Jones Act Lawyer Straight Talk: A Case Study - No Job Safety Analysis Causes Derrick Barge Injury

Jones Act Lawyer Straight Talk

Jones Act Lawyer Straight Talk is a series of articles on the Jones Act and Seaman's issues where we provide you an insiders view of Jones Act Law by a Jones Act Lawyer. We tell you straight old fashioned unvarnished, unsweetened truth. Here, we discuss a case study where no Job Safety Analysis caused a derrick barge injury.

Working In A Cramped Space

Joe Seaman was working as crew member on a derrick barge. Joe Seaman and his supervisor were instructed to repair a defective winch. The defective winch was located in a cramped area of the barge. The supervisor came up with the idea to swing a sledgehammer to try and force a pin back into place on the winch. Because the area was cramped, Joe Seaman had to bend over while swinging the sledgehammer.

After about an hour of work, Joe Seaman felt something pop in his neck. Supervisor saw Joe Seaman "twitch" and asked him whether something was wrong, to which Joe Seaman replied that there was something wrong with his neck. Supervisor told Joe Seaman to stop working. The job was eventually finished using a hydraulic jack.

No Job Safety Analysis Was Performed

Offshore Barge Company policy required that workers complete a Job Safety Analysis before embarking on tasks in order to ensure that potential hazards were identified and safe procedures were decided upon. On this occasion, Joe Seaman, supervisor, and the other seamen they were working with a signed blank Job Safety Analysis without filling it out. Supervisor went back after the task was completed and filled in the substance of the Job Safety Analysis form.

Joe Seaman was diagnosed with a herniated disc caused by sledge hammering while bent over. Joe Seaman filed suit against Offshore Barge Company under the Jones Act, and the general maritime law of the United States.

The trial court found that Offshore Barge Company was negligent in requiring Joe Seaman to swing a sledgehammer in cramped conditions that required him to crouch and bend forward in a manner that increased the risk of injury to his neck and upper torso. Further, a reasonable alternative tool, the hydraulic jack, was available and was in fact used to complete the task.

The evidence showed that the Job Safety Analysis that was supposed to be completed before a project was undertaken was not completed until after this job was finished. The supervisor should have known that the failure to complete the Job Safety Analysis would increase the risk that an employee would be injured by working in an unsafe fashion.

The trial court concluded that Offshore was negligent, that its negligence contributed to Joe Seaman's injury, that the derrick barge was unseaworthy, and that the unseaworthiness played a substantial part in causing Joe Seaman's injuries.

Joe Seaman received a low-seven figure recovery.

Disclaimer

This is a case study. Any resemblance to actual events, cases, companies and/or circumstances is purely coincidental. This Jones Act Law article is not legal advice. I am simplistic in order to achieve clarity. Your Jones Act case, situation and/or circumstances may differ from those described in this article. You need to understand that whenever bring a court case your credibility is always at issue. Always tell the truth.

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