What is the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
Maritime workers are at a heightened risk of injury at work. As they load cargo, repair ships, and maintain port facilities, they’re more likely to suffer from damages in their...
Maritime work keeps commerce moving, yet injuries and illnesses can occur even on well-run vessels. Maritime law answers that risk with maintenance and cure – a no-fault benefit that covers daily living costs and medical care while you recover. You do not have to prove negligence to receive these payments, and you do not give up other claims by accepting them.
If you need maintenance and cure in Louisiana, you deserve clear guidance, steady support, and a path forward that respects both your health and your livelihood. We provide all of that and more at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.
Our legal team helps you understand what qualifies, how to collect maritime benefits for seamen, and when to press for more. We keep the tone calm and practical so you can make informed decisions with confidence. When you are ready to speak with legal counsel, we will listen, evaluate the facts, and map a plan that fits your goals. Please get in touch for more information on how we can help.
Maintenance is the daily stipend that replaces the food and lodging you lost when an injury or illness forced you off the vessel. Think rent or mortgage, utilities, basic groceries, and similar necessities. Courts focus on what it costs you to maintain a modest household while you recover on shore. The amount should match your real, reasonable living expenses, not an arbitrary number.
Cure is the medical side of the benefit. Covered items include doctor visits, hospital care, prescriptions, physical therapy, diagnostic testing, surgery, durable medical equipment, and transportation to medical appointments when needed. Care must be reasonable, necessary, and related to the injury or illness you suffered while in the service of the vessel.
Coverage for maintenance and cure in Louisiana lasts until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI). MMI means additional treatment will not materially improve your condition. Many disputes center on that line. We will gather medical opinions and objective records to show where you truly stand on the road to recovery.
Maritime benefits for seamen include maintenance and cure when they suffer an injury or illness while in the service of a vessel. You do not have to be on the clock or performing a specific task at the instant symptoms start. Courts interpret “in the service of the vessel” broadly, capturing a range of duties and living aboard realities that come with maritime work. Shore leave episodes and off-duty moments can still qualify when the connection to service remains real.
Status as a seaman requires a substantial connection to a vessel or fleet of vessels in navigation. Inland towboats, offshore supply vessels, and dredges all fit within that framework. If your assignments tie you regularly to vessels under common ownership or control, you likely meet the standard. When questions arise, we will assemble dispatch logs, crewing records, and testimony to show the nature of your connection.
Requests for maintenance and cure are separate from an unseaworthiness claim or a negligence claim under the Jones Act. You can pursue all pathways together without forfeiting one for another. That flexibility matters when injuries have multiple causes or when medical needs outpace early payments. A Louisiana maritime law attorney with Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers will clearly spell out all of your legal options and handle whatever complexities arise.
Start by notifying your employer or the vessel’s designated contact that you are seeking maintenance and cure. Provide a straightforward description of the incident or onset, along with the date, location, and the vessel involved. Early notice helps the claim move without delay and increases your chances of obtaining maritime benefits for seamen.
Keep organized records. Save rent receipts, utility bills, and grocery totals so maintenance reflects true living costs rather than a low, outdated daily rate. For cure, maintain a folder with prescriptions, appointment summaries, referrals, and mileage or travel receipts tied to medical care. Accuracy and consistency strengthen your request and reduce back-and-forth.
Our maritime lawyer will prepare a demand that states your seaman status, explains the injury-or-illness connection to vessel service, and documents every dollar sought. Suppose the company accepts your claim but proposes a maintenance amount that does not fit your real housing and food costs. In that case, we will present a complete expense picture and press for an adjustment supported by receipts and sworn statements.
Some employers contest whether you are a seaman, whether the condition arose in the service of a vessel, or whether a preexisting condition breaks the chain of coverage. Others argue that care has reached MMI when treating physicians disagree. A few attempt to impose a fixed maintenance rate that does not reflect modern housing costs.
An additional friction point is the company-doctor problem. You have a right to reasonable and necessary treatment, including the use of physicians you trust. Conflicts between independent providers and company-aligned clinics often drive delay. Our maritime law attorney will gather opinions from treating physicians, highlight objective findings, and request prompt payment of undisputed amounts while the contested portions are evaluated.
Employers sometimes claim intentional concealment of a material medical condition during hiring. That defense requires proof of a false or incomplete response to a medical questionnaire, materiality to the job, and a causal link to the current condition. We will analyze pre-employment forms, prior records, and job demands to challenge any overreach and to keep benefits moving where the defense fails.
Lawsuits become necessary when an employer denies, delays, or short-pays benefits without a good-faith reason. Court involvement may also be appropriate if the company refuses to honor your choice of physician, stops payments before MMI, or ignores clear evidence that a recommended treatment is curative. Filing suit allows you to seek unpaid maintenance and cure, interest, and—in cases of willful, wanton refusal—punitive damages and legal fees.
