Court Awards $1.01 Million to Quarterboat Maintenance Man Pinned by Tow Line After Tug Fired Engines
After trial: The Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment in full on 15 December 1999, including the denial of Bean's indemnity claim against Comeaux's employer. We did not check for a writ application or confirm payment.
Won by Cossich & Associates, Due, Caballero, Price & Guidry, Herman, Katz, Gisleson & Cain and Metairie, La..
Rayford Comeaux, a maintenance man on the quarterboat BARBARA, was pinned against a derrick on 10 September 1993 when a Bean tug fired its engines and a tow line snapped taut, breaking his left femur. After a bench trial the court entered a $1,006,466.79 judgment against C.F. Bean and Bean-Weeks, assigning no fault to Comeaux or his employer. The Fourth Circuit affirmed in December 1999.
What happened
On 10 September 1993, Rayford Comeaux was working as a maintenance man aboard the quarterboat BARBARA, a vessel with no engine of its own, when a tow line pulled tight and struck him. His employer, Doerle's Quarterdecks, owned the boat, but it had been chartered to C.F. Bean under a written agreement dated 15 July 1993. A Bean tug, the JENNIFER BEAN, was maneuvering the quarterboat at the time.
Comeaux's job was to keep the quarterboat running: monitoring fuel, oil and water, and dropping the spud on command. He had not helped rig the tow lines that day and was standing on deck waiting for the order. He noticed the line draped near the bow and moved toward it to deal with it while the tug sat still. Without warning the tug fired its engines. The line snapped taut, bent the handrail and pinned him against the derrick. The blow broke his left femur.
A marine safety and accident reconstruction expert testified that the tug operator had failed to check where the lines lay before applying power. The evidence also showed that the operator, a Bean employee, did not hold a captain's license on the day of the accident and obtained a master's license afterward. The expert said the accident happened because the tug was improperly maneuvered.
Because of weather, Comeaux waited several hours for transport to the hospital. He was admitted to West Jefferson Medical Center, where a rod was placed in the femur shaft on 14 September. The bone did not heal as expected. Over the next several years his treating orthopedist operated on the leg repeatedly, including grafts and locking screws in 1994, arthroscopies on the left knee, and removal of hardware in 1997. In November 1994 the knee gave way and he fractured his tibial plateau in the fall. By trial he walked with a limp, sometimes used a cane, had permanent scarring and had not been cleared to return to work. His surgeon expected at least one and possibly two knee replacements.
Comeaux sued C.F. Bean and Bean-Weeks Company in September 1995 under general maritime law. Bean blamed Comeaux and his employer and sought indemnity from Doerle under the charter. The case was tried to a judge on 26 June 1997. The court found no fault on Comeaux or on Doerle, placed responsibility on Bean, and rejected Bean's indemnity demand. Judgment for $1,006,466.79 was signed on 16 January 1998.
The award included $250,000 for past physical and mental pain and suffering, $300,000 for future pain and suffering, $120,000 for future medical expenses, $69,669 in past lost wages and $173,065 for loss of earning capacity.
Paul H. Due, Donald W. Price, Joseph E. Windmeyer, Philip F. Cossich Jr. and Maury Herman appeared for the Comeauxes. Maury Herman is listed with Herman, Herman, Katz & Cotlar. Bean appealed on liability, the damages and the indemnity ruling. On 15 December 1999 the Fourth Circuit rejected each argument. It held that the record showed no negligence by Comeaux in approaching the line, no failure by Doerle to instruct him, and that C.F. Bean answered for the Bean-Weeks joint venture because it had stipulated to being a member.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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