Cruise Ship Law

DIONE CAGLE VERSUS HARRAH'S LAKE CHARLES, L.L.C. AND/OR PLAYERS LAKE CHARLES, L.L.C.

COURT OF APPEAL OF LOUISIANA, THIRD CIRCUIT
07-653 (La.App. 3 Cir. 12/12/07); 2007 La. App. LEXIS 2250
December 12, 2007, Decided

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Defendant former employer appealed from a judgment of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court, Parish of Calcasieu (Louisiana), which ruled in favor of plaintiff former employee, who had worked as a slot machine technician aboard a casino riverboat, in her action to recover under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.S. § 688, for negligence and unseaworthiness. The employee asserted that the amount of damages awarded was inadequate.



OVERVIEW: The trial court found that the lighting around steps upon which the employee fell was inadequate and rendered the riverboat unseaworthy. Affirming, the court held, inter alia, that (1) although the trial court noted some doubt as to the extent of the employee's injuries, it believed that the independent medical examination substantiated the employee's complaints and, therefore, there was no merit to the argument that the evidence contradicted the employee's assertions; (2) the trial court did not err in finding that the stairs were inadequately lit as a security officer who investigated the area immediately after the incident testified that the lighting in the stairwell was non-existent and that it was dim in surrounding areas; (3) there was ample testimony that the employee's fall was caused by inadequate lighting; (4) the trial court did not err in not assessing any comparative fault to the employee based on the allegedly routine nature of her actions because traversing wet stairs in lighting that was deficient to the degree that it rendered the vessel unseaworthy was not routine; and (5) the level of damages assessed, as well as prejudgment interest on past losses, was proper.



OUTCOME: The court affirmed the trial court's judgment.