Seafarer Injured on Board: What to Do First
An injury or illness of a seafarer on board should be recorded immediately. When an accident occurs, the ship’s administration enters the fact in the ship’s log and prepares an accident report, according to Maxima.
What should be done after an injury?
The first step is to get medical help. At the same time, the incident should be officially recorded on board.
The seafarer or the family should obtain a copy of the accident report. If the seafarer’s condition after the injury does not allow them to collect documents personally, relatives should handle this.
Which documents matter?
The key documents are the accident report, treatment records and documents confirming the seafarer’s working terms. The employment contract and collective agreement help determine which payments may apply in a specific case.
Who should arrange treatment?
Under seafarers’ employment contracts, the shipowner is responsible for arranging treatment for a seafarer who is injured or falls ill on board. This includes hospitalisation.
Maxima notes that shipowners do not always fulfil this obligation and may refuse to advance medical expenses.
When can compensation be claimed?
Compensation may be possible if the injury causes permanent partial or full loss of working capacity. The degree of loss of professional working capacity must be established by medical-social examination bodies.
In a case described by MTWTU, a Ukrainian able seaman applied to the union in January 2022 after an onboard injury: he lost the middle and index fingers of his right hand. A medical-social examination established a lifelong third disability group.
Compensation does not cancel the company’s other obligations: sick pay and reimbursement of treatment costs for an occupational injury remain separate issues.
When should a union be contacted?
If the injury has caused loss of working capacity or there is a dispute over payments, the seafarer may contact a union. In the case of seafarer X, MTWTU helped secure full compensation, and the money reached the seafarer’s account at the end of October 2022.