Jury Verdict For Seaman Reversed For Failure To Disclose Prior Back Problems
RICKEY BROWN, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus PARKER DRILLINGOFFSHORE CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 03-30782
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
396 F.3d 619; 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 125; 2005 AMC 827
January 5, 2005, Filed
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff seaman filed a suit against defendant employer seeking to recover damages under the Jones Act for an injury allegedly sustained aboard a vessel. The employer appealed after the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana accepted the jury's verdict and awarded damages to the seaman and argued that the evidence did not support the jury's finding that the employer unreasonably withheld benefits from the seaman.
OVERVIEW: The seaman failed to disclose on his job application that he had suffered back injuries in the prior two years; he was fired from his previous job for failing to disclose his back trouble. The seaman claimed that he injured his back while working on one of the employer's oil rigs. The employer refused to pay him benefits on the ground that the seaman's complaints derived from his prior back injuries and that he had willfully concealed those injuries. The jury found that the seaman was injured due to the employer's negligence, that he had not willfully concealed his medical condition, and that the employer had unreasonably withheld maintenance and cure benefits from him. The employer contended that the jury had clearly erred in finding no willful concealment and an unreasonable withholding of benefits. The court agreed. The record showed that the seaman had willfully failed to disclose his prior back injuries on his job application, that the information was material to the employer's decision to hire him, and that the withheld information was causally related to the seaman's claimed injuries; under the circumstances, it was reasonable for the employer to withhold benefits from him.
OUTCOME: The court reversed the district court's judgment, vacated the jury's verdict, and dismissed the seaman's suit with prejudice.
