Alabama Ship Medical Malpractice Attorneys
Alabama Ship Medical Malpractice Attorneys
When a medical emergency strikes land, help is usually just a phone call away. Paramedics, emergency rooms, and medical specialists are accessible. For a seaman working on a cargo ship, tugboat, or commercial fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, the situation is entirely different. You are isolated, miles from the nearest hospital, and completely dependent on the medical care available aboard the vessel. In this environment, a competent medical response is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
The Unique Vulnerabilities of Onboard Medical Situations
Receiving medical attention on a vessel is fundamentally different from being treated in a shore-based facility. The inherent limitations and conditions of a maritime environment create a heightened duty for vessel owners to provide adequate care.
Several factors compound the risks:
- Isolation and Distance: A ship may be hours or even days away from the nearest port with a capable hospital. This distance makes prompt, advanced medical intervention impossible without a timely decision to evacuate.
- Limited Resources: A ship’s infirmary is not a hospital. It often has limited diagnostic tools, a restricted pharmacy, and only one or two individuals responsible for all medical care.
- Confined Environment: Illness can spread quickly in the close quarters of a ship, and the constant motion of the vessel can worsen certain medical conditions.
- Pressure to Continue Operations: There can be significant financial pressure to keep the vessel on schedule, which may lead a captain or company to delay diverting the ship for a medical emergency.
Because of these realities, vessel owners have a legal obligation to ensure their crew has access to reasonable medical care, whether through competent onboard medic, telemedicine services, or a clear protocol for emergency evacuations.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice Under Maritime Law?
Unlike land-based medical malpractice cases, which are governed by state law, injuries stemming from negligent medical care at sea fall under federal General Maritime Law. A vessel owner has a non-delegable duty to provide prompt and adequate medical care to a seaman who falls ill or is injured in the service of the ship.
Medical negligence in a maritime context occurs when the care provided deviates from the accepted standard of care, directly causing harm to the seaman. This is not about a bad outcome; it is about a failure to provide a level of care that a reasonably prudent maritime medical provider would have offered under similar circumstances. The “standard of care” at sea may differ from that on land, but it still requires competence, diligence, and sound medical judgment
Common Forms of Medical Negligence on Commercial Vessels
Medical errors on a ship can take many forms. Because of the limited resources and isolation, even seemingly small mistakes can have severe consequences. Some of the most common and dangerous examples of maritime medical negligence include:
- Misdiagnosis of a Serious Condition: Mistaking a heart attack for indigestion, a stroke for seasickness, or a serious infection for a common cold.
- Failure to Treat or Delayed Treatment: Ignoring a crew member’s persistent complaints, failing to administer proper medication, or not following established medical protocols for a known condition.
- Medication Errors: Administering the wrong drug, the incorrect dosage, or a medication to which the seaman has a known allergy.
- Failure to Evacuate: This is one of the most serious forms of negligence. Refusing or delaying a request for a helicopter or boat evacuation for a seaman with a life-threatening condition like appendicitis, stroke, or severe trauma is inexcusable.
- Use of Inadequate Medical Equipment: Attempting to treat a condition with broken, outdated, or improper medical equipment, or failing to have necessary supplies on board.
- Hiring Unqualified Medical Personnel: Placing a person without proper training, certification, or experience in charge of the crew’s health and safety.
- Ignoring Tele-Medicine Advice: Failing to follow the recommendations of a shore-side doctor who was consulted about the seaman’s condition.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Substandard Medical Care at Sea?
Determining who is legally responsible for a seaman’s injury due to poor medical care is a key part of any maritime claim. Liability often extends beyond the individual who provided the care.
- The Vessel Owner or Employer: Under maritime law, the employer is ultimately responsible for the health and safety of the crew. This includes providing adequate medical care. If the ship’s doctor, medic, or even a designated officer provides negligent care, the employer can be held directly liable.
- Third-Party Medical Providers: Many vessel owners contract with shore-side companies to provide telemedicine support or to staff their vessels with medical officers. If these third-party companies provide a negligent doctor or give faulty advice, they may also be held liable.
- The Ship’s Captain: The captain has the ultimate authority on the vessel and is responsible for making the final decision on whether to divert the ship or order a medical evacuation. A captain who unreasonably delays or denies necessary care can be found negligent.
What Are a Seaman's Legal Rights After Receiving Negligent Medical Care?
If you are a seaman who suffered harm due to substandard medical care, you have powerful legal protections under federal maritime law. Your rights are not governed by state workers’ compensation but by doctrines developed over centuries to protect mariners.
- The Jones Act: This federal law allows an injured seaman to bring a lawsuit against their employer for negligence. If the ship’s medical officer is an employee of the vessel owner, their negligence is treated as the employer’s negligence. Proving that this negligence played any part, however small, in causing your injury can make the employer liable for damages.
- The Doctrine of Unseaworthiness: A vessel owner has an absolute duty to provide a “seaworthy” ship. This extends beyond the vessel’s physical condition to its crew. Providing an incompetent, poorly trained, or unqualified medical officer can render the vessel unseaworthy. Similarly, having faulty or inadequate medical equipment on board can be an unseaworthy condition. If such a condition causes your injury, the owner is strictly liable.
