Note by Cherry Joy Beysselance
A merchant seaman suffered a fatal heart attack two days after being discharged from the crew of a tanker that carried benzene and other petroleum products through United States coastal waters and on the high seas. His widow instituted a wrongful death action in admiralty against the owners and operators of the vessel under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA), the Jones Act, and general maritime law alleging that the benzene fumes aboard the ship had aggravated her husband's pre-existing heart disorder causing his death. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas found that the defendant's negligence in operating the vessel had rendered the vessel unseaworthy. The court awarded the plaintiff damages for loss of society, loss of support, and funeral and burial expenses. The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court's finding of liability based on negligence and unseaworthiness. The court held that when a seaman dies of an indivisible injury, caused in part by unseaworthiness and inflicted while his vessel traveled in both territorial and non-territorial waters, his survivors may recover damages for loss of society under general maritime law in addition to damages recoverable for pecuniary losses under the Jones Act and DOHSA. Smith v. Ithaca Corp., 612 F.2d 215 (5th Cir. 1980).
About the Author
Cherry Joy Beysselance.
Citation
55 Tul. L. Rev. 1284 (1981)