On May 26, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers launched a new website to provide the public and industry interests with nationally-issued Notices To Navigation Interests (NTNI). The new website can be found here. The new site allows users to search NTNIs by keywords, providing a new-user friendly interface. The site will keep navigation
McCorpen Under Attack at the U.S. Supreme Court
As we recently reported, the Fifth Circuit decided the case of Meche v. Doucet, 777 F.3d 237 (5th Cir. Jan. 22, 2015) earlier this year. At issue in the Meche case was a well-founded and widely adopted defense to an employer’s obligation to pay maintenance and cure to an injured seaman – the
U.S. Fifth Circuit Reaffirms Importance of Actually Working on Vessel for Seaman Status
The U.S. 5th Circuit recently re-addressed the standing law on seaman status in the Circuit in Alexander v. Express Energy Services Operating, L.P., No. 14-30488. In that case, Alexander was injured while working on Express’ P&A crew on an Apache platform. As a member of the P&A crew, his job was to ensure that
U.S. Fifth Circuit Extends McCorpen Defense to Successor Employer
Earlier this year, the U.S. Fifth Circuit authored an opinion in Meche v. Doucet, 777 F.3d 237 (5th Cir. Jan. 22, 2015) that touched on important issues related to the McCorpen defense against a seaman’s claim for maintenance and cure. See McCorpen v. Central Gulf Steamship Corp., 396 F.2d 547 (5th Cir. 1968).
The Fifth Circuit’s Latest Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Ruling
In its most recent decision regarding Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) coverage, namely New Orleans Depot Services, Inc. v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, 718 F.3d 384 (5th Cir. 2013) (en banc), the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals defined “adjoining” as used in the LHWCA to mean “bordering on
Work Related Stress: It Comes With The Job for a Jones Act Seaman
In a recent decision, the Eleventh Circuit in Skye v. Maersk Line Limited, Corp., 751 F.3d 1262 (11th Cir. 2014), reversed a district court ruling awarding damages to a Jones Act seaman for injuries stemming from “excessive work hours and an erratic sleep schedule.” The Court’s decision in Skye reaffirms a now decades old