Six-Year Hiatus Enough Of A Break To Require Separate Evaluation Of Duties For Jones Act Seaman Status
Posted on Aug 26, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Six-Year Hiatus Enough Of A Break To Require Separate Evaluation Of Duties For Jones Act Seaman Status
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held yesterday that a pipeline coating technician who was injured aboard a vessel involved in laying pipeline underneath the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain was a “seaman” for Jones Act purposes. The court rejected the employer’s argument that the worker was not a seaman for failing to meet the Jones Act’s temporal...
Coast Guard Proposes Inflation Increases To OPA Liability Limits
Posted on Aug 24, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Coast Guard Proposes Inflation Increases To OPA Liability Limits
The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) last week to carry out inflation adjustments to the limits of liability under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA), 33 U.S.C. 2701, et seq. Under OPA, the responsible parties for any vessel (other than a public vessel) or facility (including any deepwater port or onshore facility) from which oil is discharged, or which...
Vessel Owner Did Not Breach “Turnover Duty” Where Injury-Causing Repairs Were Within General Scope Of Shipyard Inspection And Repair
Posted on Jul 23, 2014 in Litigation, OSHA, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Vessel Owner Did Not Breach “Turnover Duty” Where Injury-Causing Repairs Were Within General Scope Of Shipyard Inspection And Repair
A harbor worker brought claims against a vessel owner under the Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) for injuries he sustained when one of the vessel’s hatch covers blew off during an air pressure test of airtight integrity. The vessel owner filed for summary judgment, arguing that the undisputed facts showed that the vessel owner did not breach any applicable duty,...
Louisiana Federal Court Finds Offshore Helicopter Operator Liable For $1.3 Million In Crash
Posted on Jul 21, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Product Liability, Transportation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Louisiana Federal Court Finds Offshore Helicopter Operator Liable For $1.3 Million In Crash
An offshore worker severely injured in a crash when a helicopter had to abort a take-off from an offshore oil platform brought suit against the helicopter operator and its insurer, the helicopter manufacturer, and the platform owner for negligence. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana granted summary judgment to the manufacturer, but allowed the plaintiffs’...
Asbestos MDL Court Concludes Punitive Damages For Unseaworthiness Allowed For Seaman But Not For A Seaman’s Personal Representative In Survival Actions
Posted on Jul 15, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, OSHA, Product Liability, Transportation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Asbestos MDL Court Concludes Punitive Damages For Unseaworthiness Allowed For Seaman But Not For A Seaman’s Personal Representative In Survival Actions
In the consolidated asbestos products liability MDL pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the court had the opportunity last week to address significant issues with respect to the maritime cases in the MDL brought by various merchant marines and their representatives, survivors, and spouses. The court considered whether punitive damages are...
Illinois Federal Court Holds Responsible Party Under Oil Pollution Act Does Not Have To Establish Actual Cause Of Incident To Obtain Limitation Of Liability
Posted on Jul 13, 2014 in Energy/Environmental, Litigation, OSHA, Product Liability, Transportation, Workplace Safety | Comments Off on Illinois Federal Court Holds Responsible Party Under Oil Pollution Act Does Not Have To Establish Actual Cause Of Incident To Obtain Limitation Of Liability
In January 2005, a barge exploded in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. The explosion killed an employee of the barge owner and spilled 4,718 gallons of oil into the canal. The insurers of the barge owner paid more than $8.6 million in costs associated with the removal effort and then sought to recover the costs from the Oil Pollution Act’s Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund through...
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