A longshoreman ascended a ladder on a ship which had coiled cable and a snatch block at the base. Upon later descending the ladder, he forgot the hazard and was injured.
One of MEC’s Associates, Captain Richard Hill, testified in defense of the steamship line in this case. The trial court entered a judgment for the plaintiff holding that the vessel had breached its turnover duty to warn and its turnover duty of unsafe condition.
The defendant appealed. In a decision filed August 6, 1991, the Ninth Circuit in reversing the district court judgment held that a vessel owner did not breach its turnover duty warn and its turnover duty of safe condition when the longshoreman injured himself aboard the vessel on an obvious hazard. It stated that a longshoreman is an expert who is required to be "mindful" of hazards – not forgetful of them. Rather a shipowner may rely on the expertise of longshoremen and leave unremedied conditions that would otherwise be considered unreasonable dangerous to less skilled persons. (Glenn Ludwig vs Pan Ocean Shipping 9th Cir. August 1991)
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