Deadlines matter. Maritime limitations periods vary by claim type, and evidence is easier to gather earlier in the process. Prompt action helps protect your rights while negotiations continue. Filing can proceed while benefits flow, especially when a partial dispute lingers over rates or the scope of specialist care.
A maritime lawyer with Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers will evaluate whether the record supports punitive damages for a stubborn refusal to pay. Courts have recognized that intentional or reckless nonpayment undermines the nce and cure, and a targeted suit can correct that conduct while compensating you for the added burden.
You can expect steady communication and careful preparation. We will explain the difference between maintenance and cure and fault-based claims so you can make informed choices about each path. Our focus remains on restoring benefits quickly, building leverage for any parallel claims, and keeping paperwork under control.
While a settlement will always remain a possibility, we will be ready to go to court if needed. When companies pay late or stop without cause, litigation can reset the process and protect your rights. Our maritime attorney will file targeted motions and use discovery to obtain internal communications, audits, and policy documents that explain why benefits stalled. That pressure often drives resolution.
MMI does not mean full recovery. It marks the point where further curative care is unlikely to improve your condition in a meaningful way. Palliative treatment can continue after MMI for symptoms and pain, while maintenance and cure generally stops at MMI for curative items. Disputes arise when a recommended surgery, injection series, or rehabilitative program offers meaningful improvement, but the company claims it will not change the outcome.
Objective medical evidence carries weight. Functional capacity evaluations, consistent imaging findings, and well-documented therapy progress often move a disputed case toward resolution. If the company refuses to consider credible medical opinions and stops paying prematurely, additional legal action may be required to restart payments and address the improper cutoff.
We will work with your doctors to prepare concise statements that explain the treatment path and expected gains. Clear timelines and realistic goals help resolve disputes before they become lawsuits.
Louisiana ports support inland towing, offshore energy, commercial fishing, and other types of maritime traffic. That mix creates unique duty cycles, vessel designs, and medical access issues that can complicate benefits. When you seek maintenance and cure in Louisiana, you still rely on federal maritime principles. However, local medical networks, housing costs, and transportation realities shape what maintenance and cure should look like day to day.
The legal professionals with Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers often see conflicts tied to low, legacy maintenance rates that do not reflect current rents in port cities and coastal parishes. We also see cure disputes when specialist appointments require travel from remote docks to regional medical centers. Accurate budgets, appointment records, and mileage logs bring those gaps into focus and support a proper adjustment.
If you search for reliable guidance on maritime benefits for seamen, you will find familiar rules, but your facts will drive the outcome. We will tailor the presentation of proof to fit work patterns common to inland fleets and offshore operations that call Louisiana home.
The following are important steps for a strong claim:
Payments continue until MMI. Your treating providers define that point through progress notes, exam findings, and outcomes. If a recommended treatment has a meaningful chance to improve function, maintenance and cure should continue during that period. Disputes about MMI are resolved with objective medical proof and, when necessary, judicial review.
Yes. You control reasonable and necessary medical care tied to your injury or illness. Company doctors can participate, yet you are not confined to a single path when evidence supports a different course. Second opinions and specialist referrals carry weight when they rest on testing and documented improvement.
You can request reconsideration with added documentation, pursue unpaid amounts through litigation, and seek punitive damages and legal fees when the refusal is willful or reckless. Prompt action protects your position and reduces the chance that important records go missing.
If you need maintenance and cure in Louisiana, or if you need help obtaining maritime benefits for seamen, the professionals with Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers are ready to help you weigh options and act decisively. Schedule a free consultation by contacting us online or calling 318-221-1508.
We understand you have many questions after your accident. Here are answers to the concerns we hear most often from Louisiana families:
"I quickly, learned two rules in this business.
First, defendants in an injury suit put up obstacles and barriers. They want the case to take as long as possible, because it wears the plaintiff down. I have learned that if you run at those barriers hard enough, and fast enough, many of them will disappear.
Second, "The fastest way to settle a case is to prepare for trial. Insurance companies know which firms will go to court, which will not, and who can win. It is important to choose a firm that is committed to the results you want.”
Our team of intake specialists is ready to listen to you and gather all the information for a free, confidential case evaluation. We will hear you out, take what you say seriously, and then round up with our legal team.
Our lawyers will provide you with no-obligation feedback on your case, usually on the same day, but no later than 24 hours. We will give you the appropriate course of action for your situation.
If your case is a good fit for our firm and you graciously allow us to represent you, our team will begin working immediately. We will investigate, send the appropriate letters to stop insurance companies from harassing you, and start your medical recovery.
Our internal process is transparent with high levels of communication from the opening of your case to the final handshake. Our firm will promptly return your phone calls and keep you informed. You will know the exact status of your case. Our case managers and attorneys are committed to making a difficult situation as stress-free as possible.
