Seattle Maritime Injury Lawyer Blog

Maintenance and Cure for Washington State Ferry Workers

April 22, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Under maritime law, a Washington State Ferry employee who is a member of the crew of a ferry is entitled to maintenance and cure if they are injured or become ill while in the service of the vessel. You are entitled to coverage if the condition manifest or was aggravated while in the service of the ferry. Under some circumstances, you may be entitled to maintenance and cure even if you are not on the vessel. Some commutes to work are covered, passage through WSF property or property adjacent to the dock are covered, or other situations where your activities have a benefit to your employer. If you are not sure if you are covered, contact an experienced maritime lawyer to discuss the facts of your specific situation. Maintenance and cure is a broad entitlement under maritime law and any doubts must be resolved in favor of coverage for the seaman. Your employer may be subject to penalties or damages for failure to promptly and properly pay maintenance and cure.

Maintenance is a daily stipend or payment while you receive curative medical treatment for your condition. The amount of your maintenance entitlement is set by the collective bargaining agreement with your union and the WSF.

Medical cure is the cost of medical treatment reasonably required to address your injury or illness. You are entitled to select your own doctors and medical providers. Your employer cannot withhold medical cure if you refuse to see a doctor or medical provider selected by WSF. You are also entitled to a second opinion if you are considering medical options.

Maritime Personal Injury Litigation and Facebook

April 18, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Social media is progressively playing a larger role in our culture today, and coincidentally in litigation. Many times, our maritime personal injury clients are surprised that after a lawsuit has been filed, the defense often requests a copy of the client’s entire Facebook account. Clients wonder: Why is a Jones Act employer or a cruise line entitled to see a person’s private social media account?

Similarly, access to social media by employers is an issue that legislators are currently grappling with. A bill currently before the Washington State Legislature has been in the news recently because of a controversial proposed amendment that would allow employers to obtain employees’ personal Facebook and other social media passwords as part of company investigations. The bill, sponsored by Senator Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, is intended to safeguard the passwords of workers and job applicants in Washington, but the proposed amendment chips away at these protections.

US Coast Guard Warns of Danger to Passengers in Bow

April 18, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

In the waters of Puget Sound, the Columbia River, Washington coast, Oregon coast, and Alaska, whale watching excursions, sporting fishing trips, and other commercial boating tours are popular with tourists and recreational fishermen. People come from all over the world to see the beauty of Northwest waters. Unfortunately, these excursions can be dangerous if proper safety measures are not taken by the vessel operators. A vessel operator has a legal duty under maritime law to exercise reasonable care to prevent injuries to passengers on its vessels. This includes adopting procedures to limit access to certain areas of the vessel in heavy weather conditions and to limit the speed of the vessel while traveling through heavy seas or wave conditions.

On March 21, 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a marine safety alert to operators of passenger vessels that allow passengers to ride in the bow during heavy weather. The alert followed several injuries to passengers on a whale-watching excursion. The passengers were injured while standing in the bow pulpit of a 106’ inspected whale watching vessel while it was underway. The vessel encountered a large wave and the bow of the vessel rose out of the water and then came down hard. As the vessel came down, several passengers standing in the bow pulpit area were thrown, resulting in injuries.