Seaman Did Not Forfeit Right To Maintenance And Cure By Failing To Disclose Preexisting Diabetes
DAVE P. FOLSE, JR. VERSUS GULF TRAN, INC.
2003 CA 0758
COURT OF APPEAL OF LOUISIANA, FIRST CIRCUIT
2003 0758 (La. App. 1 Cir, 2/23/04); 2004 La. App. LEXIS 333
February 23, 2004, Rendered
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff claimant filed this action against respondent employer in the Seventeenth Judicial District Court, Parish of Lafourche (Louisiana), pursuant to the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.S. ยง 688 et seq., and general maritime law. Judgment was rendered in favor of the claimant, and the employer appealed.
OVERVIEW: The claimant advised the employer, that he was injured while working on a vessel. The employer began paying him maintenance and cure. After further investigation, the employer discontinued those benefits. The claimant sued seeking recovery under the Jones Act and general maritime law. The trial court rendered judgment for the claimant. The employer appealed asserting the trial court erred in failing to conclude that the claimant forfeited his claim for maintenance and cure by failing to disclose to his employer that he suffered from Type II Diabetes. The appellate court disagreed. The claimant agreed to have any medical examinations desired by the employer and gave the employer access to his medical records. The employer did not require that he submit to examination by a physician before or after he began working for the employer and did not examine his medical records. The record supported the factual conclusion that he did not intentionally misrepresent or conceal his diabetes. There was no manifest error on behalf of the trial court's determination that the claimant did not forfeit his right to maintenance and cure.
OUTCOME: The judgment was affirmed.
