Fishing vessel seaman loses appeal for arm injury claim

A federal court has upheld a ruling against a seaman who claimed his arm injury was caused by unseaworthy conditions.

Trung Le alleged that the injury occurred after falling while attempting to move a box that was jammed in the "boxilator," a machine that moves boxes from the hold of his vessel, the F/T Northern Jaeger.

Le sued American Seafood, his employer, for damages, citing the vessel's listing, an icy work deck and flawed design of the boxilator as causes of the accident.

The court ruled in favor of American, finding that Le did not prove his allegations about how the icing and listing played a role in the accident.

Le appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which upheld the earlier ruling.

Read the full case here.