Recent Development by Eric Hanson
Charles Gautreaux, relief captain of the M/V Brooke Lynn, suffered severe injuries when the manual crank handle of the port-side electric towing winch flew off of the winch motor and crushed his right eye and face. Gautreaux sued Scurlock Marine, Inc., his employer and the owner of the M/V Brooke Lynn, under the Jones Act for negligently training him in the use and operation of the electric winch and manual crank handle. At trial, Scurlock Marine requested the district court to instruct the jury that Gautreaux's contributory negligence should be determined using the reasonable person standard. The court rejected Scurlock's request and charged “the jury that a Jones Act seaman need exercise only ‘slight care’ for his own safety.” The jury subsequently apportioned fault ninety-five percent to Scurlock Marine and five percent to Gautreaux.
Scurlock appealed, urging the Fifth Circuit to abandon the slight care standard in Jones Act cases. Scurlock contended that the standard “has evolved from this court's blind adherence to an incorrect statement of the law.” Although the court acknowledged that the slight care standard may be questionable precedent, it affirmed the district court's judgment, stating that “settled law of this Circuit, such as the slight care standard in a Jones Act case, can only be changed, absent action by the United States Supreme Court, by this court sitting en banc.” The court followed its suggestion. On rehearing en banc, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Jones Act binds a seaman to a duty of ordinary prudence, not a slight duty, in the exercise of care for his own safety. Gautreaux v. Scurlock Marine, Inc., 107 F.3d 331, 1997 AMC 1521 (5th Cir. 1997).
About the Author
Eric Hanson.
Citation
72 Tul. L. Rev. 1023 (1997)