Note and Comment

Authors

George L. CanfieldFollow
Edson R. Sunderland, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow
Edwin D. Dickinson, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow
Orvid B. Tanner, University of Michigan Law School

Abstract

Admiralty Rule of "Care and Cure" A Limit of Liability - One of the very ancient doctrines of the general maritime law is that a sailor injured in the service of the ship is entitled to care and cure at the expense of the ship, and to his wages, but nothing more in the nature of damages for negligence of the master or others of the ship's company. In the sixth article of the Rooles d'Oleron, for example, it is said,---"But if by the master's orders and commands any of the ship's company be in the service of the ship, and thereby happen to be wounded or otherwise hurt, in that case they shall be cured and provided for at the costs and charges of the said ship."- "ils doivent itre gueris et fians~s sur le cout de ladite izef." To the same effect in the older codes commonly spoken of as the Rhodian Sea Law, see Ashburner, sub-title "Mariners" and elaborate discussions in Reed v. Canfield, i Sumn., 195 and City of Alexandria, 17 Fed., 390. While this rule has been very firmly fixed in the admiralty courts, Osceola, i89 U. S., 158, there has been debate about its enforcement in courts of the common law. A sailor suing in the admiralty for negligence of his superior officers would fail if he had received "care and cure," Bunker Hill, 198 Fed., 587, while at common law he might recover damages as in an ordinary action of tort. Thompson v. Hermann, 47 Wis., 6o2. See Kalleck v. Deering, 161 Mass., 469; Hedley v. S. S. Co. [i894], A. C. 22z.

Recommended Citation

George L. Canfield, Edson R. Sunderland, Edwin D. Dickinson & Orvid B. Tanner, Note and Comment, 17 Mich. L. Rev. 589 (1919).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol17/iss7/4