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Texas offshore workers—Evaluate the evidence of your Jones Act case

Generally speaking, it does not require a great deal of evidence for a Texas seafarer to prevail in a Jones Act case. It only need be substantiated “that the act of negligence was a cause, however slight, of his injuries” [see In re Hechinger, 890 F.2d 202, 208 (9th Cir.1989)].

Some over-ambitious maritime attorneys call this a “paper thin” evidence requirement to lure clients into believing their case is a guaranteed winner. They might try and talk the client out of a settlement offer sitting on the table because, after all, you were legitimately hurt on the vessel and someone has to pay. So the jury in its wisdom will unquestionably award damages far exceeding the offer.

To further bolster the argument that someone or something else was responsible, the hasty lawyer will blur the lines between a Jones Act and an unseaworthiness claim, the latter being predicated "without regard to fault or the use of due care," and "a shipowner has an absolute nondelegable duty to provide a seaworthy vessel." Brister v. A.W.I., Inc., 946 F.2d 350, 355 (5th Cir. 1991) (quotation omitted).

But a rush to take an injury case to a jury can reflect a frivolous-chasing “slip and fall on the water” mentality that may betray the client in the end. As a federal appeals court ruled, a ship "owner is not obligated to furnish an accident-free ship." Stocksill, 492 F.3d at 604 (quotation omitted).

This is not to ignore the fact that seamen are frequently the victims of an unseaworthy vessel. Unseaworthiness means any unsafe condition on a vessel. Examples include poor design leading to instability, frayed rope, slippery decks, leaking hatches, lack of provisions, lack of proper medical treatment and improperly trained crewmembers. And in these cases it makes sense to go to a jury.

This might be hard to believe coming from an article in a maritime law firm website, but the truth is this:

Sometimes bad things happen to good seamen.

Whether it be a distraction from texting, force majeure (Act of God) or simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, there is not always a “bad guy” to blame for an accident.

Even harder for the injured mariner to swallow, sometimes the fault is with the person in the mirror.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in Moore v.Omega Protein, Incorporated against a seaman’s appeal of his Jones Act negligence case essentially because the injury was determined to be his fault.

Omega involved the case of William Moore. On Aug. 8, 2008, he injured his ankle when his leg was caught in the coil of a line while making fast the commercial fishing vessel F/V Raccoon Point to a piling in the Freshwater Bayou Locks in Louisiana. The boat was owned and operated by defendant Omega Protein.

Moore’s lawsuit alleged the negligence of the boat’s master and the unseaworthiness of the vessel caused the accident.

The district court jury found that Moore did not even meet the “slight” evidence standard.

First, it concluded there was no evidence of negligence by the captain or any other crewmember nor was there an indication that conditions and equipment were unsafe. The captain testified that he piloted the vessel safely and slowly into the locks. He added that Moore went against normal practice by trying to secure the line onto the piling before the vessel stopped. Moreover, a mate backed up the captain’s testimony that the rope was in good working condition, free of wear and kinks that could have caught on his leg, and had been stored in a rack. Evidence also supported the fact that Moore was well trained and experienced for the task.

Ironically, had he been a lousy seaman it might have helped his case because he could have claimed he never should been assigned to the task.

But it was Moore’s own words that may have done him in. The captain testified that Moore told him right after the accident that it was caused by his own “dumb, stupid mistake.”

As the Fifth Circuit ruled in the Omega appeal, “although the burden of proving negligence is relatively "light" under the Jones Act, an injury "does not presuppose negligence." Marvin v. Cent. Gulf Lines, Inc., 554 F.2d 1295, 1299 (5th Cir. 1977).

Even though Moore was legitimately hurt on the job, the appeals court agreed with the lower ruling that it was not the fault of anything other than his leg being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A highly qualified and responsible maritime attorney will objectively review the circumstances of a Texas seaman’s accident before advising whether to file a lawsuit or accept a settlement. To blindly push the client into the courtroom is doing him or her a disservice.

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