Personal injury cases can be complex. When personal injury cases intertwine with maritime law, those involved can encounter some very idiosyncratic twists.
Like most personal injury cases, in maritime cases, the claim a plaintiff has against a defendant involves negligence. That is to say, the plaintiff is not accusing the defendant of intentionally harming him or her; rather, the plaintiff claims that he or she was injured due to the defendant negligently ignoring some sort of risk or negligently performing an exercise that harmed the plaintiff.
To be successful in any sort of litigation, a plaintiff must bring the proper defendant into the courtroom and allege negligence. This occurs when a plaintiff files a complaint with a court and serves process, which is the mode wherein a plaintiff notifies a defendant of a possible case and compels the defendant to defend itself in court. Once those formalities are complete, the court will set a schedule for when the parties must submit paperwork and when they can have a trial. If the plaintiff files suit against a party that is improper, the whole case is lost.
The recent case of Gantt v. Seadrill Americas from the Eastern District of Louisiana represents a maritime case wherein the plaintiff did not file suit against the proper defendant, leading to the defendant successfully attaining a dismissal of the case.
In that case, Gantt worked as an assistant crane operator on an oil and gas ship. A fire broke out on the ship because an air filter came into contact with a heating element. Gantt was one of the first responders to the fire, causing him injury.
Gantt sued LLOG Bluewater, among others, because it was responsible for obtaining the lease and providing insurance for the ship. At no time did LLOG own or operate the ship.
In turn, LLOG Bluewater hired Seadrill Deepwater. Seadrill Deepwater was tasked with obtaining a ship, taking it out to sea, and conducting the drilling operation. As an independent contractor, LLOG Bluewater had no control over the type of ship, the conditions, or what the drilling operation would be like. All that was left in the hands of Seadrill Deepwater.
When it was named as one of the defendants to this case, LLOG Bluewater filed a motion to dismiss because it was not a proper party to the suit. It claimed that because it sourced the furnishing of the ship to an independent contractor, that it had no obligation in the safety of the ship.
The District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana agreed with LLOG Bluewater. LLOG Bluewater, according to the opinion, had no duty to inspect and search a ship procured by Seadrill Deepwater. Principals have no such duty. Therefore, the court dismissed the suit as it relates to LLOG Bluewater.
Have you been injured in a maritime accident? You need an aggressive advocate on your side who will take on your case until the end. Contact the Kolodny law firm, a Texas maritime injury law firm.
(image courtesy of Oliver Paaske)
Alan Kolodny is committed to representing injured clients in Texas and throughout the United States. Alan earned his B.A. from Rice University and his J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
He focuses his practice on representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases involving the following matters: maritime and offshore accidents, including those under the Jones Act; automobile and 18-wheeler truck accidents; and industrial site accidents, work-related accidents, and claims for injured railroad workers under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
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