Punitive damages for willful refusal to pay maintenance and cure, per Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend (2009).
A blow to the head offshore is not just another bump. When a falling tool, a slip on a wet deck, or a collision injures your brain, the consequences can follow you for the rest of your life, and the law that protects you is unlike anything a land-based worker relies on. IN SHORT A…
A fire or explosion on a rig or vessel produces some of the most catastrophic injuries in the maritime world. Offshore burn injuries are life-altering, expensive to treat, and, because help is hours away by helicopter, often far more severe than the same burn would be on land. The law that applies can determine whether…
When a seaman is hurt at sea, the employer owes a daily living allowance called maintenance until the seaman recovers. The amount sounds simple, but employers routinely pay far less than the law requires. Here is how the maintenance rate is actually set, and how to challenge a lowball figure. In short: There is no…
Losing a family member in an accident far out at sea is devastating, and the law that governs that loss is often harsher and narrower than families expect. Here, in plain terms, is how the Death on the High Seas Act works and what it means for your family. In short: The Death on the…
When a family asks what a maritime wrongful death case is worth, the honest first answer is a question: where did the death happen, and was the worker a seaman? Those two facts decide which law applies, and the law decides what the case can pay, often before any number is negotiated. In short: Maritime…
Few questions in maritime law are misunderstood as often as this one: when can an injured seaman, or a grieving family, recover punitive damages on top of their losses? The honest answer is that maritime law treats punitive damages as a powerful but narrow remedy, available for some claims and flatly barred for others. In…
When a cruise ship crew member is injured at sea, the first shock is the accident. The second is discovering that the employment contract they signed, often without a lawyer and on a take-it-or-leave-the-ship basis, quietly stripped away the American jury trial they assumed they had and replaced it with private arbitration in a foreign…
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…
After a serious injury on a fishing boat, the first question is almost always about money: what is my case worth, and how will I provide for my family? The figures online swing from a few hundred thousand dollars to several million, and that spread is not noise. It reflects how much the value of…
When a maritime worker dies far out at sea, a single line on a chart, three nautical miles from shore, can decide which law governs the family’s claim and how much their loss is worth under it. Few rules in maritime law have such uneven consequences. In short: The Death on the High Seas Act…
