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Financial Insecurity & Wrongful Termination - Two Big Fears When You Suffer An On-The-Job Injury
When we accept a maritime injury case, our number one goal is to win your case. However, the insurance companies have various tricks and techniques they will use to try to keep you from winning your case. Financial pressure and wrongful termination are two techniques they may use against you if you are hurt offshore.
When a worker is injured offshore, two of the main problems they experience are financial problems (inability to pay bills) and the fear of getting fired (wrongful termination).
Workers offshore who are injured at work are the primary breadwinner for themselves and their families.
Following a career-ending or career-threatening injury, or even an injury that will take some time to recover from, injured workers and Jones Act seaman are often very concerned about their financial security and ability to pay bills.
Maintenance and cure is not enough
Jones Act seaman should be entitled to "maintenance and cure." The law requires it. Yet often, Jones Act defendants will refuse to pay maintenance and cure, thinking that by putting financial pressure on the injured seaman, they will be able to settle the case cheaply and get rid of the injured worker before he or she has a chance to assert their legal rights.
Maintenance and cure is a minimal payment
Another problem with maintenance and cure is that maintenance in most cases has been stuck at a miserly rate of $15 - $30 dollars a day, hardly enough to survive on alone, let alone if you have a family to support.
Wrongful termination
Another major concern injured Jones Act seaman and injured offshore workers often express is the fear of getting fired after an injury. This article will explain the circumstances when that may happen and also some things you can do about it.
Protecting your finances and your job
Is there anything you can do to while you are recovering from you injuries to avoid financial ruin? Is there anything you can do to avoid getting fired?
Fortunately, the answer to the first question is YES.
The answer to the second question, unfortunately, is, PROBABLY.
Taking care of your financial needs during the lawsuit process
At our law firm, we understand the financial devastation that may result from an offshore injury. Therefore, unlike most law firms, we can arrange for loans and advances to qualifying clients.
These loans will allow you to make ends meet while we are working your case. We will not lend you money to buy a new vehicle or upgrade your lifestyle. Instead, the objective is simply to help you with food, clothing, and other necessities and to avoid your feeling pressure to settle your case cheaply as a result of wrongful financial pressure put on you by the company.
Wrongful termination
Even if you have been with the company a long time, and been a reliable employee, if you are hurt, there is no guarantee that you will keep your job.
In fact, there is a very good chance that the company will fire you after you are hurt. The maritime industry has more workers than jobs and most jobs pay well. If you cannot work, there will be a long line of people ready to take your place.
And if you cannot produce for the company, you become a "liability" and the companies may think it would be better off letting you go.
Before the company lets you go, they may try to buy you off with a cheap settlement. It is almost always a bad idea to accept a cheap settlement, because once you do, there won't be much you can do about wrongful termination.
Also, it is against the law to discriminate or wrongfully fire an employee who is covered by State or Federal law. If you have been the victim of wrongful termination, you may be entitled to get your job back or to get money damages, or both.
Workers who have been hurt are entitled to bring legal claims to recover the reasonable value of their damages. Nevertheless, history shows that there is a much higher probability that you will be fired after you have been hurt on the job.
Simply put, you may have important legal rights if you have been fired without cause, or fired after an injury, or fired for asserting you legal rights.
If the insurance company or your employer tells you otherwise, do not believe them.
Want to know more about maritime injury cases?
We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry. We are based in Houston, Texas. We represent offshore workers all over the world.
To learn more about our law firm and what we can do for you, please visit the following websites:
