Company denies responsibility for back claim because injury occurred off the vessel

In a case before federal court, a fishing boat worker seeks compensation for a back injury he suffered not aboard the vessel, but in a warehouse.

David Acosta alleges he suffered the injury in September, 2007 while moving pallets with a forklift in the warehouse located between 200 and 300 yards from his vessel’s berth.

Acosta, the assistant deck boss of the F/V Siberian Sea, states that moving pallets of paper bags from the warehouse to the vessel was part of his job duties.

He claims that while positioning the pallets by hand, the top one fell onto him, injuring his back. Acosta charges that the boat’s owner, Aleutian Spray Fisheries, was negligent for failing to provide an adequate inspection of the warehouse.

Aleutian counters that they are not responsible, not being the owner of the warehouse. They claim that inspecting the warehouse was the plaintiff’s responsibility in accordance with his duties as assistant deck boss.

Under the so called “Primary Duty Rule,” a seaman may not recover injury damages by his or her own failure to perform duties of the job.

The case is still to be decided.

Read the full case here.