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  • Texas Federal Judge Sends to Trial Case of Deckhand Who Seriously Injured His Back Trying to Swing a Barge Swivel Winch

    In Bordas v. Marquette Transp. Co. Gulf-Inland LLC, 2016 WL 2866266 (S.D. Tex. Apr. 26, 2016), report and recommendation adopted, 2016 WL 2858905 (S.D. Tex. May 16, 2016), U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos of the Southern District of Texas agreed with U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason B. Libby that Marquette Transportation Company Gulf–Inland, L.L.C. deckhand John Bordas’ case against Marquette, his employer and the operator of his towboat, and Ingram Barge Company, the owner of the barge upon which he was injured, should be tried, and thus denied both defendants’ pretrial motions for summary judgment.  Due to his injuries, Bordas had to undergo three back surgeries, including a lumbar fusion.  He was working as a first mate for Marquette aboard its towboat, the M/V ST. JOSEPH.  Bordas claimed he injured his back while aboard Ingram’s barge, in the process of securing a second barge into tow.  He alleged that as he tried to singlehandedly move the swivel winch on the Ingram barge into position, it became caught or stuck and caused his injury.

    The Court described how the defendants tried to lay all blame for the injury on Bordas himself:

    “Here, Marquette moves for summary judgment, arguing it cannot be held liable for Plaintiff’s injury because the sole cause of Plaintiff’s injuries ‘was wholly unexpected, undetectable, and was not caused or contributed to by any of Marquette’s acts or omissions.’ Marquette also argues Plaintiff ‘was the only person in a position to judge whether the winch was functioning and how much force he could safely apply.’ In making these arguments, Marquette relies solely on Plaintiff’s testimony that there was adequate crew to perform the operation, Plaintiff inspected the barge beforehand and all equipment appeared normal, nothing indicated the subject winch was defective, and he injured himself when he attempted to move the winch and it did not move or swivel as designed.”

    Captain Phillip Hogan, the main captain of the M/V ST. JOSEPH, however, testified at deposition about “the status of swivel winches in the industry, their known hazards, and the condition of the winch in question.”  The Court found Captain Hogan’s testimony sufficient to establish a material issue of fact for trial “as to whether Marquette violated its duty to provide Bordas with a safe place to work through its failure to inspect the Ingram barge and its winches.”  The Court wrote, “an employer has a duty to inspect third party ships to which it sends its employee to work upon….If, by reasonable inspection, Marquette could have discovered the improperly functioning winch, then Marquette can be charged with notice of that condition.”

    In denying Ingram–the barge owner’s–motion for summary judgement, the Court again relied on Captain Hogan’s testimony, writing:

    “Further, Captain Hogan’s testimony establishes a deck hand from the towing vessel is at some point going to be on a towed barge to make and break tow and the towed barge’s winches are used to make and break tow. A defective or non-functioning winch could easily cause harm to the deckhand of the towing vessel. Captain Hogan’s testimony provides some evidence that the very nature of swivel winches causes hazards that are not present with stationary winches and the industry is moving away from swivel winches due to their hazards. Plaintiff has produced evidence that creates an issue of material fact–whether Ingram knew or should have known the swivel winch on its barge was not working properly and advised Marquette.

     

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