25 results for 'cat:"Maritime" AND cat:"Tort"'.
J. Gillmor denies summary judgment to the employer of a worker whose was injured when her arm was sucked into an industrial vacuum while working on board a U.S. Navy vessel. There are genuine issues of material fact as to if the worker was considered a “seaman” under the definition of the Jones Act when the injury occurred as there are questions as to if the worker’s efforts to protect the ship from corrosion should be contributed to the operation of the vessel as well as questions about the extent of the injuries and the relationship of all the parties to each other. The worker’s declarations are not a “sham” as the employer does not show how different instances of her testimony contradict each other.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv275, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Employment, maritime, tort
J. Jackson denies an offshore oilfield worker’s request for remand of his slip-n-fall some three miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The worker unsuccessfully argues removal of his suit from state court was improperly based on federal jurisdiction over the Outer Continental Shelf lands in the Gulf of Mexico. Although he argues he was off-duty when he fell, the worker would not have been injured “but-for” his employment on the platform, where the vessel was moored and engaged in oil and gas activities in federal waters.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv00250, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: maritime, tort, Jurisdiction
J. Kindred denies a longshoreman's negligence claim stemming from a shoulder injury he sustained when he slipped and fell while working aboard a vessel. "It is not reasonable for a professional longshoreman to expect an ice-free deck inside of a freezer hold when the hatch cover is open to the elements." The longshoreman's supervisor warned him that the decks would be slippery and instructed him to use extra care. "The cargo deck in question was not covered in ice and there was no ice or slick condition beyond the usual conditions."
Court: USDC Alaska, Judge: Kindred, Filed On: March 20, 2024, Case #: 3:20cv98, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: maritime, tort
J. Stewart finds the trial court properly granted summary judgment to the subsea oil drilling engineering and exploration firm. The employee says he sustained injuries to his shoulder and neck while servicing a remotely operated vehicle onboard a drillship during a Chevron contract. He brings claims under theories of negligence and unseaworthiness. The trial court correctly held the employee is not a seaman as defined by his Jones Act claim, and he did not establish a genuine dispute of material fact as to negligence and unseaworthiness. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Stewart , Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 23-20095, Categories: maritime, tort, Negligence
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Vitter denies summary judgment to the owner of an offshore production platform on the argument it is not responsible for injuries a rig worker allegedly sustained on a chartered supply vessel carrying him to an oil platform. Two site leaders on the platform at the time of the incident testified that the rig owner has control over both the timing and the means by which a crew change occurs.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Vitter, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv122, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Employment, maritime, tort
J. Bloom denies the cruise ship operator's motion to dismiss the passenger's slip-and-fall suit. Negligent maintenance, failure to correct and failure to warn claims may be brought under a theory of vicarious liability, and doing so is not, in this case, an attempt to circumvent notice requirements since those causes of action are also alleged under a theory of direct liability. Difficulties in identifying the specific employees responsible for maintaining the deck where the passenger slipped are also not a basis for dismissal.
Court: USDC Southern District of Florida, Judge: Bloom, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv23275-BB, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: maritime, tort
J. Cain grants summary judgment to a maritime construction company, finding an employee who was injured while working on its crane barge is not a seaman and, therefore, not entitled to a seaman’s benefits. His exclusive remedy against his employer is found under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act as a land-based maritime worker.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv1111, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Employment, maritime, tort
J. Joseph grants summary judgment to a marine construction company on its argument its litigant-employee was not a seaman when a 70-pound shackle fell on his left foot while he was working on a docked barge and, therefore, he is not entitled to a seaman’s medical care and benefits. None of the work performed by the employee, a carpenter, was of a seagoing nature or subjected him to the “perils of the sea.” After he finished his work at the dock, he was not going to sail with any vessel, as required of an actual seaman under the Jones Act.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Joseph, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv5535, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: maritime, tort, Workers' Compensation
J. Page finds that the lower court properly found for the employee and awarded him $2.4 million after assessing 25% fault to him personally. The employee's expert used reasonably methodology to calculate the employee's lost earning capacity as a result of his knee injury sustained while working on a vessel. Affirmed.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Page, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: ED111416, Categories: maritime, tort, Damages
J. Jolly finds the district court properly dismissed claims brought by various Houston Ship Channel-associated entities seeking economic loss damages as allowed by the Oil Pollution Act against the petroleum terminal services company that spilled a mixture of oil and hazardous substances there. Hazardous substance spills are governed by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, which does not allow for recovery of economic losses. The mixed spill is not “oil” as defined by OPA. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Jolly, Filed On: October 27, 2023, Case #: 22-20456, Categories: Environment, maritime, tort
J. Christopher finds that the trial court improperly denied the special appearance filed by one of the accused companies in a Jones Act case brought by the widow of a seaman who allegedly sustained fatal injuries in a forklift accident on a ship. The Swiss company "lacks minimum contacts with Texas" and is not subject to the trial court's jurisdiction. Reversed in part.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Christopher, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 14-22-00470-CV, Categories: maritime, tort, Jurisdiction
