Advice

Seafarers, by the nature of their work, are exposed to a variety of occupational hazards, including epidemic diseases such as tuberculosis.

Bodily Injury News is the bi-annual newsletter of the Thomas Miller Americas’ Bodily Injury (BI) Team. In this issue the BI Team outlines our “Fighting Back” initiative to combat the trend of increasingly higher demands, verdicts and settlements in US bodily injury cases. Also covered are the application of US land-based regulations to ships, privilege issues related to root-cause analysis reports, defending against the “Reptile Theory” in US litigation, and strategies for Members to avoid criminal liability in relation to maritime injuries and deaths. In addition, we provide an update on the availability of punitive damages in US seamen’s cases following an important Supreme Court ruling on the issue.

 “Stress Happens!” is the brainchild of Crew Health partners Liz Baugh of Red Square Medical and Karen Passman of Impact Crew.  The training workshop, developed in 2019 is a response to the increasing awareness of issues affecting crew mental wellbeing whilst onboard.

Herniated discs, strains, sprains, inflammation, stiffness and tenderness are just some of the back pain symptoms reported to the UK Club due to heavy lifting and day to day shipboard activities. Back pain is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide and is a common health problem experienced in the maritime workplace. Prolonged sitting, lifting a heavy load, incorrect posture and muscle imbalance are just some of the causes.

The UK Club Crew Health team were recently asked to source support for seafarers who had sadly witnessed the unexpected death of a fellow crewmember. Months later, despite initial counselling, the crew was still experiencing flashbacks and anxiety. They were suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Although a precise estimate of the global sepsis cases is difficult to ascertain, some scientific publications report that it affects more than 30 million people worldwide every year, potentially leading to six million deaths.

The Club reports a case of a crew member recently repatriated following a period of insomnia and heart palpitations.

Preventing and reducing malaria transmission

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) recognised the negative effect that bullying and harassment can have on seafarer health and wellbeing, and have voted to bring these serious issues under Regulation 4.3 – the health and safety protection and accident protection code.

UK P&I Club Crew Health Programme are pleased to announce a new clinic available to Members in Montenegro