Trahan v. Superior Oil Company, Civ. A. No. 8001.
| Decision Date | 03 April 1962 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 8001. |
| Citation | 204 F. Supp. 627 |
| Parties | Buford TRAHAN v. SUPERIOR OIL COMPANY. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
Hugh E. Brunson, Crowley, La., for plaintiff.
W. Ford Reese, Adams & Reese, New Orleans, La., for defendant.
Libellant, Buford Trahan, filed this proceeding against his employer, Superior Oil Company, under the admiralty jurisdiction of the Court. The alleged accident occurred on March 31, 1959, offshore in the Gulf of Mexico where respondent is engaged in extensive operations for the discovery and production of oil, gas and related minerals. Libellant contends that as a result of the accident he is totally disabled and claims damages in the sum of $260,000.00. The case was tried to the Court.
Buford Trahan is presently 28 years of age; he was in his 25th year at the time this injury occurred.
The facts developed at the trial reflect that the Rambio was moored to a piling on the lee side of a drilling platform or structure owned by respondent and identified as Structure 9, off the Louisiana Coast in the region of Cameron Parish. Another vessel, a tug, also owned and operated by respondent called the Supco 5, was moored to another piling approximately 20 feet distant. Both boats were secured by the bow line only, bow on to the sea and facing the drilling platform; the Rambio was "port side to" to the Supco 5. By the ordinary action of wind, sea and current, there was some swinging of the vessels so that from time to time they were together, separated only by the tire casings used on the boats as fenders. There were no lines between them to keep them in a fixed position in relation to each other.
The Rambio is approximately 65 feet long, while the tug Supco 5 is approximately 80 feet in length. Because of this difference and the way the boats were moored, the bow of the Supco 5 was located at or just aft of the midship's section of the Rambio, and the sea, which the witnesses indicate was running between five and seven feet at the time of the accident, caused the two boats to pitch. They did not pitch in unison; while the Rambio was going down at the bow and up at the stern, the Supco 5 would go up at the bow and down at the stern, and during this motion the decks of the two vessels reached a position at which they were even or level with each other.
At about five o'clock in the afternoon of March 31, 1959, Trahan and another member of the crew of the Rambio, Herbert Kibodeaux, went aboard the Supco 5. At this time, the sea was moderate, running up to three feet in height. The master of the Rambio, Alex Connor, remained on board of that vessel; Connor had full knowledge of the fact that the men were going aboard the tug, made no objection thereto and in fact testified that he had none. The two men were in a stand by duty status and went aboard Supco 5 merely for a visit. This was not unusual, the evidence preponderates to the effect that this was customary when two of respondent's boats tied up together under similar circumstances.
The men transferred from the Rambio to the tug by the simple expedient of waiting for them to swing together and stepping or jumping from one vessel to the other, when the decks reached a level or near-level position.
Later in the afternoon the Supco 5 received orders requiring her to leave Structure 9. Trahan and Kibodeaux left to return to the Rambio; the sea was heavier and more "choppy" than it had been when they left their ship, Captain Connor's testimony being that the waves then were five to six feet high. Kibodeaux went aboard the Rambio first. In making this transfer he stepped to the top of the bulwark on the tug, waited for the deck of the Rambio to rise, then stepped or jumped onto the latter vessel.
Trahan, in attempting to follow, did the same thing, but as he jumped the Rambio was falling away, that is to say it was dropping while the Supco 5 was rising. When he landed on the deck of the Rambio, between the after bit and the airvent shown in exhibit "Superior 5", on her port side, he fell on his knees, then tumbled over into the cockpit. This cockpit is about 20" deep and is inboard of the deck at the point where Trahan jumped.
Kibodeaux attempted to catch and steady him but missed. Captain Connor was standing on the port side of the Rambio near the forward part of the cabin, and saw the men coming back aboard. He watched them make the transfer and did not caution them, order a line passed between the two vessels to hold them steady, nor did he go aft to lend assistance, stating that he simply did not think these precautions were necessary. He knew at the time that they would transfer in this manner and that it was, in fact, the only means of making the transfer.
