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Got it covered?
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| AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program covers many of the same provisions as MOPS insurance for eligible officers |
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PLEASE NOTE: The following is an overview of eligibility requirements and benefits of the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program, which is available to eligible AMO officers at no cost through the American Maritime Officers Safety & Education Plan. Following that are itemized descriptions of various forms of paid insurance coverage available to mariners under Merchant Officers Protective Syndicate (MOPS) marine license insurance. These articles are provided here together for comparison and cross-referencing because if a mariner carries a MOPS policy for any provision also covered by the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program he or she will not be eligible for free coverage under the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program. This information was provided by attorney Mike Reny of the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program and by R.J. Mellusi & Co., and was compiled by RTM STAR Center Instructor and Course Developer Rosemary MacKay-Camp. AMO officers with any questions about eligibility or coverage under the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program under specific circumstances should contact Mike Reny.
Coast Guard Legal Aid Program Attorney: Mike Reny Office: (419) 243-1105 Cell: (419) 346-1485 Home: (419) 843-2411 MikeReny@BEX.net Eligibility To be eligible, an AMO member or applicant must have worked for at least 30 days in a consecutive six-month period for an employer that makes contributions to the AMO Safety & Education Plan. Carrying duplicate insurance coverage will make you ineligible. This means that any insurance covering the same services as the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program will nullify your coverage under the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program. What the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program does for you Legal representation in casualties: The AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program provides you with free legal representation throughout the entire reporting, investigation and hearing process. The program has been in existence for more than 30 years and recognizes the importance of a mariner's need for immediate legal advice after any casualty and before giving statements to the Coast Guard. The program provides this legal advice 24 hours per day every day of the year. In many cases, the attorney is able to be onboard the ship before the investigating officer from the Coast Guard and can assist you in preparing the forms required by federal regulations for submission to the Coast Guard. For most officers, involvement in marine casualties is concluded after the initial reporting and investigation stages. However, in some serious casualties, a Coast Guard Board of Inquiry or a National Transportation Safety Board hearing may be held to investigate the cause of the casualty. Your AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid attorney will meet with you, prepare you for your testimony and represent you throughout this type of hearing. After the investigation stage, if either the Coast Guard or NTSB believes the casualty was caused by human error or involved misconduct, they can issue a complaint against that mariner's license. Legal representation is again provided for free throughout the discovery, pretrial motion, pretrial settlement and trial stages before the administrative law judge assigned to the case. Legal representation is also provided on appeal, in the event an adverse ruling is rendered by the administrative law judge and an appeal is deemed warranted by the AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid attorney and the AMO officer involved. Legal representation in license renewal matters: Since approximately 2001, many AMO officers have experienced difficulties during their license renewal process. The AMO Coast Guard Legal Aid Program provides free legal advice and representation in these matters. The program attorney is available to answers any question you may have regarding the renewal process and, if necessary, assist you in preparing the application forms. In the event the Coast Guard refuses to renew an eligible member's license, the attorney will assist you in appealing the refusal to renew. Wage loss protection: If an eligible AMO officer's license is suspended by the Administrative Law Judge following a trial or as a result of a pretrial settlement, the program will provide him or her with a wage loss protection. The member's base wages will be paid for up to 12 months during any suspension. The wage loss protection does not apply to suspensions involving drugs or alcohol, criminal activity, fraud, misrepresentation or intentional misconduct. Civil penalty cases: The program provides free legal representation from beginning to end in a civil penalty case brought against an eligible AMO member. This type of case usually results from a pollution incident. If a civil penalty is assessed against a member personally the Program will reimburse him or her up to $1000 of the fine. Since the U.S. Coast Guard maintains officers in certain overseas locations, instances have arisen where an AMO officer may be the subject of investigation, or a witness to marine casualties or misconduct or negligence in foreign ports. In such cases occurring on or involving an AMO-contracted vessel, where contributions are made to the AMO Safety & Education Plan for such employment, the eligible AMO officers involved will be covered. What the plan does not cover The Plan does not cover:
