A common type of case coming across our desk is that of a longshoreman who slips and falls on a deck and alleges that a grease spot caused him to slip.
Under the Longshoreman's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA) as amended, 33 USC 905(b), a longshoreman injured "by the negligence of a vessel" may bring an action against the vessel as if it were a third party and the vessel's liability shall not be based "on the warrantee of seaworthiness."
In Scindia, 451 US 156, the Supreme Court stated:
A ship owner has the duty to have the ship and its equipment in such condition that the stevedore may carry on his cargo operations with reasonable safety; and if the ship owner fails to at least warn the stevedore of hidden danger which was known to him in the exercise of reasonable care, he is liable if his negligence causes the injury to the longshoreman. But once the stevedore's cargo operations have begun, absent contract provision, positive law, or custom to the contrary, the ship owner has no general duty under section 905(b) by way of supervision or inspection to exercise reasonable care to discover conditions that develop within the confines of the cargo operations that are assigned to the stevedore.
None-the-less, the court held that where the condition arises out of a malfunction of the ships gear, the ship owner has a duty to act.
In Polizzi v M/V ZEPHYROS II Monrovia 114994 (5th Cir. La., __F.2nd__), a longshoreman claimed he slipped on a spot of oil on the deck near where there were rags apparently used by someone other than the longshoremen to clean up oil.
However, the jury did not find sufficient evidence that the vessel knew or should have known about the oil on the deck.
The expert for the defendant testified that the stevedore's superintendent or foreman should have discovered the oil prior to commencing cargo operations. Evidence was submitted that the stevedore company did not have an inspection policy.
It was held that the owner's duty was not breached if the defect causing the injury was open and obvious and one that the longshoreman should have seen.
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