The U.S. Supreme Court overruled the Ninth Circuit and several other federal circuit courts, holding that punitive damages may be awarded “for the willful and wanton disregard of the maintenance and cure obligation”. Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend , 557 U.S. [...]

(The case of Gruver v. Lesman , 2007 AMC 1559, 489 F.3d 978 (9th Cir. 2007), on remand.) From the time Jeff Gruver first walked into my office more than three years before, I figured his case was only worth about [...]

Earlier in these pages (Trial News, May 2008), this practitioner suggested that it was not proper to deduct $10/day in child support from an injured seaman who received only $20/day in maintenance to pay for all his living expenses. [...]

Looking For A Lawyer In The West Indies By John Merriam and Gordon Webb (This is a true story. Some names have been changed.) “My mother was seriously hurt on a cruise in the Caribbean last March. Her doctor [...]

Only a few days after 9 lives were lost when the Aleutian Enterprise sank, Arctic Alaska was still playing fast and loose with Coast Guard safety regulations aboard another boat in the Bering Sea. Working at the time in [...]

All maritime practitioners know that a seaman’s right to maintenance and cure only lasts until “maximum cure” — as good as the seaman is going to get following the injury or illness manifested while in the employ of the [...]