. Therefore, it is very important that the injured employee and the entire crew note any problems such as the winch not operating, defective wire or line, and grain or debris on the deck of barges.
While all the facts are fresh in your mind, make notes of all crew members' names and town they live in, that were aboard the vessel at the time of your injury, noting which crew member may have witnessed your accident. They need not be an eyewitness to help verify the facts of what caused an injury. Therefore, in order to help prove the maritime employer's liability the names of all persons in the area should be written down and that note should be kept for later use.
Under the Jones Act Law, you are under no obligation to give a written or recorded STATEMENT to the company or claim agent, even though the rest of the crew may be asked to do so. Statements taken by a company representative or claim agent are accomplished by following elaborate guidelines designed to assist the maritime employer's case against the injured employee. Do not allow the company representative to write out your statement for you. The other witnesses who may be asked to give a statement should again keep in mind the requirements of negligence and attempt to insert those in any statement.
Remember, within hours of a maritime employee's injury, the employer has their staff of claim agents and lawyers all attempting to defeat or lessen your injury claim as much as possible. You also have that same right to obtain counsel and receive the maximum compensation possible for your injury, thereby protecting yourself and your family.
Contact us anytime to schedule a FREE CONSULTATION with an attorney experienced in the area in which you require assistance.
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