James Barnett and Irene Barnett v. Sea Land Service, Inc., Owner of the M/v Galveston

Defendant-Appellant Sea Land Service, Inc. was sued for damages arising out of an injury aboard its vessel M/V GALVESTON. Plaintiffs-appellees are the victim of the accident and his wife. The district court had subject .matter jurisdiction pursuant to its admiralty jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Section 1333 (1) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(h).

On June 3, 1985, Plaintiff-appellee James Barnett (“Mr. Barnett”) was injured while working as a longshore working boss/foreman on board the M/V GALVESTON, a vessel operated by defendant-appellant Sea Land Service, Inc. The accident occurred after Mr. Barnett returned from lunch. He attempted to reach the vessel’s forward hatches, but he found that both the port and starboard passageways were blocked by overhanging hatch covers at the No. 8 hatch located amidship. An overhanging cover which blocks a passageway in this fashion prevents normal access, but leaves a three to four foot crawl space beneath it. Mr. Barnett received a call on his radio instructing him that he needed to get to work. He attempted to climb over one of the covers but he lost his footing and fell, scraping his leg and bruising his right shin. After the accident,…