Personal Injury Law

An injured worker's claim for vessel negligence against a third-party tortfeasor under 33 U.S.C.S. § 905(b) of the LHWCA failed because the worker was injured ashore while building a pontoon to move an offshore drilling rig that was moored in his employe

By Lipcon, Margulies & Alsina, P.A.

MARK L MCLAURIN; TAWANA MCLAURIN, Plaintiffs-Appellants v. NOBLE DRILLING (US) INC; NOBLE DRILLING CORPORATION; NOBLE DRILLING SERVICES INC; JOHN DOES 1-100, Defendants-Appellees
No. 07-60402

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 11054
May 22, 2008, Filed

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiffs, an injured worker and his spouse, appealed a judgment from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi granting summary judgment to defendant, the owner of a vessel. Plaintiffs challenged the district court's finding that their state-law tort claims against the vessel owner were preempted by 33 U.S.C.S. § 905(b) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), 33 U.S.C.S. §§ 901-950.??

OVERVIEW: The worker's arm was crushed by materials that fell from an unattended crane while he was performing carpentry work on a mobile offshore drilling unit, which was moored in his employer's shipyard. After receiving medical and disability compensation from his employer under the LHWCA, he sued the vessel owner, alleging that it had assumed control of the project and negligently failed to observe safety procedures. Plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their state-law tort claims. On appeal, the court held that the district court correctly found that plaintiffs' claim under 33 U.S.C.S. § 905(b) of the LHWCA failed as a matter of law, but it erred in finding that § 905(b)'s exclusivity provision preempted plaintiffs' state-law tort claims against the vessel owner. Plaintiffs failed to allege a § 905(b) claim for vessel negligence because the worker was injured ashore, not while located on the vessel itself; thus, the claim did not meet the test for a maritime tort. However, although plaintiffs failed to state a cognizable claim under § 905(b), 33 U.S.C.S. § 933(a) did not preempt their state-law negligence claims against the vessel owner as a third-party tortfeasor.??

OUTCOME: The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiffs' claim for vessel negligence under the LHWCA. The court reversed the district court's dismissal of plaintiffs' state-law tort claims against the vessel owner.

Full post as published by Cruise Ship Law on May 01, 2008 (boomark / email).