COMPARITIVE NEGLIGENCE DOES NOT REDUCE AWARD OF MAINTENANCE AND CURE.
LASZLO FULOP, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. OCEAN HOPE 1 F/V, the vessel, her tackle & gear In Rem; US MARINE CORP., a foreign corporation InPersonam, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 99-35196
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 30216
November 15, 2000, Argued and Submitted, Seattle, Washington
November 27, 2000, Filed
It is true that an award of medical expenses under the Jones Act is properly reduced by the Seaman's own negligence. Fitzgerald v. United States Lines Co., 374 U.S. 16, 19, 83 S. Ct. 1646, 1649, 10 L. Ed. 2d 720 (1963). However, awards for maintenance and cure are not so reduced. Id. Rather, they are payable until the seaman has reached maximum cure, regardless of fault on anyone's part. Permanente S. S. Corp. v. Martinez, 369 F.2d 297, 298-99 (9th Cir. 1966); Crooks v. United States, 459 F.2d 631, 633 (9th Cir. 1972); see also Calmar S.S. Corp. v. Taylor, 303 U.S. 525, 527-28, 58 S. Ct. 651, 653, 82 L. Ed. 993 (1938).
