Published by The Pellegrin Firm April 20, 2020
In a decision published April 15, 2020, a panel of the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a New Orleans district judge’s findings in favor of an injured seaman.
The Jones Act provides maritime workers with special avenues of recovery and other special protections. In passing the Jones Act, Congress recognized that working on a vessel is an unusually dangerous job than can lead to serious disability and injury. This also means the courts are especially hesitant to enforce unfair releases of Jones Act rights.
On July 3, 2019, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles rendered judgement on a dispute over the status of riverboat casinos as “vessels.” This is important because the plaintiff, who sustained injuries while operating a scissor lift on a riverboat casino moored in Lake Charles, filed his suit under the Jones Act. The Jones Act provides …
On June 24, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision on punitive damages in unseaworthiness cases. The case is Dutra Group v. Batterton, No. 18-266. In deciding the case, the Court looked toward two of its precedents: Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19 (1990), and Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U. S. 404 (2009). Miles …
In a decision dated May 23, 2019, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that expert medical testimony on causation is not necessarily required in Jones Act negligence cases. The court reversed a district court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer on the basis that the seaman could not show medical causation without expert …
On March 25, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of The Dutra Group v. Batterton. The main question of the case is whether a Jones Act seaman can recover punitive damages in a personal injury suit based on the unseaworthiness of the vessel that he worked on. The New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the …