cure at the time of his original back injury because it resolved itself so quickly and therefore he was not in the service of the vessel during his illness. The court denied his claim for maintenance and cure.
Crewmember Smith fell off a ladder in the engine room and was evacuated to a shore-side hospital. Blood tests revealed he had lymphoma and the ship owner was obligated to pay for treatment until he was at maximum medical improvement (he then sued the employer and several other employers alleging exposure to chemicals caused his illness)
Crewmember Jones, a known diabetic, was found on the floor in the engine room. He was treated for his diabetes until he could be evacuated from the ship. Shore-side medical tests showed he had an arterial venous malformation (AVM) in the temporal lobe of his brain. The member was obligated to treat the pre- existing, congenital malformation with Gamma Knife surgery and provide maintenance and cure for the three year post operative follow-up period.
The Club has had many similar experiences with seamen suffering from additional injuries or illnesses while out on maintenance and cure. We recommend you take the following steps to minimize your exposure to the costs of subsequent unrelated medical care:
- Have a thorough PEME performed BEFORE the crewmember sails. Though a PEME will not catch all pre-existing conditions, if a crew- member is untruthful as to declaring pre-existing conditions it may relieve the shipowner from the maintenance and cure obligation.
- Take an aggressive approach to treating the medical condition or injury to get the seaman at maximum medical improvement before another problem can develop.
Pre-Employment Medical Examinations for seafarers
The UK Club offers the best established PEME scheme. In its fourteen years of experience over 250,000 examinations have been completed to date at 43 clinics in fourteen countries.
As a loss prevention initiative the scheme aims to reduce the volume, and value, of illness and repatriation claims which relate to pre-existing medical conditions. It uses an enhanced medical examination based on a recognised maritime standard and implemented by our approved clinic network operating in major areas of crew recruitment.
Each member who joins the PEME programme is assured our approved clinics are stringently vetted and regularly audited by the Club for quality and integrity.
Medical examination fees vary depending on the area of recruitment for example in the Philippines the medical costs approx US$90 - US$112 based on content.
The Club pays the examination fee direct to the clinic and members are subsequently debited for recovery of costs on a quarterly basis. An administration fee is charged for non-UK Club fleets, but the service is free for Club members.
Whilst the key benefit is a reduced frequency and volume of crew illness claims, participating members enjoy the competitive prices secured by the Club as a major purchaser of medical services and avoid the housekeeping tasks of authenticating and administering the examination arrangements.
More information on the scheme can be found on our website at
www.ukpandi.com/loss-prevention/peme or by contacting one of the TMA Bodily Injury team.
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