Fuszek

In these consolidated appeals we are called upon to determine whether section 3 of the Federal Employers Liability Act (“FELA”), 45 U.S.C. § 53 , overrides the longstanding maritime doctrine of comparative fault in a situation in which a ship’s violation of a safety regulation contributed to a seaman’s injuries. Under the facts of this case, we hold that FELA precludes the reduction of damages on the ground of comparative fault.

FACTS AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

The FT ROYAL KING is a factory trawler owned by Royal King Fisheries, Inc. and operated by Royal Seafoods, Inc. In February 1993, the ROYAL KING was fishing and processing cod in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. Vilmos Fuszek served aboard the vessel as a fish processing machine technician. Fuszek’s duties were to assist in the operation and maintenance of the ROYAL KING’S Baader 99 machine, which cuts whole fish into filets and dumps the unusable portions into an offal conveyor.

The ship’s captain described the ROYAL KING’S Baader 99 as a “piece of junk.” Most of its original safety features had been removed; it ran poorly, jammed frequently, and could be kept running only with the constant intervention of both the…