Bernard G. Jesonis v. Oliver J. Olson and Co.

Plaintiff in this cause is a seaman of the American Merchant Marine. He claimed to have been injured aboard the steam schooner Mary Olson, while she was at a dock at Longview, Washington, loading lumber into her number 4 hold on June 24, 1953. The action was brought under the Jones Act and was tried before a jury, which returned a verdict for defendant.

Plaintiff claimed he was descending the steel ladder at the forward end of number 4 hatch when he fell into the lower hold. He contended his fall was caused by the fact that several rungs of the ladder which he was descending were bent out of shape and were covered with grease and oil. The demand for damages was on account of loss of wages, permanent partial disability and pain and suffering.

The chief complaint of plaintiff is that the court withdrew the second cause of action containing charges of unseaworthiness from the jury and decided these issues adversely to him.

The fundamental error in this contention is that plaintiff postulates that he was entitled to a jury trial upon the issue of unseaworthiness. Traditionally, a complaint on account of injuries caused by unseaworthiness is addressed to the court sitting in…