Key takeaways

Your employer is legally required to continue Maintenance and Cure benefits until you have genuinely reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI)—not just when they decide they are done paying.
A company doctor’s MMI determination is not automatically binding. If your own independent physician disagrees, you have strong legal grounds to dispute the termination.
Employers who cut off benefits without a legitimate medical basis can be sued for the unpaid benefits, consequential damages, and your attorney’s fees.
If the denial is found to be willful, arbitrary, or made in bad faith, a federal court may award massive punitive damages to punish the employer.
Acting quickly matters. The medical and financial evidence you gather immediately after your checks stop is critical to the strength of your lawsuit.

If your employer has suddenly stopped paying your Maintenance and Cure benefits, but you believe your physical recovery is not complete, you are facing one of the most common—and most damaging—tactics used against injured maritime workers.

Maintenance and Cure is not a discretionary bonus. It is a strict legal obligation your employer has under general maritime law. It does not end until a qualified physician determines you have reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).

When an employer terminates those benefits prematurely—whether by relying on a company doctor’s rushed evaluation, disputing that your injury happened on the job, or simply stopping payment without explanation—they are violating your rights under federal maritime law.

This guide explains exactly what your employer is (and is not) allowed to do, what “arbitrary and capricious” denial means in a courtroom, the exact steps you must take immediately after your benefits are cut off, and the severe legal penalties your employer faces for acting in bad faith.

How Does Maintenance & Cure Work?

Before you can fight a termination, you must understand exactly what is being taken from you.

Maintenance benefits are daily stipend payments for an injured or sick seaman’s living expenses (such as food, rent, and utilities) while they are recovering ashore.
Cure benefits cover all reasonable medical expenses incurred due to the seaman’s injury or illness, including doctor and hospital bills, physical therapy, MRIs, and medications.

If a seaman qualifies for these benefits, the employer is legally obligated to pay them until the seaman reaches Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).

MMI is the specific point at which a seaman’s condition cannot be improved any further with medical treatment. MMI does not mean the seaman is fully recovered, pain-free, or fit to return to work. A seaman can reach MMI while still being permanently disabled and requiring palliative medical care for the rest of their life.

Maintenance and Cure is completely separate from a Jones Act negligence claim. Receiving M&C does not stop you from filing a lawsuit for your lost future wages and pain and suffering.

What Can A Seaman Do If Their Employer Ends Maintenance and Cure Too Soon?

The Dispute: I Haven’t Reached MMI, but the Company’s Doctor Says I Have

An employer has a right to require an injured seaman to be evaluated by a company-selected doctor to determine if they have reached MMI.

But what happens when the company doctor states you have achieved MMI, but your personal, treating physician strongly disagrees?

This “company doctor problem” happens constantly. It arises in catastrophic cases (paralysis, TBI, severe spinal cord damage) where an employer wants to cap their massive medical liabilities quickly. It also happens in cases involving back, shoulder, and knee injuries where the seaman’s recovery is genuine, but slower than the employer’s insurance company would prefer.

In these situations, the company doctor may declare MMI after a 10-minute exam, without ordering an MRI, simply because the employer is pushing for it.

Maritime law gives you a specific protection here.

When a company doctor and your treating physician reach conflicting conclusions about MMI, courts do not automatically defer to the company doctor. Judges look at both doctors’ qualifications, how thorough their exams were, what diagnostic tests they used, and whether their findings match your full medical history.

In cases of genuine medical dispute, federal admiralty courts have historically resolved the ambiguity in favor of the injured seaman. MMI is a medical determination, not a corporate one. You have the absolute right to see a doctor of your own choosing for an independent, objective opinion.

Is the Company Doctor Downplaying Your Injury?

If your benefits were cut off, you might have a larger case than you realize.

Do you want to know if the details of your Maritime Accident HELP or HURT your case? Take our free, 60-Second Maritime Case Quiz to find out where you stand.

TAKE QUIZ

What Does It Mean When an Employer ‘Arbitrarily’ Denies Maintenance and Cure?

You may have heard that employers who deny Maintenance and Cure “arbitrarily and capriciously” face severe additional legal consequences. But what does that actually mean in a courtroom?

