The Jones Act

Punitive Damages for Failure to Provide Maintenance and Cure: Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend
Posted by: rzehl
August 17, 2009

Maritime defense lawyers and their clients have known for many years that it is not a wise decision to withhold maintenance and cure payments when an employee is injured offshore. On June 25, 2009, the United States Supreme Court, in the case of Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc. et al. v. Townsend, reaffirmed this concept in a 5-4 decision stating that where a vessel owner has shown a "willful and wanton" disregard in the payment of maintenance and cure, punitive damages are available to the injured plaintiff.

Following an offshore injury, maritime employers are generally obligated to provide maintenance and cure to injured seamen until they are deemed to have reached maximum medical improvement. Failure to do so can indicate a lack of good faith and can often result in punishment by the trial court. The foundation for such a punishment of shipowners for wrongful denial of maintenance and cure lies in the 1962 United States Supreme Court case of Vaughan v. Atkinson. In Vaughan, the injured seaman was awarded attorney's fees because the vessel owner acted in a "willful"and "callous" manner in its denial of maintenance and cure. Following this decision, many lower courts began to hold that punitive damages were also available in these types of cases.

The recent holding in Atlantic Sounding is important because it settles the long-standing question of whether or not the Jones Act or any subsequent case law applies to alter the long-standing common law and general maritime law tradition of allowing the recovery of punitive damages. In Atlantic Sounding, the defendant argued that the Jones Act's broad prohibition of punitive damage awards should be applied in defining the general maritime law as it pertains to maintenance and cure. This argument was bolstered by the 1990 United States Supreme Court case of Miles v. Apex Marine in which the types of damages available in a wrongful death case under general maritime law were limited by the court, utilizing the Congressional restraints on damages found in the Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act. The Court, however, chose not to follow the Miles case and held instead that the Jones Act's punitive damage prohibition does not apply.

In the opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas cited numerous punitive damage awards given under the common law and general maritime law upon which the Jones Act of 1920 had no effect. As such, Justice Thomas further explained that the Jones Act does explicitly cover the negligence cause of action for personal injuries and death, but that the Act does not specifically apply to maintenance and cure and thus should not be utilized to preclude punitive damages in such a case. Essentially, because punitive damages have long been an accepted remedy under general maritime law, and because neither Miles v. Apex Marine Corp nor the Jones Act effectively changed this understanding, punitive damages for the willful and wanton disregard of the maintenance and cure obligation will remain available under general maritime law. This opinion indicates the fact that a slight majority of the current Supreme Court feels that the interpretation of general maritime or common law rules need not be frustrated by Congressional statutes unless those statutes are found to specifically apply. However, in line with the recent United States Supreme Court decision in the Exxon Valdez case, it should be noted that any punitive damage award which exceeds the provable amount of compensatory damages will most likely be found excessive and will be reduced accordingly.

If you or someone you love has been injured offshore, contact the experienced Texas Jones Act lawyers at Fitts Zehl, LLP for a free consultation by phone (713) 491-6064 or by email info@gulfcoastmaritimelawyer.com . We have the knowledge and experience necessary to recover for you the maximum amount allowable under law. The trial lawyers at Fitts Zehl, LLP have recovered over $100 million in settlements and verdicts over just the past two years. Contact us today, we look forward to assisting you with your claim.

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