Crew member sues Conception

[FF / EMT]

This appears to be the original complaint: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjATegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw2AhNRFiKEruMXXBfBHrj3h

I'm not surprised he's suing given the injuries he sustained. I doubt someone in his line of work has adequate resources to cover those medical expenses plus lost wages while he recovers. I've often wondered how many fewer tort claims would be filed if we had universal healthcare and disability insurance. If everyone pushing for tort reform pushed equally hard for those things, maybe we'd find out. But I guess that's neither here nor there.

Uh healthcare isn’t going to pay for a injury sustained at work, that’s one of the questions they ask, did this injury happen at work.
His injuries would be covered under WC unless he was a sub contractor.


If the workplace was unsafe, why wasn’t it reported to osha?

 

[cerich]

Uh healthcare isn’t going to pay for a injury sustained at work, that’s one of the questions they ask, did this injury happen at work.
His injuries would be covered under WC unless he was a sub contractor.


If the workplace was unsafe, why wasn’t it reported to osha?

he was the steward and he may not have known enough to judge as a newish employee and non professional mariner, just speculation

 

[Johnoly]

...His injuries would be covered under WC unless he was a sub contractor.
....
If the workplace was unsafe, why wasn’t it reported to osha?

You are thinking this happened on solid land. But it didn't.
That's why @Wookie stated "Jones Act" that you can look up.

 

[chillyinCanada]

what stands out to me is that the crew who is injured is obviously not getting paid, that is insane on so many levels

I'm sorry, I don't see where he's not getting paid?

Also, how does he have leave to sue the chartering company?

 

[Wookie]

what stands out to me is that the crew who is injured is obviously not getting paid, that is insane on so many levels

Yes. Had they provided maintenance and cure, his standing would have been far less. And their Jones act limit of liability should not have affected their general liability, as the policies are (in my experience as a jones act employer) separate.

 

[Wookie]

Uh healthcare isn’t going to pay for a injury sustained at work, that’s one of the questions they ask, did this injury happen at work.
His injuries would be covered under WC unless he was a sub contractor.


If the workplace was unsafe, why wasn’t it reported to osha?

OSHA and WC don’t work in maritime. Unsafe conditions would be reported to the Coast Guard, and what you would call Workman’s Comp is referred to as Maintenance and Cure under the Jones Act.

 

[Wookie]

he was the steward and he may not have known enough to judge as a newish employee and non professional mariner, just speculation

Stewards are professional mariners, just not deckhands or engineers. They are stewards department. Chief Stewards make as much as a chief engineer or chief mate.

 

[Esprise Me]

Everything I know about the Jones Act comes from Wookie and this: Maritime Worker Injuries - The Basics

This article indicates the plaintiff had been hired three weeks before the accident: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nb...-Fire-California-Lawsuit-560770251.html?amp=y

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

‘Looks back through all the posts about how people knew the owner and he was such a great guy’...

But seriously, this may well be a mandated insurance company move and nothing to do with the owners etc. The insurer may be forcing this. The owners may well not have any control over this filing...

 

[Wookie]

I'm sorry, I don't see where he's not getting paid?

Also, how does he have leave to sue the chartering company?

So, Jones Act is in favor of the Mariner over the ship owner. Not that there aren’t plenty of goodies for the ship owner as well, but anyway. Jones Act says that the Mariner must be provided with maintenance and cure, that is, you have to pay him a salary, and you have to fix what ails him. So what if the Mariner, lets say he’s a chief scientist at a marijuana lab pulling $200g a year and he is a volunteer on the dive boat on weekends, and let’s say he jumped off the boat and broke his leg, and he is in traction in the hospital. And it doesn’t matter if the Mariner broke his leg during the performance of his duties or not, he could have jumped off for a dive by himself and broken his leg and he is still a qualified jones act Mariner. You not only have to pay his hospital bills, but you have to pay his salary a percentage based on what he could be earning even in his day job. Because he can’t do marijuana science while in traction, the ship owner pays him (IIRC) 2/3 of his base salary at the marijuana lab. Or 2/3 of his salary as a deckhand, whichever is more. The maintenance and cure start immediately. The vessel owner pays it out of pocket weekly as soon as it happens. The pricing is negotiable. I had 2 Jones Act claims against me my whole career. In the first, a deckhand (weekend volunteer) tore his rotator cuff trying to recover a set of dive gear from the swim platform in particularly rough seas. He was an IT professional at Dell I think. He could still work, so he didn’t ask for any maintenance. I paid his deductible for shoulder surgery, so he was not out of pocket for maintenance and cure, and we negotiated the end result. The second case was a destroyed knee. I paid him 2/3 of his average seasonal salary and paid 100% of his meniscus tear. I filed a claim with my Jones Act carrier when it was over and they reimbursed me all except my deductible.

But it’s important to understand that the owner owes the Mariner regardless of the status of the owner’s insurance, and I imagine this is running into tens of thousands right away. The owner pays up front and is reimbursed by his carrier.