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Seamen are known to suffer depression and other mental health conditions at a rate far higher than the general population. If you are a seaman who is experiencing this, a California Jones Act maintenance and cure lawyer at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC can help you.
Maintenance and cure benefits are a broad right that seamen have to cover them in the event of any type of injury related to their job. This right extends not only to physical injuries, but also to mental health conditions that have resulted from their service on a vessel. While you may have a legal entitlement to these benefits, you are often forced to fight for them because employers and insurance companies can take a much more stringent view of these cases.
Given the difficult nature of these claims, you are better off seeking help from an experienced attorney before you file one. Schedule a free initial consultation with a Jones Act maintenance and cure attorney by calling us at (310) 773-5207 at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC, to discuss your case and get advocacy for your claim.
You May Be Entitled to Payments for Your Mental Health Condition
As a seaman who has been injured on the job, there are numerous pathways that you can take towards financial compensation for your injury. There are some injuries that are not necessarily the fault of your employer, but you are still entitled to some measure of compensation when they occur. While you may be facing a difficult claim, you may be entitled to maintenance and cure benefits for mental health conditions that you have developed as a result of your job.
Maintenance and cure benefits are intended to provide for an injured seaman until they reach the point of maximum medical improvement. You can qualify for these benefits, regardless of the nature of your injury. You may have an easier legal path ahead of you when you have suffered a physical injury that has tangible effects. Nevertheless, a mental health condition similarly means that you need medical care and will not be able to work, and it should lead to the same result. There is no legal requirement that an injury must be physical for you to be entitled to maintenance and cure benefits.
Mental Health Maintenance and Cure Claims Are Often Denied
The problem is that a mental health condition is somewhat more vague and less provable than a physical injury. When you are experiencing job-related mental health issues, your claim to maintenance and cure benefits depends on what you are reporting as your own condition. Your employer has every financial incentive to contest your claims. Either they are directly responsible for making these payments, or their insurance premiums will rise because their carrier must pay them. Accordingly, your claim could be denied for the following reasons:
- You have not suffered a physical injury that requires care or keeps you from working
- Your mental health condition was a pre-existing one (although you are entitled to benefits if your service on the ship aggravated a pre-existing condition)
- Your condition was not connected to your service on the vessel
- You knowingly concealed a mental health condition during the application process for your job
From your standpoint, it is vital that you get immediate treatment for your condition at the first possible opportunity. You will need extensive medical documentation of your condition from a licensed provider to have a chance of prevailing on your claim. You are also required to have a treatment plan in place and be prepared to provide evidence that you are following it. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you will need documentation that your mental health condition is related to your service on the vessel.
You have very strong legal protections when you file for maintenance and cure benefits. You have the ability to contest any denial of your claim with an eye towards forcing your employer to pay the benefits that you deserve. Unlike other types of workers’ compensation-related claims, you may even be entitled to punitive damages if you can prove that your employer or the insurance company acted egregiously in their denial. You can file a lawsuit in federal or state court, relying on admiralty law as the basis. Although it does not guarantee your success, courts have typically interpreted maintenance and cure obligations broadly as a protection due to the hazards that seamen face on the job. These hazards can encompass far more than physical injuries that you suffer due to a strenuous job.
Contact a California Jones Act Maintenance and Cure Law Firm
If your maintenance and cure claim has been delayed or denied, you need an experienced attorney in your corner. Contact the California Jones Act maintenance and cure attorneys at the Law Offices of Preston Easley, APC by filling out an online form or by calling us today at (310) 773-5207.
Preston Easley is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. He served five years of active duty as a Naval officer — three years as a deck officer on a fast frigate and two years as a patrol boat skipper. Mr. Easley also served aboard a tank landing ship in the reserves. Learn more here.