Call counsel first Every eligible AMO officer involved in any maritime incident should immediately contact Coast Guard Legal Aid Program Attorney Mike Reny (24/7) and receive counsel before speaking with Coast Guard representatives or local authorities. Paid coverage under MOPS marine license insurance Source: R.J. Mellusi & Co.* Note: The following is intended to be an overview of the key points and primary coverage and exclusions of the MOPS policy as understood by one who has sold this policy and represented mariners under it. Available coverage: License Defense Legal Representation: The meaning of the term "legal representation" is an industry phrase, which can have an expansive or limited meaning. Under the MOPS policy, the "legal representation" of a mariner who has a valid meritorious defense can be very expansive. There are a number of levels to "legal representation." At the initial phase, MOPS endeavors to have an attorney contact the client immediately following a reported claim. All those insured with MOPS have a 24/7 toll-free number to call so that, if an incident occurs on weekends or holidays, timely legal assistance will be provided. MOPS recognizes the mariner needs legal advice before the Coast Guard boards the ship and, in many instances, MOPS attorneys are able to board the vessel before the investigating Coast Guard officer. In lieu of a shipboard investigation, or sometime following, the Coast Guard may request that a mariner voluntarily appear without a subpoena at one of its field offices to answer questions in an informal conference. This is the second phase. MOPS attorneys meet with the mariner, prepare the mariner and attend such hearings. In serious matters, a National Transportation Safety Board hearing is convened. This is a third stage. Such hearings typically involve multiple hearing days. The MOPS attorney will prepare the mariner for any required testimony and appear with him/her at the NTSB hearing. A decision from the NTSB often takes months and, while it is pending, the Coast Guard may decide to move forward on its own. If their own investigation is not resolved at an informal conference, a fourth stage commences in which the Coast Guard files formal charges against the mariner. This brings us to the litigation phase. Litigation involves pre-trial matters such as discovery demands, depositions, document requests and motions. One or more hearings may be held before the Administrative Law Judge to resolve disputes arising in this pre-trial stage. If the case is not settled at the conclusion of pre-trial discovery, the matter is set down for trial, which could involve as many days as the case is complex. A written decision and order will follow. The mariner will either be exonerated, or one or more of the charges will be found proved and a sanction imposed. If the sanction involves suspension, revocation or reduction-in-grade of license and the mariner had elected to take the optional coverage for wage loss, MOPS will indemnify that wage loss up to a maximum of 12 months under the terms of the policy. Under the MOPS license defense, all attorney fees and reasonable case expenses are paid by MOPS, without any cap, limit or co-insurance requirements. As an example of a typical case expense, if an expert witness is required to testify on behalf of the mariner, MOPS will pay for that as well. The Appeal Stage In instances following an adverse decision and order, MOPS has filed appeals in cases considered to have meritorious defenses. The appeal process has several levels, commencing with an appeal to the Coast Guard Commandant, followed by an appeal to the NTSB, followed by an appeal to one of the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, and conceivably an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. While MOPS has not yet taken a case to the U.S. Supreme Court, it has taken cases to the NTSB and to Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal. In the appeal process, once again, MOPS pays the attorney fees and case expenses. Loss of Income Protection: This is optional coverage. A mariner can elect to have only coverage for legal defense or he/she may elect to take additional coverage for wage loss. This has been described above. Civil Legal Defense: This coverage is optional. It pertains to the defense of civil litigation claims arising out of a shipping incident covered by the policy. Claims of this type are separate and apart from Coast Guard and NTSB hearings. They are filed in the federal or state court systems, typically involving property damage to other vessels, or piers, caused by collisions, groundings, allisions, fire, explosion, wakes, etc. MOPS will assign an attorney, defend and pay reasonable attorney fees and cases expenses in meritorious matters. The level of coverage is optional. A mariner may request $50,000, $75,000 or $100,000 of coverage for defense of such claims. Civil professional liability: This coverage is optional. Whereas the Civil Legal Defense pays only for attorney fees and case expenses, this optional cover pays for an adverse judgment against the mariner. As in the case of the Civil Legal Defense, layered levels of indemnity are available from $100,000 to $500,000. Criminal acts involving oil pollution: This coverage is optional. It does not pay for any fines imposed but does provide up to $25,000 for the services of a criminal attorney, who will work together with the admiralty attorney provided under the License Defense Legal Representation until trial. Civil penalties legal defense: This coverage is optional. It provides up to $10,000 for attorney fees to defend any violation of the law involving a civil penalty filed against the mariner by the Coast Guard, or any other federal or state agency. This type of action does not involve a mariner's license but involves charges filed against the mariner personally. Property coverage: The MOPS policy provides, at no additional cost, indemnification against losses of certain items (i.e. professional instruments and equipment caused by fire, sinking, stranding, heavy weather etc.)--up to $3,000. Foreign port coverage: The MOPS policy provides, at no additional cost, reimbursement of attorney fees required in a foreign port in the event a mariner is required to attend and testify at an inquiry held in a foreign country concerning a shipping casualty covered under the policy--up to $2,000. Subsistence allowance: The MOPS policy provides, at no additional cost, $35 per day for each day during the period of time a license has been suspended or revoked for up to 12 months. This coverage is in addition to any amount paid under the Loss of Income Protection. The main or primary exclusions under the policy are those involving intentional or willful acts of misconduct or wrongdoing, fraud, intentional misstatement of fact, and drug and or alcohol use. *R.J. Mellusi & Co., an agent of MOPS, has expressly authorized the publication of this article concerning coverage available in the MOPS insurance program. |
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