Stephen P. Havens v. F/t Polar Mist, U.S.C.G. Official Number 604676, in Rem, Arctic Vessel Management, Inc., in Personam
Opinion
Opinion
Farris, J.
Arctic Vessel Management, Inc. appeals from the district court’s judgment in favor of Stephen Havens, in Havens’s action for personal injuries under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.CApp. § 688 (1988), and under the doctrine of seaworthiness. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1988). We affirm.
I.
Havens began working aboard the F/T Polar Mist, a ship owned by Arctic, on September 19, 1990. On September 28, 1990, Havens was struck on the back, shoulders, and head by a hinged, circular steel hatch cover, which fell on him as he ascended a ladder from the freezer compartment of the ship’s hold. Havens, an assistant cook, was retrieving galley provisions from the freezer when he was injured. No one other than Havens witnessed the accident.
Havens filed suit against Arctic on March 25, 1991, alleging that the F/T Polar Mist was unseaworthy, and that Arctic was negligent under the Jones Act. After a bench trial, the district court entered judgment for Havens in the amount of $321,239. This appeal followed.
II.
Arctic contends that Havens failed to demonstrate that the F/T Polar Mist was unseaworthy and that such unseaworthiness was a proximate cause of his injuries. We review…