- Maintenance and Cure: This is a fundamental right of any seaman. Regardless of fault, your employer must pay for your reasonable medical expenses (“cure”) until you reach maximum medical improvement. They must also provide a daily stipend for living expenses (“maintenance”) while you are recovering. An employer who unreasonably denies required medical treatment or terminates these benefits prematurely can be held liable for additional damages.
The Critical Decision: Failure to Medevac
A vessel owner’s failure to provide a timely medical evacuation (medevac) is one of the most clear-cut examples of negligence at sea. When a seaman is suffering from a condition that cannot be properly treated on board, the duty to arrange an evacuation is immediate.
Factors that point toward the need for an evacuation include:
- Symptoms of a heart attack, stroke, or appendicitis.
- Uncontrolled bleeding or severe trauma.
- A rapidly worsening infection.
- The recommendation of the onboard medic or a consulting shore-side doctor.
A captain or company that prioritizes a shipping schedule over a seaman’s life by delaying or denying an evacuation can and should be held fully accountable for the resulting harm.
Compensation Available in a Maritime Medical Malpractice Claim
The goal of a maritime injury claim is to secure the financial resources you need to account for all the losses you have suffered. A successful claim allows you to recover damages far beyond the basic benefits of maintenance and cure.
Compensation can include:
- Past and Future Medical Bills: This covers all costs related to your condition, from the initial evacuation and hospitalization to future surgeries, physical therapy, medication, and long-term care.
- Lost Wages: Payment for the wages you have already lost while being unable to work.
- Loss of Future Earning Capacity: If your injury prevents you from returning to your career at sea, you can be compensated for the income you will lose over the rest of your working life.
- Pain, Suffering, and Mental Anguish: Compensation for the physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life caused by medical negligence.
What to Do After an Onboard Medical Incident
The steps you take after receiving substandard medical care on a vessel are important for protecting your health and your legal rights.
- Report Your Condition in Writing: Make sure your symptoms and requests for treatment are officially logged.
- Preserve All Medical Records: Keep copies of any prescriptions, treatment notes, or instructions you were given on the ship.
- Get a Second Opinion: As soon as you get ashore, see an independent doctor of your own choosing for a full examination and diagnosis.
- Document Everything: Write down a timeline of your symptoms, who you spoke to, what you were told, and how your condition worsened.
- Do Not Sign Any Statements: Do not give a recorded statement or sign any documents for the company or its insurance agent without speaking to an attorney first.
- Contact a Maritime Attorney: Maritime law is a highly specialized field. An attorney with significant experience in Jones Act and medical claims can evaluate your case and fight to protect your rights.
Speak With Our Alabama Maritime Injury Attorneys
When a medical issue arises at sea, you place your trust and your life in the hands of your employer. If that trust is broken through negligent medical care, the physical, emotional, and financial consequences can be overwhelming. At Fuquay Law Firm, we are dedicated to holding negligent vessel owners accountable and securing justice for injured seamen and their families across Alabama and the Gulf Coast. We possess a thorough command of the complex federal laws that protect you.
If you or a loved one suffered harm because of a misdiagnosis, a failure to treat, or a delayed medical evacuation, do not navigate these difficult waters alone. Contact our office today at (251) 473-4443 for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your case.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes a medical malpractice case at sea different from one on land?
Maritime medical malpractice cases are governed by federal maritime laws like the Jones Act, not state laws. The vessel owner owes a direct duty of care to the seaman, and concepts like “unseaworthiness” can apply if medical equipment or personnel are inadequate.
Can I sue the ship's doctor directly?
It depends. If the doctor is an employee of the vessel owner, your claim is typically brought against the employer under the Jones Act. If the doctor is an independent contractor, a separate claim may be possible against them, but the vessel owner often remains liable for providing adequate care.
What if my pre-existing condition got worse because of poor care?
The vessel owner is still responsible. Under maritime law, an employer must provide care for any illness that manifests while you are in the service of the ship, and they are liable if their negligence aggravates a pre-existing condition.
How long do I have to file a claim for maritime medical negligence?
There are strict statutes of limitations for maritime injury claims. Generally, a Jones Act negligence claim must be filed within three years of the date of injury. It is important to act quickly to preserve evidence and protect your rights.
What is the difference between a "cure" obligation and damages from a lawsuit?
“Cure” is a no-fault benefit that covers your reasonable medical expenses until you reach maximum recovery. A lawsuit for negligence or unseaworthiness allows you to recover a much broader range of damages, including lost future earnings, and pain and suffering, which are not covered by cure.
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After an accident at sea, in which we almost died, Richhard was able to get us physical and mental treatment, so badly needed. He also represented us and that led to a positive conclusion. Google Harry Harry Burgess World Fishing Magazine for the story of rescue and survival. I highly recommend Richard Fuquay. Honest, very ethical and knowledgeable.
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