While the top of the bulwark on the Supco 5 was about 5 inches in width, the top of the bulwark around the stern of the Rambio was only one inch in width, so that the men had to jump or step over this bulwark, to the deck outboard of the cockpit space, which was about twenty-four inches in width. Photographs of the two boats introduced into evidence, would indicate that the bow of Supco 5 is approximately a foot or eighteen inches higher than the after deck of the Rambio at the point where libellant jumped. The Rambio was falling away or descending and the vessels were separated by the swinging action by about two feet (testimony of Trahan was that they were from 1 to 3 feet apart), so that Trahan had to clear the open water, the bulwark or rail of the Rambio, and land on the deck space inboard of the bulwark, at the same time dropping a distance of from two to three feet in height.
All of the testimony in the case is to the effect that this was the usual and customary means of transferring from one vessel to the other on such occasions, even while boats of this type are at sea. Libellant had worked aboard the Supco 5 before going aboard the Rambio for duty, and hence was thoroughly familiar with the construction and actions of both vessels. He stated that he thought a bosun's chair could have been rigged from the tug to the crewboat, or another davit installed on the port side of the Rambio from which a line could have been suspended to permit the men to steady themselves when transferring, but the fact is he had never seen this done on either vessel and the davit he proposed to install was not there. Moreover, as Captain Connor pointed out, a davit or opening in the bulwark would be impractical for such purposes, as it would require the two vessels to be in exact position each time a transfer was made, without taking into account variations in height, freeboard, length, and other details of construction.
After his fall, Trahan testified that his knees hurt him considerably and that Kibodeaux helped him to the cabin. According to him, he remained inactive the remainder of that night. Both knees became swollen, and when he got into port he went to see Dr. Carpenter. Thereafter he continued to work but his knees kept giving him trouble. He had no strength in them, could not climb ladders unless he had something to hold on to and he could not load anything.
Captain Connor, on the other hand, maintains that he saw nothing to indicate to him that Trahan needed medical attention, and that he did not complain to him about his injuries.
Suffice it to say that the evidence shows conclusively in the opinion of the Court that this man fell as he says he did, and that he injured his knees in this fall, finally resulting in removal of both knee-caps and his present condition of disability. The extent of his disability and the pre-existing arthritic condition from which he suffered will be discussed hereinafter.
Libellant cumulates three causes of action, (1) his claim as a seaman for maintenance and cure, (2) his claim for indemnity and medical expenses for negligence under the Jones Act, (46 U.S.C.A. § 688), and (3) his claim for indemnity and medical expenses for unseaworthiness based upon failure to provide a reasonably safe place to work (no means of ingress or egress), and incompetence of the master and crew of the Rambio.
Respondent pleads a general denial, that Trahan was on a private mission, not in the service of the ship, at the time the accident happened, and in addition, urges a release of claims by libellant which is in evidence identified as "Superior 11"; alternatively, that the contributory negligence of Trahan was so gross and palpable as to reduce recovery to a minimum.
The instrument relied upon as a release by respondent is dated June 1, 1959. In it, Trahan purports to relinquish all claims in Admiralty against Associated Indemnity Corporation, insurer of Superior Oil Company, for injuries received by him in this fall, (described in the release as "Both knees bruised"), and to accept in lieu thereof the benefits of the Louisiana Workmen's Compensation Law.
Respondent does not rely heavily upon this release. The evidence presented at the trial consisted of the testimony of one of the witnesses subscribing to the document, Willie Miller, Mr. Hebert, who was present when Miller spoke to libellant about it, and cross examination of the libellant. There is no doubt that there was no explanation of Trahan's rights in Admiralty, under the general maritime law in tort, the Jones Act, or for maintenance and cure, and while there is no showing or even suggestion of fraud, respondent has completely failed to sustain the burden of proof that Trahan's rights were fully explained to him or that he had a full understanding and appreciation of the effect of his action in signing the document. He was clearly overreached. See Norris, Law of Seamen, 1951, Vol. 1, Sec. 499 et seq., Garrett v. Moore-McCormack Company, (1942), 317 U.S. 239, 63 S.Ct. 246, 87 L.Ed. 239, Harmon v. United States, 59 F.2d 372 (5th Cir. 1932).
We, therefore, hold the release in the instant...
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