When maritime courts evaluate a denial, they ask a straightforward question: Did the employer have a legitimate, reasonable medical or factual basis for their decision to stop paying, or did they cut off benefits out of convenience, cost-cutting, or bad faith?

You do not need to prove your employer was maliciously evil to meet this standard. You simply need to show they acted without a reasonable basis. Common examples of arbitrary and capricious denial include:

Cutting off benefits specifically because the seaman hired a maritime attorney or filed a Jones Act lawsuit.
Terminating benefits based solely on a biased company doctor’s opinion while completely ignoring conflicting MRI reports from the seaman’s treating physician.
Stopping payment without conducting any meaningful investigation into the seaman’s medical status.
Delaying payment for weeks or months without a legitimate reason, leaving the seaman without income or medical care.
Refusing to pay for an expensive surgery recommended by the seaman’s physician without obtaining a valid, second medical opinion to support that refusal.

If your employer has cut off your Maintenance and Cure benefits and you intend to fight back, your immediate actions will determine the strength of your lawsuit.

4 Steps to Take When You Dispute a Benefit Termination

Step 1: Do not stop your medical treatment. The most damaging thing you can do after benefits are cut off is to stop seeing your doctor because you cannot afford the out-of-pocket costs. Your ongoing treatment records are the foundation of your legal case. Continue treatment, keep every appointment, and document every recommendation. (If cost is a barrier, a maritime attorney can often help you access treatment on a “lien basis” while your case is pending).
Step 2: Get their reasoning in writing. Demand written confirmation from your employer stating the specific reason your benefits were terminated. If they cite a company doctor’s MMI determination, demand a copy of that full medical report. Written documentation of their reasoning is critical evidence of bad faith.
Step 3: Preserve all financial records. Document every single expense you have incurred since your benefits were cut off—rent, utilities, groceries, out-of-pocket medical costs, and late fees. These records establish the concrete financial harm caused by the wrongful termination.
Step 4: Contact a maritime attorney immediately. Maritime law has strict deadlines. An attorney can immediately send a formal “cure demand letter” to your employer—which sometimes terrifies them into reinstating benefits without litigation—and can file a federal lawsuit if the employer refuses to comply.

What Can You Recover When Your Employer Wrongfully Terminates Your M&C?

When an employer wrongfully terminates, delays, or denies Maintenance and Cure benefits, maritime law provides several distinct categories of financial recovery to punish the employer and make the seaman whole.

Unpaid Benefits: The most straightforward recovery is the exact M&C payments that were wrongfully withheld—the daily living expense checks that stopped and the medical bills that went unpaid. You are entitled to every dollar from the date of wrongful termination to the date you genuinely reach MMI.
Consequential Damages: If the wrongful termination caused you additional harm—for example, your physical condition permanently worsened because you could not afford a surgery, or you lost your home to foreclosure because your maintenance checks stopped—you are entitled to compensation for those devastating downstream consequences.
Punitive Damages: If the court finds your employer’s denial was willful, arbitrary, or made in bad faith, they may award punitive damages. This is massive additional compensation designed specifically to punish the employer for their callous conduct and deter other maritime companies from doing the same. (The U.S. Supreme Court explicitly upheld this right in the landmark case Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend).
Attorney’s Fees: In cases where the denial is arbitrary and capricious, courts routinely order the employer to pay your attorney’s fees. Your employer pays the cost of the legal fight they forced you into.

For a deeper understanding of when punitive damages apply and what you need to prove, see our full post on punitive damages in maintenance and cure claims.

Fight Back Against Bad Faith Denials

The maritime trial attorneys at Lambert Zainey have spent more than 40 years representing injured seamen whose employers have tried to cut corners on Maintenance and Cure. We know exactly how these disputes work, what medical evidence matters, and how to hold corporate employers financially accountable when they act in bad faith.

If your benefits have been reduced, delayed, or terminated, and you believe your physical recovery is not complete, do not let the company doctor dictate your future.

Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. We represent maritime workers across the Gulf Coast and throughout the United States, and we never charge a fee unless we win your case.

Your Employer Cut Off Your Maintenance and Cure. Here’s What to Do.

April 9, 2026