Maintenance and Cure: An Injured Seaman’s Right to Daily Pay and Medical Care

If you are a seaman and you get hurt or sick in the service of your vessel, the law hands you something you do not have to prove fault to receive: a daily living allowance and full medical care, starting almost immediately. It is called maintenance and cure, it is one of the oldest rights in American law, and the most common way it goes wrong is that employers pay too little, cut it off too early, or deny it on a technicality. Knowing what you are actually owed is the difference between a lowball check and the support that carries you through recovery.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Employers often underpay or terminate these benefits, so consult a licensed maritime attorney about your situation.

Key Facts at a Glance

• Maintenance and cure is a no-fault right owed to a seaman injured or taken ill in the service of the vessel (Source: Nolo).
• Maintenance covers daily living costs like rent, food, and utilities, while cure covers reasonable medical care (Source: Johns Law Group).
• Employers often try to pay low “standard” maintenance rates of roughly $15 to $40 a day, which a seaman can challenge with proof of actual expenses (Source: Lambert Zainey).
• The benefit ends at maximum medical improvement, the point where further treatment will not improve the condition (Source: Kraft Davies Olsson).
• A seaman generally has the right to choose his own treating doctor (Source: Morris Bart).
• An employer that willfully fails to pay can owe punitive damages under Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend (Source: Justia, Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend).
• A seaman who concealed a material pre-existing condition at hiring can be denied under the McCorpen defense (Source: Justia, McCorpen v. Central Gulf).

Why Maintenance and Cure Matters More Than Most Seamen Realize

Maintenance and cure is the income and medical lifeline that keeps an injured seaman afloat while the larger case develops, and most seamen do not realize it is entirely separate from a Jones Act negligence claim (Source: VB Attorneys). This guide explains who qualifies, exactly what maintenance and cure each cover and how much, when the benefit ends, your right to your own doctor, how it differs from a Jones Act claim, what happens when an employer refuses to pay, and the one defense that can defeat it, with worked examples throughout.

What Is Maintenance and Cure?

It is a contractual right under general maritime law, owed by the vessel owner to a seaman who falls ill or is injured while in the service of the vessel, and it has two parts. Maintenance is a daily allowance meant to cover the seaman’s living expenses ashore during recovery, and cure is the employer’s duty to pay for reasonable and necessary medical treatment (Source: Nolo). The right begins at the time of injury and is owed regardless of who was at fault, even if the seaman’s own carelessness contributed (Source: VB Attorneys). It applies whether the injury or illness happened at sea or ashore, so long as the seaman was in the service of the vessel. Because it does not depend on proving anyone did anything wrong, it is usually the first and fastest source of support after a maritime injury.

Who Qualifies for Maintenance and Cure?

Only seamen, but most working crew members qualify. The right runs to a worker who is a seaman, meaning someone with a substantial connection to a vessel in navigation, generally understood as spending about 30 percent or more of working time aboard a vessel, consistent with the seaman-status standard in Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis (Source: Justia, Chandris v. Latsis). A deckhand, engineer, cook, or mate aboard a working vessel qualifies; a purely land-based worker does not. If you do not qualify as a seaman, you may instead be entitled to medical coverage and wage replacement under the Longshore Act, which is a separate no-fault system (Source: Cornell LII, 33 U.S.C. § 905). Establishing seaman status is therefore the gateway to maintenance and cure, and it is the same status that supports a Jones Act claim.

What Does Maintenance Cover, and How Much Is It?

Maintenance is meant to replace your reasonable cost of room and board ashore, no more and no less, and this is where disputes are most common. It should cover expenses such as rent or mortgage, food, and utilities, but not discretionary costs like cable, internet, or car payments (Source: Johns Law Group). The table below shows the line.

Maintenance generally covers	Maintenance generally does not cover	Note
Rent or mortgage	Cable and internet	Room and board only (source)
Food and groceries	Car payments	Discretionary costs excluded (source)
Utilities (heat, water, power)	Entertainment	Based on actual reasonable costs (source)
Property taxes / lodging cost	Credit-card debt	Tied to where you actually live (source)
Reasonable daily living costs	Lost wages (those go to the Jones Act claim)	Maintenance is not wage replacement (source)

On amount, employers frequently offer low flat rates, often in the range of $15 to $40 a day, that do not reflect what it actually costs to live, and a seaman can challenge an inadequate rate with proof of real expenses such as rent receipts and utility bills (Source: Lambert Zainey). A maintenance rate set by a union collective bargaining agreement is generally enforceable, but a rate buried in an ordinary employment contract that fails to cover actual room and board is often not, and the seaman can recover the difference (Source: Kraft Davies Olsson).

What Does Cure Cover, and When Does It End?

