When maritime employers stop paying maintenance and cure, injured seamen face immediate financial hardship while still recovering from their injuries. Employers may terminate payments without proper justification, hoping seamen will accept inadequate settlements or simply give up their claims. Understanding why employers stop paying and what remedies are available helps seamen protect their rights and recover the benefits they are entitled to under maritime law.
Why Employers Stop Paying
Maximum medical improvement claims are the most common justification employers give for terminating maintenance and cure. Employers argue the seaman has recovered as much as possible and further treatment will not improve their condition. However, employers often make this determination prematurely or based on biased medical examinations.
Allegations of pre-existing conditions provide another justification. Employers may claim the seaman concealed a known condition that would have affected hiring, which can defeat maintenance and cure obligations in some circumstances. However, employers who knew of conditions at hiring cannot later use them to deny benefits.
Claims that the injury is not work-related attempt to avoid the employment connection that triggers maintenance and cure. Employers may argue the injury occurred during off-duty activities or resulted from personal medical conditions rather than maritime employment.
Administrative failures sometimes result in payment termination. Changes in employer insurance, personnel transitions, or simple bureaucratic breakdowns may interrupt payments without any formal decision to terminate. While not intentional, these interruptions still harm seamen who depend on benefits during recovery.
Cost-cutting pressure leads some employers to terminate payments to reduce expenses. Maritime injuries can require extensive medical treatment, and employers may hope that terminating benefits will pressure seamen into quick settlements that save money. This strategy is illegal but common.
Your Rights When Payments Stop
Maintenance and cure is not a discretionary benefit—it is a legal obligation that employers cannot terminate without proper justification. Employers bear the burden of proving that circumstances justify termination, not seamen proving their continued entitlement.
Seamen have the right to receive maintenance and cure until they reach maximum medical improvement as determined by appropriate medical evidence. Employer-selected examiners who find MMI after brief examinations do not necessarily establish the point of maximum improvement.
Seamen are entitled to ongoing medical treatment necessary to achieve maximum improvement. The cure obligation covers all reasonable medical expenses including specialists, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and other treatment. Employers cannot select cheaper or less effective treatments.
The right to pursue legal action for wrongful termination includes claims for unpaid benefits, compensatory damages, attorneys' fees, and potentially punitive damages. Courts take maintenance and cure violations seriously and impose significant penalties on employers who wrongfully deny benefits.
Immediate Steps After Payment Stops
Document the termination by requesting written explanation from the employer. The date payments stopped, any stated reasons, and correspondence about termination create a record that may be important in litigation. Keep copies of all communications.
Continue receiving medical treatment as recommended by your physicians. Do not delay necessary care because the employer has stopped paying. The cure obligation exists regardless of the employer's conduct, and delayed treatment may harm both your health and your legal claims.
Document all expenses including medical costs, medications, and living expenses during the period when payments are stopped. These records support claims for unpaid maintenance and cure as well as compensatory damages for harm caused by the interruption.
Consult a maritime attorney promptly. The complexity of maintenance and cure law and the penalties available for wrongful denial require experienced legal guidance. Attorneys can evaluate whether termination was justified and pursue appropriate remedies.
Remedies for Wrongful Termination
Recovery of unpaid maintenance and cure is the baseline remedy. Seamen are entitled to all benefits that should have been paid during the wrongful termination period. Maintenance covers daily living expenses; cure covers all medical expenses.
Compensatory damages address harm caused by the wrongful termination. Medical conditions may worsen without proper treatment. Financial hardship causes stress that impedes recovery. Lost opportunities, damaged credit, and other consequential harms may be compensable.
Attorneys' fees are available when employers wrongfully deny maintenance and cure. This exception to the American rule reflects the serious nature of maintenance and cure obligations. Fee awards ensure seamen can afford to pursue their claims.
Punitive damages may be available when employer conduct is willful, callous, or shows reckless disregard for the seaman's rights. Courts have awarded substantial punitive damages when employers terminated benefits without investigation, ignored medical evidence, or used delay tactics to pressure seamen. These awards punish misconduct and deter future violations.
The Atlantic Sounding Standard
The Supreme Court's decision in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend confirmed that punitive damages are available for willful denial of maintenance and cure. This decision strengthened seamen's remedies by establishing that egregious employer conduct warrants punishment beyond compensation.
Willfulness may be shown by terminating benefits without investigation, ignoring evidence that the seaman needs ongoing treatment, relying on biased medical examiners, or using termination to pressure settlement. Patterns of conduct across multiple claims may demonstrate systemic willfulness.
The availability of punitive damages gives seamen significant leverage in maintenance and cure disputes. Employers who know they face punitive exposure may be more willing to continue benefits or settle claims rather than risk jury verdicts that include substantial punishment.
Fighting MMI Determinations
Employers often rely on independent medical examinations to claim the seaman has reached maximum medical improvement. These examinations are frequently conducted by physicians selected and paid by employers or their insurers, creating potential bias.
Seamen should continue treating with their own physicians and obtain opinions about whether further treatment may improve their condition. Treating physicians who know the seaman's history may disagree with employer examiners who conduct brief one-time evaluations.
Medical evidence battles are common in maintenance and cure disputes. Courts must weigh competing medical opinions, and treating physician testimony often carries significant weight. Detailed medical records documenting ongoing treatment needs support continued benefit entitlement.
Cure Rate Disputes
In addition to terminating payments entirely, employers may dispute the appropriate maintenance rate. Maintenance should cover reasonable living expenses, and employers may offer rates lower than actual costs.
Documentation of actual living expenses—rent, utilities, food costs—supports claims for adequate maintenance. Rates vary by location, with higher costs in metropolitan areas justifying higher maintenance payments. Courts have approved rates exceeding $100 per day in expensive locations.
Relationship to Other Claims
Maintenance and cure disputes often occur alongside Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness claims. These claims are separate, and maintenance and cure benefits are not deducted from negligence recoveries. Settlement negotiations must address all claims.
Employers may attempt to condition settlement of negligence claims on waiver of future maintenance and cure rights. Seamen should carefully evaluate whether settlements adequately compensate for any waived benefits, particularly when injuries may require ongoing treatment.
Conclusion
When employers stop paying maintenance and cure without proper justification, seamen have powerful legal remedies including recovery of unpaid benefits, compensatory damages, attorneys' fees, and punitive damages. The serious penalties for wrongful denial reflect maritime law's protection of injured seamen during recovery. Consulting experienced maritime attorneys when payments stop helps seamen understand their rights and pursue all available remedies against employers who fail to meet their legal obligations.