BLOOD ON BROWN WATER Chapter 3 Installment 3
             
             Photo: U.S.Army Corps of Engineers             


  TREATMENT


 Preston was taken to Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, LA, immediately after the accident, as any responsible employer should reasonably be expected to do. Tidewater signed as "Guarantor Employer" responsible for handling his medical bills at the hospital. While at the hospital , Preston was given "post accident" drug and alcohol testing with negative results proving that he was free of drugs and alcohol. Had such tests been positive, the story (and possibly the treatment) probably would have ended at that point. However, we point out that withholding medical treatment awaiting the results of such testing can add to the seaman's suffering. 

 On the following day, Preston went home and sought further treatment by specialists in nearby Lafayette, LA for "scrotal swelling and pain."  One month after the accident he underwent surgery to repair a "massive hernia'


 As months passed, Preston remained in pain and was unable to return to work. However, he and his wife kept Tidewater informed of the status of his disability as well as the fact that he could not return to work. On June 14, 1999, his treating surgeon told Tidewater that Preston remained under his care and was unable to return to work. Another physician confirmed his disability again on October 22, 1999 ten months after his accident.


                        Stiffed by His Employer


 Tidewater refused several requests by Preston, his wife, and his attorney to pay him maintenance and cure.  Over a year after the accident, even though Tidewater arranged for his initial medical treatment and was listed as Preston's guaranteeing employer and had received a constant stream of medical updates from his doctors, they claimed they still had to "investigate"his injuries before paying maintenance and cure.


AAB EDITORIAL NOTE: Under maritime law an employer owes a seaman injured or taken ill in the service of the vessel "maintenance, cure , and lost wages". The lost wages are only until "the end of the voyage" which for OSV and towing industry seamen is usually less than two weeks. After that the payment is "maintenance", a pittance based on the room and board value of living aboard ship, courts have allowed as little as $15 a day in recent years. More details on this in the next installment.