Lillig

The appellant, Robert Lillig, was injured by falling from or with a ladder while engaged in painting a fire-room ventilator on the deck of the steamship Henry D. Whiton, owned by appellee. Lillig signed aboard the Henry D. Whiton at Portland, Or., his home, for its voyage from that city to New York. While there was some conflict as to whether or not he signed on as an able-bodied seaman, he was not possessed of papers certifying him *278 as such, and he failed to pass the examination for such ranking just prior to sailing. However, he was not wholly inexperienced, for he had been going to sea for several years.

The accident occurred on or about November 27, 1934, while the vessel was on the Pacific Ocean, a few days south of San-Pedro, Cal., and north of the Panama Canal. A fracture of the right kneecap necessitated hospitalization of the appellant at Ancon, Canal Zone, where he remained until picked up by the vessel on its return trip to Portland, and was brought home as a workaway.

There was conflict between the appellant’s witnesses as to what actually happened at the time of the accident, how it was brought about and what, if any, safety precautions had been taken. At the…