SEAMAN'S JONES ACT CLAIM SUCCESSFUL BUT UNSEAWORTHINESS CLAIM UNSUCCESSFUL WHERE CREW MEMBER NEGLIGENTLY HEAVED A LINE INJURING SEAMAN
FADEL NASSER, Plaintiff, against CSX LINES, LLC, Defendant.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4512
March 20, 2002, Decided
DISPOSITION: Final judgment entered in favor of Plaintiff against Defendant in the sum $10,000 in addition to the amount of cure due and owing to be determined.
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff seaman brought and action against defendant shipowner for injuries he received on the ship under both the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.S. App. § 688 et seq., and general maritime law. The court conducted a bench trial, reviewed the parties' submissions and the evidentiary exhibits, and assessed the credibility of all witnesses, and was ready to set forth its findings of fact and conclusions of law.
OVERVIEW: The seaman was injured when a coworker heaved a line, throwing the seaman about two feet into the air. The court found that although the seaman was not credible about his delay in seeking treatment and his complaints of pain were exaggerated, he did suffer from a severe contusion of the low back and post-trauma disorder. The court found that the seaman's unseaworthiness claim failed as he did not show that the rope that struck him was not reasonably fit for its intended purpose or that its condition caused his injuries. Rather, his injury was caused by the negligence of a coworker. Thus, the court found that all of the elements of negligence under the Jones Act were proved: (1) the ship had a duty to provide a reasonably safe place to work; (2) the ship vicariously breached that duty when its employee negligently heaved the line without instruction, command, or independent investigation; and (3) such negligence was the proximate cause of the seaman's injury. Last, the court found that under the maximum medical recovery date the seaman was not entitled to any maintenance but the shipowner had to provide the cure that it withheld from December 31, 1998 to November 21, 1999.
OUTCOME: Final judgment was entered in favor of the seaman against the shipowner in the sum of $10,000, in addition to the amount of cure due and owing to be determined.
