A Summer Intern Who Was Injured While Assigned To Work On A Vessel During His Internship But Whose Other Work That Summer Was Primarily Land Based Is Determined Not To Be A Jones Act Seaman
SETH A. BECKER, Plaintiff-Intervenor Defendant-Appellee, v.TIDEWATER, INC., ET AL., Defendants, TIDEWATER INCORPORATED, TWENTY GRANDOFFSHORE INCORPORATED, TIDEWATER MARINE, L.L.C., Defendants-Third PartyPlaintiffs-Intervenor Defendants-Appellees-Appellants, R & B FALCON DRILLINGUSA, INC., PENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY, LTD., CERTAIN UNDERWRITERS AT LLOYD'SINSURANCE CO., Defendants-Appellants, HYDRA RIG, a division of Tuboscope VetcoInternational, L.P., Defendant-Third Party Defendant-Third PartyPlaintiff-Appellee, HYDRADYNE HYDRAULICS, INC., Defendant-Third PartyDefendant-Appellee, v. COFLEXIP STENA OFFSHORE, INC., Defendant-Third PartyDefendant Appellee, v. BAKER HUGHES, INC., BAKER HUGHES OILFIELD OPERATIONS,INC., Defendants-Intervenor Defendants-Appellants, and BAKER OIL TOOLS, INC., adivision of Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc., Defendant-Third PartyDefendant-Intervenor Plaintiff-Third Party Plaintiff-Appellant, BAKER OIL TOOLS,a division of Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc., Third PartyDefendant-Appellant.
No. 01-31420
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
335 F.3d 376; 2003 U.S. App. LEXIS 12343
PRIOR HISTORY: Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 99-CV-1198. Richard T Haik, Sr, US District Judge.
DISPOSITION: Affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part and remanded.
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Defendants, employer, vessel owner, and its underwriters, appealed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana which awarded plaintiff intern damages in excess of $43 million under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.S. app. § 688, for injuries he sustained in an accident aboard the vessel.
OVERVIEW: The intern was assigned to land-based work while working for his employer during his summer vacations. During his third summer, the intern had an opportunity to observe a gravel-packing operation on an offshore fixed platform, and was then assigned by the employer to a vessel to replace a worker who was in need of time off. The intern was involved in an accident on that vessel from which he almost died and necessitated the amputation of legs below the knee. The district court submitted to the jury the question of whether the intern was a seaman under the Jones Act; the jury answered the question in the affirmative and awarded him damages. On appeal, the court determined that the intern was not a seaman under the Jones Act because his connection to the vessel was not substantial in duration and nature, and because his status with his employer did not fundamentally change when he was assigned to the vessel. The intern was a land-based worker who was assigned to a mission on the vessel at sea, and the assignment was one of many activities to take place during his internship that summer. His receiving safety training was insufficient to establish seaman status.
OUTCOME: The judgment for the intern was reversed, the findings of liability and damages against defendants were vacated, and the case was remanded to the district court so that the case could proceed as a Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act case.
