Cruise Ship Law

MELODEE WHITMAN, PLAINTIFF v. RICK MILES, DEFENDANT

CIVIL NO. 03-61-P-H
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20906
November 20, 2003, Decided

DISPOSITION: Defendant's motion for summary judgment granted in part.

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff sailor sued defendant ship owner for maintenance and cure. The ship owner moved for summary judgment.

OVERVIEW: While working on board the owner's ship, the sailor began experiencing symptoms that included fatigue, loss of balance, numbness, and incontinence. The sailor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which was incurable. The ship owner paid the sailor's medical bills for initial treatment, but did not pay for treatment or living expenses following the diagnosis. About a month after the initial diagnosis, a specialist determined that the sailor's condition had resolved to the extent that she had only some mild and tingling feelings. The sailor had suffered periodic exacerbations since that time. The court found that the sailor's condition was "permanent" for purposes of terminating the ship owner's maintenance and cure obligation. The ship owner conceded that his obligation extended for a short period of time after the initial diagnosis, but the sailor offered no facts from which the court could find that her condition was capable of being improved after the specialist's determination that it had resolved. Slowing or arresting a decline was not the same as effecting an improvement. The specialist's opinion sufficiently established that the sailor's condition was permanent.

OUTCOME: The ship owner was granted partial summary judgment as to all maintenance and cure after the date of the specialist's diagnosis, as to all lodging expenses, and as to attorney fees. The ship owner was responsible for an additional month of the sailor's food and medical expenses following the initial diagnosis.