Cure is broad while it lasts, and the fight is usually about when it ends. Cure covers all reasonable and necessary medical treatment for the injury or illness, including emergency care, hospitalization, surgery, physical therapy, medications, and transportation to and from medical appointments, paid by the employer directly or reimbursed to the seaman (Source: Naylor Law). The obligation continues until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement, the point at which the condition is stable and will not improve with further treatment (Source: Kraft Davies Olsson). A crucial distinction governs that endpoint: treatment is curative if it may improve the underlying condition, but palliative care that only relieves symptoms, such as ongoing pain medication, does not extend cure, so once only palliative care remains, the obligation ends. Maximum medical improvement does not mean full recovery; a seaman can reach it while still disabled, which is why the timing is so often contested.

Do You Get Maintenance and Cure Even If the Accident Was Your Fault?

Yes, and this is what makes it so valuable. Maintenance and cure is a no-fault right, so it is owed even when the seaman’s own negligence contributed to the injury, and even when no one was negligent at all (Source: VB Attorneys). This sets it apart from a Jones Act negligence claim, which requires proof of fault. As a worked example: a deckhand who slips on a wet deck because of his own momentary inattention, with no one else at fault, still receives maintenance and cure throughout his recovery, even though a pure negligence claim might be weak. The no-fault nature is precisely why it functions as an immediate safety net, and why an employer’s refusal to pay it is so serious.

Can You Choose Your Own Doctor?

Generally yes, and you should be cautious about the employer’s doctor. A seaman has the right to select his own treating physician, and while an employer may send the seaman for an initial evaluation, the seaman is not required to keep treating with a company-chosen doctor and may obtain a second opinion (Source: Morris Bart). This matters because employers sometimes use a company physician, often labeled an independent medical examiner, to declare maximum medical improvement early and shut off maintenance and cure, which can be devastating in catastrophic cases like paralysis, brain injury, or cancer (Source: Naylor Law). Because the endpoint of cure is a medical determination, the opinion of the seaman’s own treating doctor carries real weight against an early cutoff.

How Is Maintenance and Cure Different From a Jones Act Claim?

They are separate remedies, and an injured seaman can pursue both at once. Maintenance and cure is a no-fault benefit for living costs and medical care, while a Jones Act claim requires proving negligence but recovers full damages, including pain and suffering and lost earning capacity (Source: VB Attorneys). The table below compares the three classic seaman’s remedies.

Remedy	Fault required?	What it pays	Source
Maintenance and cure	No	Daily living allowance + medical care to MMI	Nolo
Jones Act negligence	Yes (employer negligence)	Full damages: lost earnings, pain and suffering	§ 30104
Unseaworthiness	No (absolute duty)	Full damages if the vessel was unfit	Mitchell
Can you combine them?	Yes	M&C runs alongside a Jones Act / unseaworthiness suit	VB Attorneys
Double recovery?	No on cure-paid medical	You cannot recover the same medical bills twice	Kraft Davies

What Happens If the Employer Refuses to Pay?

The law punishes an unjustified refusal, and the penalties escalate with the employer’s conduct. A seaman whose maintenance and cure is denied, delayed, or terminated without justification can sue to recover the unpaid benefits, and if the failure was unreasonable the seaman can also recover attorney’s fees, which the Supreme Court recognized in Vaughan v. Atkinson (Source: Justia, Vaughan v. Atkinson). If the refusal was willful and wanton, the seaman may additionally recover punitive damages, which the Supreme Court confirmed in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend (Source: Justia, Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend). This tiered structure, unpaid benefits, then attorney’s fees for unreasonable denial, then punitive damages for willful denial, gives an injured seaman real leverage and is the reason a documented demand for maintenance and cure often gets results that an informal request does not.

Can the Employer Deny It for a Pre-existing Condition?

Only in a specific situation, through what is known as the McCorpen defense. Under McCorpen v. Central Gulf Steamship Corp., an employer can defeat a maintenance and cure claim if it proves three things: that the seaman intentionally concealed or misrepresented a medical condition, that the concealment was material to the employer’s decision to hire, and that there is a causal link between the concealed condition and the current injury (Source: Justia, McCorpen v. Central Gulf). The defense is narrow but real: it does not apply merely because a seaman had a prior condition, only where the seaman hid it on a pre-employment questionnaire or exam designed to elicit it. As a worked example: a seaman who truthfully disclosed an old back problem and later reinjured his back keeps his maintenance and cure, while one who concealed that history on his hiring physical may lose it. Honest disclosure at hiring is the simplest protection against this defense.

How Long Do You Have to Act?

