Norfolk Dredging Co. v. Wiley

OPINION and ORDER

KELLEY, District Judge.

Seamen who are injured while in service of a vessel are entitled to have the shipowner pay maintenance (financial support) and cure (medical expenses). Calmar S.S. Corp. v. Taylor, 303 U.S. 525, 527-28, 58 S.Ct. 651, 82 L.Ed. 993 (1938). The shipowner’s obligation lasts until such time as the seaman reaches maximum medical improvement (“MMI”). Id. at 527-28, 58 S.Ct. 651; see also Fitzgerald v. U.S. Lines Co., 374 U.S. 16, 20 n. 7, 83 S.Ct. 1646, 10 L.Ed.2d 720 (1963); Salem v. United States, 370 U.S. 31, 38, 82 S.Ct. 1119, 8 L.Ed.2d 313 (1962); Vaughan…