Kenneth J. Phipps v. N v. Nederlandsche Amerikaansche Stoomvart, Maats, a Corporation, Also Known as Holland-America Line

At Portland, Oregon, on June 11, 1954, appellant Phipps was working as a hold man in a longshore gang in the employ of W. J. Jones & Son, Inc., who was loading the vessel under contract with appellee. Phipps was working at the bottom of a hold into which timbers of varying lengths up to 40 feet were being lowered. These timbers approximately 3" x 6" in size, bound together, by means of a sling, in bundles of 18-20 were being loaded into the hold of the ship. The on-deck-hatch-opening being a twenty foot square, it was necessary to slant at an angle to permit lowering. This slanting was accomplished by fixing a single sling to the load a few feet off center. This was the sole binding or apparatus used to secure the timbers in one bundle. The hold being some 35 to 40 feet in depth, the timbers were touching bottom as they cleared the hatch coaming. At the bottom of the hatch the timbers were placed on rollers and conveyed into the hold proper which was a tunnel running from the shaft entrance to the space in which the timbers were stored. While Phipps was in the process of storing a prior load and working some 6 feet from the shaft proper a new load was being lowered. A timber from…