Favorable Maritime Decisions Lead to Publication
January 11, 2010

The Firm recently received a favorable decision in a matter involving defense of claims for reinstatement of maintenance and cure for a Jones Act Seaman pending in U.S. District Court. The requested surgery involved a claim for total knee replacement following earlier meniscal repair. The interlocutory decision denied reinstatement, requiring trial, because a triable issue was presented whether the request for additional surgery was curative or palliative, and whether it involved a chronic condition not aggravated by employment. In a separate ruling, the Court also denied a claim for punitive damages. These decisions in the case, Kuithe vs. Gulf Caribe Maritime, were considered to have precedential value, and have been selected for publication in a specialty reporter, American Maritime Cases.