Maritime companies and insurers can go to great lengths to deny claims after an accident or injury. As a maritime attorney, I know that workers may not be aware of the extent to which these entities can go to in order to deny or delay a claim, or to pay out less than injuries deserve.
For instance, it’s not unheard of to have a maritime insurance company go digging into a person’s medical history after an accident to see if they can find something that they can use effectively. I have come across insurance companies visiting hospitals and health facilities that the injured person had earlier been admitted into, just to dig up some dirt on his medical history.
So, if you’ve ever undergone treatment for addiction or drug use, you can be quite sure that your insurance company will sniff out that information, and use it against you when it comes to paying out your claim. Maritime insurance companies may send their representatives with authorization to sift through medical records in hospitals in your hometown, or any of the places you may have lived. Minute medical details could be used against you.
The number one piece of advice I would give maritime workers to prevent something like this from happening, is to be absolutely clear upfront about your medical history at the time of employment.
Image Courtesy: Flickr – Vvillamon








