It has long been a rule of the maritime law that a seaman who becomes ill or suffers injury while in the service of a vessel is entitled to “maintenance and cure” until he reaches maximum medical improvement, a point at which medical treatment can no longer improve his physical condition. If the treatment is only palliative, the seaman has reached maximum medical improvement and benefits can be terminated.
While maintenance and cure is recognized by state and federal courts in the United States, its origins lay in the ancient sea codes of the middle ages. In the 1300s, the Code of Oleron required the employer of a seaman who became ill or injured in the service of a vessel to provide him with “lodging,” “candlelight,” and “a woman to attend him” until he was healed and could return to his vessel. Even though seamen have a negligence cause of action against their employer under the Jones Act, they are still afforded this no-fault workers compensation-like remedy.
