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Company’s instant settlement temptation can put you on the spot

Back in the 1980s, a chief mate aboard a U.S. flag oil tanker on the Valdez trade suffered serious burns to his groin and testicles when a steam line broke open. According to crewmembers on the ship, the injured officer was offered a take it or leave it settlement of just under $100,000 and a permanent Master’s position instead of taking the case to trial which would likely have resulted in monetary damages of over $500,000.

The officer took the lesser amount and the permanent position because sailing as an unlimited tonnage captain was of paramount importance to him. It was a lifelong dream.

For him, the decision worked out because he parlayed his years of service as Master into becoming an Alaska pilot.

This was a case where the company’s quick settlement officer worked out for the best.

But that’s not always the case. Every company is different. Some do try to work with their injured crewmembers in an upstanding manner. On the other hand, other companies are unscrupulous and will use a quick settlement to con the worker with the temptation of permanent work before sandbagging him or her in the end.

A permanent job may appear to be a grand proposition and, like the aforementioned chief mate, a lifelong dream. However, the paradox of the word permanent is that it may be simultaneously eternal to one person and a fixed period of time to another. Confusing as this might seem, ask this question:

Is any job beyond Pope or Supreme Court Justice really permanent?

Don’t forget, maritime is one of the most clever industries when it comes to “running off” someone. There are a myriad of ways the company can do this. Maybe they start the process by “strongly suggesting” that its permanent employees attend training and office seminars during the cherished vacation time. Next, they decide to swing you over to another one of their ships in remote Diego Garcia, the place you said you would never go back to after your previous hitch there a few years back. (You only thought permanent meant you would be attached to the same vessel, you didn’t know it meant within the fleet). They break up the “clique” of fellow senior officers you have grown comfortable with over the last few years and replace them with a group of personnel with whom you mix like a match and gasoline. They could decide to spring an unannounced audit that they know you are unlikely to pass. And what if the fleet changes management companies or unions? How ironclad will that permanent settlement then be?

These scenarios are not listed here for the purposes of scaring off an injured mariner from taking a company’s settlement offer. Sometimes the employer will give a fair offer. In fact, the vast majority of offers should at least be given fair consideration before making a decision.

What you must safeguard yourself against is feeling like you have to accept the first offer almost immediately. There’s a good chance that the original offer isn’t going anywhere before it officially reaches the court stage.

Making a decision based on fear is where the dangerous temptation lies.

Learn your rights as a seaman by ordering free copy of The Insider's Guide to Winning Your Maritime Injury Case written by Jones Act and maritime accident injury lawyer Brian Beckcom.

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