Maintenance and Cure

Maintenance and Cure is a no-fault maritime obligation requiring a shipowner or employer to pay a seaman's daily living expenses (maintenance) and medical costs (cure) when the seaman becomes ill or injured in the service of the ship. The duty applies regardless of who was at fault and continues until the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement. For asbestos disease, this can mean ongoing coverage for treatment long after the original employment ended.

Origin

The doctrine traces to medieval European sea codes such as the Rolls of Oléron (c. 12th century) and was absorbed into American law through early U.S. Supreme Court decisions, most notably Justice Story's opinion in Harden v. Gordon (1823), which recognized the shipowner's ancient duty to care for sick and injured mariners.

Significance in Asbestos Context

If you worked as a merchant mariner, Navy crewmember (in limited circumstances), tugboat hand, fisherman, or other vessel-based worker and were exposed to asbestos aboard ship, Maintenance and Cure may give you a separate avenue for recovery alongside any Jones Act negligence claim or product-liability lawsuit against asbestos manufacturers. Unlike most asbestos claims, you do not need to prove the employer was negligent, only that you were a seaman, that the illness manifested or its cause arose during your service, and that you still need treatment. Because mesothelioma and lung cancer often appear decades after sea service, disputes commonly focus on whether the disease arose 'in the service of the ship' and whether you have reached maximum medical improvement; with progressive asbestos cancers, many courts have held that MMI is never reached, meaning the duty continues for life. Employers who unreasonably deny Maintenance and Cure can be liable for additional compensatory and even punitive damages under Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend (2009).

Example Sentence

After his mesothelioma diagnosis, the retired tanker engineer's maritime attorney filed for Maintenance and Cure against his former shipping employer to cover his chemotherapy bills and daily living costs while his Jones Act case moved forward.

Related Terms

Jones Act, Seaman Status, Maximum Medical Improvement, Maritime Law, Unseaworthiness, Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act

Notes

• Gather and preserve proof of seaman status: discharge papers (Coast Guard Form 718A), Merchant Mariner documents, union records, ship assignment logs, and sea-service letters. Your attorney will need these to establish you qualify.
• Ask your maritime attorney whether your asbestos-related cancer can be argued to preclude ever reaching maximum medical improvement, which can extend the cure obligation indefinitely.
• Keep itemized records of all out-of-pocket medical costs, transportation to treatment, and daily living expenses; maintenance is typically paid as a daily rate and cure reimburses medical bills.
• If an employer or its insurer denies or delays payment without a reasonable investigation, tell your lawyer immediately. Willful denial can trigger attorney's fees and punitive damages.
• Maintenance and Cure is separate from, and can be pursued alongside, Jones Act negligence claims and product-liability suits against asbestos manufacturers; do not let one filing foreclose the others.