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Noting that whether a vessel is or is not “in navigation” for Jones Act purposes is a fact-intensive question normally for the jury, and not the court, to decide, a Texas court reversed a state trial court’s decision granting summary...

A worker employed on “the Mad Dog,” an oil and gas spar platform in the Gulf of Mexico on the Outer Continental Shelf and injured when he was testing one of the Mad Dog’s lifeboats was not a “seaman” under the Jones Act and...

A cook, who spent approximately 6 out of a total of 195 days of his employment engaged in seaman’s work aboard the quarterbarge UNITY was not a seaman under the 30 percent status test set forth in Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis , 515 U.S. 347 (1995),...

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a federal district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a borrowing employer who had been sued by its borrowed employee, a welder, after the welder sustained injuries when gasses exploded while...

A oil-rig “floorman,” whose duties included assembling, cleaning, and disassembling blowout preventers and piping on oil rigs, was not a “seaman” under the Jones Act [46 U.S.C.S. §§ 30104-30105] since he failed to demonstrate...

By Louis M. Solomon Alcalde v. Carnival Cruise Lines , Case No. 10-24457-Civ-Moore/Torres (S.D. Fla. July 2011) [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], is another in the line of recent cases struggling with the interplay between the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (Mealey’s) The U.S. Supreme Court on June 9 denied a petition for certiorari filed by a seaman who sought review of a decision that his injury-related claims must be arbitrated under his employment contact with a cruise...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (Mealey’s) The U.S. Supreme Court on June 9 denied a petition for certiorari filed by a seaman who sought review of a decision that his injury-related claims must be arbitrated under his employment contact with a cruise...

On April 20, 2010, Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, leading to 1.3 million gallons of crude oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico per day. By comparison, the Exxon/Valdez spill, which has long been considered the worst environmental...

Larson's Spotlight on FELA, Malicious Prosecution, Tort Action Against Employer, Jones Act, and Retaliatory Termination. Larson's surveys the latest case developments that you need to know about. Thomas A. Robinson, the staff writer for Larson's...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - (Mealey's) In a move that would allow families of workers killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion to sue for noneconomic damages, the U.S. House of Representatives on July 1 passed H.R. 5503, the SPILL Act (Securing Protections...

WASHINGTON, D.C. --(Mealey's) A 6-2 U.S. Supreme Court majority on Feb. 22 ruled that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (NCVIA) preempts tort claims asserting design defect against vaccine manufacturers ( Russell Bruesewitz, et al...

HOUSTON — (Mealey’s) Three injured workers and the widow of a man killed in the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the Louisiana coast last month filed a personal injury and wrongful death action in a Texas state court on May 4...

SAN FRANCISCO -- (Mealey's) A California appeals court has affirmed an $8 million judgment to a seaman who blamed benzene exposure aboard oil tankers for the loss of a kidney to cancer, saying Feb. 18 that scientific certainty is not required for...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As noted by Bohrer Law Firm, LLC, President Obama's plan to expand offshore drilling would inevitably lead to an increase in maritime accidents and filings under the Jones Act, general maritime law and Longshore and Harbor Workers'...