Ammar v. United States

342 F.3d 133 (2nd Cir. 2003)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P, a member of the Seafarers International Union, was a bosun aboard the Gordon, a United States Naval Ship stationed in the Persian Gulf in a convoy with other Military Sealift Command vessels. P operated a shipboard crane, a duty he had performed hundreds of times. The remote control for the starboard stores crane was inoperable. P decided to use the controls mounted on the crane. He stood in a precarious position on the crane's pedestal, and in attempting to get down from the pedestal, [he stepped on a small box, called the 'remote control box,' that was mounted on the pedestal. That box was not meant to bear such weight, and when P stepped on it, it gave way. His left foot was caught between a metal bracket and a hydraulic pump, resulting in, inter alia, a sprained ankle and a two-inch gash in his calf. P, then age 57, was not able to return to his work as a seaman. P received medical treatment for his injuries over the next several years, along with psychiatric care. D paid for most of his medical expenses and, through the commencement of trial, paid him maintenance of $8 per day, the rate specified in the collective bargaining agreement covering his employment. P sued D under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688, as well as the general maritime law of the United States, seeking damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, and lost wages. The complaint also sought maintenance payments in excess of the amount P had been paid by D or BSM, alleging that his daily living expenses substantially exceeded that amount. The parties settled P's claims for lost wages through May 1999. The court apportioned responsibility for the accident 60% to the D and 40% to P. The court ultimately fixed the amount of lost wages (after taxes) at $294,000, the lost pension at $30,849 (the cost of an appropriate annuity), pain and suffering at $250,000, and allowable future medical expenses at $3,900; and it reduced these amounts by 40% on account of P's contributory negligence. The court decided it would not discount those sums to present value. The court also determined that P should be paid maintenance at the rate of $18 per day instead of the $8 per day required under the union contract. D objected to the $18 a day determination. Judgment was eventually entered $364,309. This appeal and cross-appeal followed.