The window is governed by the maritime limitations period, generally three years from the date of injury for the related Jones Act and general maritime claims (Source: Cornell LII, 46 U.S.C. § 30106). Practically, though, you should act much sooner than that, because maintenance and cure is meant to support you now, during recovery, not years later. The moment an employer underpays, delays, or cuts off the benefit, the documentation that wins, your actual living expenses, your treating doctor’s view on whether you have truly reached maximum medical improvement, and the record of the demand and the refusal, should be assembled. Waiting lets the employer’s early-MMI narrative harden and lets the support you need slip away during the very months you need it most.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is maintenance and cure?

It is a seaman’s no-fault right to a daily living allowance and medical care after an injury or illness in the service of the vessel, owed until maximum medical improvement (Source: Nolo).

How much is maintenance per day?

Employers often offer low rates of roughly $15 to $40 a day, but a seaman can challenge an inadequate rate with proof of actual living expenses (Source: Lambert Zainey). For help, get a free case review.

When does maintenance and cure end?

It ends at maximum medical improvement, the point where further treatment will not improve the condition; palliative-only care does not extend it (Source: Kraft Davies Olsson).

Do I get it if the accident was my fault?

Yes. Maintenance and cure is owed regardless of fault, even if your own negligence contributed (Source: VB Attorneys).

Can I use my own doctor?

Generally yes; you may choose your own treating physician and get a second opinion rather than rely on the company’s doctor (Source: Morris Bart).

What if my employer refuses to pay?

You can sue for the unpaid benefits, recover attorney’s fees for an unreasonable denial under Vaughan v. Atkinson, and recover punitive damages for a willful denial under Townsend (Sources: Vaughan; Townsend).

Can a pre-existing condition cost me my benefits?

Only if you concealed it. Under the McCorpen defense, benefits can be denied if you intentionally hid a material condition at hiring that is connected to your injury (Source: Justia, McCorpen v. Central Gulf).

The Bottom Line

Maintenance and cure is a seaman’s oldest and most immediate protection: a no-fault daily living allowance and full medical care, owed from the moment of injury until maximum medical improvement, and separate from and on top of any Jones Act or unseaworthiness claim. The recurring problems are predictable. Employers pay maintenance rates too low to live on, lean on a company doctor to declare maximum medical improvement early, or raise the McCorpen concealment defense. Each has an answer: prove your actual expenses, rely on your own treating physician, and disclose honestly at hiring. And if the employer withholds the benefit unreasonably or willfully, Vaughan and Townsend put attorney’s fees and punitive damages on the table. Document your expenses and your treatment, and do not accept a lowball rate or an early cutoff as the final word.

References and Sources

1. Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 30104: Cornell Legal Information Institute
2. Maritime statute of limitations, 46 U.S.C. § 30106: Cornell Legal Information Institute
3. LHWCA (alternative coverage for non-seamen), 33 U.S.C. § 905: Cornell Legal Information Institute
4. Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009) (punitive damages): Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center
5. Vaughan v. Atkinson, 369 U.S. 527 (1962) (attorney’s fees): Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center
6. McCorpen v. Central Gulf Steamship Corp., 396 F.2d 547 (5th Cir. 1968) (concealment defense): Justia
7. Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347 (1995) (seaman status): Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center
8. Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, Inc., 362 U.S. 539 (1960) (unseaworthiness): Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center
9. What maintenance and cure is (no-fault, MMI): Nolo
10. Maintenance rates, cure scope, MMI, company-doctor tactics: Naylor Law
11. What maintenance covers vs. does not; seaman status: Johns Law Group
12. Curative vs. palliative care; enforceable CBA rates: Kraft Davies Olsson
13. Lowball maintenance rates and proving actual expenses: Lambert Zainey
14. Maintenance and cure separate from the Jones Act claim: VB Attorneys
15. Right to choose your own doctor; how benefits are paid: Morris Bart

Editorial Standards and Review

This article follows a zero-hallucination policy. The maintenance-and-cure doctrine is general maritime law; its scope, endpoint, and the seaman’s right to choose a doctor are cited to experienced maritime practitioners, and the controlling case authorities, Chandris v. Latsis on seaman status, Mitchell v. Trawler Racer on unseaworthiness, Vaughan v. Atkinson on attorney’s fees, Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend on punitive damages, and McCorpen v. Central Gulf on the concealment defense, are cited to the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals opinions. Dollar maintenance rates are described as the low ranges employers commonly offer, not as legally required amounts, since maintenance is based on a seaman’s actual reasonable expenses. The worked examples are illustrative and not specific cases. OffshoreInjuryHelp.com is an informational resource, not a law firm, and does not provide legal representation; it connects injured seamen and their families with experienced maritime attorneys. Learn more on our Editorial Standards page. Last reviewed: June 1, 2026.