[B]Date Decided[/B]: Oct 17th, 2002
[B]Decided By[/B]: Louisiana Eastern District Court (federal)
[B]Court[/B]: U.S.D.C. E.D. Louisiana
[B]Citation[/B]: Carter v. Bisso Marine Co., 238 F. Supp. 2d 778, 2003 AMC 459 (E.D. LA 2003)
[B]Background[/B]:
Richard Carter was employed byBisso Marine (Bisso) and at the time of his accident he served as the head ofthe survey department. His dutiesincluded soliciting and accepting customer orders, coordinating surveyprojects, preparing survey reports. Inaddition to desk work, Carter worked in the field by towing and launching Bisso’ssurvey vessel, the BULLS EYE, operating the vessel, deploy sounding equipmentand conducting underwater surveys.
Carter sustained two differentinjuries that provide the foundation of this lawsuit. Both injuries were sustained during the whileusing the trailer’s jack handle to either attach or detach the BULLS EYE’strailer from his vehicle. Both accidentscaused Carter back injuries and on one of the occasions he suffered a neckinjury.
As a result of theseinjuries, Carter filed claims under the Jones Act and the general maritime lawclaim for unseaworthiness. In itsdefense, Bisso Marine contends that Carter is not a seaman, that the BULLS EYEwas not in navigation at the time of Carter’s injuries, and that Carter was notacting in the course of his employment at the time of the second injury. Read More…