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly granted the offshore oil and gas business’ motion for summary judgment in Lloyds’ intervenor complaint seeking to recover maintenance and cure benefits paid to an injured seaman. Lloyds is responsible for payments under a protection and indemnity policy under which the business is an assured. Because the vessel upon which the injury occurred was engaged in its “intended operations” at the time of the injury and the limitation on the waiver of subrogation does not apply, Lloyds waived its subrogation rights. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 22-30371, Categories: Insurance, maritime, tort
J. Doughty denies summary judgment to a seaman seeking to dismiss a vessel owner’s limit on his accidental injury claims to the vessel’s market value of $500,000 after the accident. Based on the evidence submitted, the ruling cannot conclude that the seaman communicated to the vessel owner that his damages could exceed $500,000 without an exhaustive quantum analysis, especially a damage model that evolves over time given the progression of the seaman’s medical treatment.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Doughty, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv2354, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: maritime, tort, Damages
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of BP in this toxic tort case arising from the charter captain’s exposure to crude oil and dispersants while assisting with cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The court properly granted BP’s motion to exclude expert medical opinions finding that the experts failed to establish general causation between the captain’s exposure to the chemicals and his progressive loss of eyesight. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 22-30779, Categories: Environment, maritime, tort
J. Chambers grants the Barboursville motel’s renewed motion to dismiss a Georgia man’s suit claiming he sustained permanent and disabling injuries on Sept. 29, 2020, when during a dive excursion at Coco View Resorts in Honduras he was struck by the propeller of one of the motel’s ships it has docked at the resort. After giving the parties a 90-day period to conduct limited discovery following the filing of an amended complaint, the court finds, despite some evidence of a business relationship, the man can’t show the motel and the resort are one in the same.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Chambers, Filed On: October 4, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv417, NOS: Marine - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: maritime, tort, Business Practices
J. Hanks finds that the owner of a crude oil tanker cannot seek recovery for an explosive allision near Houston. Evidence indicates the tanker is 100 percent responsible for the collision and, therefore, the tanker owner is not entitled to recovery from either of the two tugboats involved in the accident.
Court: USDC Southern District of Texas, Judge: Hanks, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 4:18cv3113, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Admiralty, maritime, tort
J. Gravelles, rules following a bench trial, finding the owners of an inland push tug are not at fault and therefore exonerated from liability for a deadly accident in an inland waterway, during which its barges struck and sank a skiff carrying four intoxicated crew members to an inland towboat, killing two. The negligence of the towboat’s captain was a “substantial contributing cause” of the tragic accident.
Court: USDC Middle District of Louisiana, Judge: DeGravelles, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 3:20cv214, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: maritime, tort, Wrongful Death
[Consolidated.] J. Jolivette Brown denies summary judgment to a chartered fishing boat company, declining to dismiss contribution claims by owners of two vessels in an inland waterway that were towing a pipe that accidentally collided with the fishing boat, injuring a passenger. There is a genuine dispute of material fact as to the proportional fault of the charter boat owner and the two vessel owners. It is also too early to determine if the fishing boat charter underpaid its share of damages to its injured passenger, as proportional fault of the three vessel owners has not yet been decided.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Jolivette Brown, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4535, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: maritime, tort, Indemnification
J. Morgan grants summary judgment to the employer of a temporary laborer who claims he was injured while working in an offshore oil field removing marsh grass and other hurricane debris from oil and gas platforms. The laborer cannot recover for his injuries because he does not qualify for seaman status under maritime law and he has no claim for vessel negligence.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Morgan, Filed On: July 18, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv2213, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Employment, maritime, tort
J. Barbier denies summary judgment to the owners of an offshore supply boat, denying their request to limit liability to $777,000, after its vessel crashed into a stationary oil field platform after the vessel’s pilot fell asleep at the helm while steering toward another oil platform. The company failed to overcome negligence claims after multiple crew members testified that the company failed to enforce its own “fatigue management policy” or monitor shipboard use of “proximity alarms” to alert sleepy or distracted captains. Owners were “put on notice” to the use of proximity alarms after a 2018 incident during which another company captain fell asleep at the wheel of a different vessel in the fleet and crashed into an oilfield platform.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Barbier, Filed On: June 30, 2023, Case #: 2:21cv2371, NOS: Other Personal Property Damage - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: maritime, tort, Negligence
J. Wilson finds the district court properly held the Louisiana failed to establish standing to challenge a National Marine Fisheries Service rule requiring certain shrimping vessels to use turtle excluder devices. The record indicates that Louisiana would not suffer a cognizable injury because the service would provide funding to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for its additional enforcement efforts. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 22-30799, Categories: Environment, maritime, tort
J. Engelhardt finds the district court improperly granted the shipyard summary judgment on the ground that its mesothelioma-diagnosed employee’s state law tort claims are not preempted by the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act. The employee claims that he was negligently exposed to asbestos while working on U.S. Navy ships. Though concurrent jurisdiction is allowed as to certain claims under the Act, the employee’s claims, which arise from exposure in 1969, are not preempted by the version of the Act in place at that time. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Engelhardt, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 21-30761, Categories: maritime, tort, Jurisdiction