Breakfast & Refreshments Provided

A panel of learned judges discuss the most recent developments in maritime personal injury law including:  Jurisdiction and Removal, Vessel Status, Seaman Status, Maintenance and Cure Jones Act Liability, Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, General Maritime Law, Punitive Damages, Indemnity, and Insurance.

After prolonged silence on what it meant to be a seaman, the United States Supreme Court decided four seaman status cases in the 1990s. Three of them provided necessary clarification; one, Harbor Tug and Barge Co. v. Papai, provoked confusion over what it means to have an employment-related connection to a vessel that was substantial in nature, particularly when Justice Kennedy, who wrote the opinion for the Court said that the nature of a seaman’s work had to take them to sea. The confusion that statement caused has endured and deepened. This presentation is about that confusion and about the Fifth Circuit’s attempt to alleviate it in Sanchez v. Smart Fabricators of Texas, L.L.C.

In Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida,5 the Supreme Court attempted to clarify the definition of the term vessel by adding additional criteria to the then existing vessel status test established in Stewart v. Dutra Construction Co.6 The subject of this paper is whether the Lozman brought clarity or confusion. This presentation will provide a brief history of the vessel status test, focused on the Fifth Circuit and Supreme Court, and explore some of the continuing difficulties in applying the Lozman test.

The presentation and paper will discuss issues involving state commissioned ship pilots. I will discuss issues involving licensing of pilots, regulation of pilots, investigation of pilot incidents, and U.S. Coast Guard interaction with pilots. Additionally, I will address issues and cases involving pilot liability. Specifically I will discuss the Lighthouse Of 1798, U. S. C. Section 1801 and the Louisiana law enacted pursuant to that congressional authorization. I will discuss the US Supreme Court case of Guy V. Donald, and its progeny, and the effect on modern pilotage. I will further discuss the rights and remedies of pilots injured aboard ships under maritime law

The topics covered in this presentation will address issues that are frequently encountered by Maritime Litigators. Those issues include: 
1.     Recent changes in Limitation of Liability Law, 
2.     Independent Medical Exams by defendants, related Spoliation issues, and the Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Charges related to treating physicians versus non-treating physicians, 
3.     Life Care Plans for Plaintiffs and evidentiary issues related to those, 
4.     Traumatic Brain Injury Claims and some evidentiary issues surrounding those, 
5.     Statute of Limitations for Maritime Personal Injury Claims,  46 U.S.C.A. 30106 (formerly 46 U.S.C.A. 763a), and pitfalls to avoid