Originally published by Nicholas Morrow.
On October 18, 2017, the Louisiana Supreme Court held punitive damages are recoverable in personal injury cases brought under general maritime law. Below, our Jones Act attorneys review the Louisiana Supreme Court’s opinion in Warren v. Shelter Mutual Insurance Co. The Case In 2005, Derek Hebert was killed when he was ejected from a 1998 Champion boat. At the time, the vessel was operating in the navigable channels of the Calcasieu River in Louisiana. The incident occurred when the vessel’s hydraulic steering system failed. This caused the boat to turn violently on its axis, kicking to the side. In the maritime world, this phenomenon is referred to as a “J-hook” or “kill spin.” In this case, the J-hook ejected five passengers. One of them, Mr. Hebert, was struck 19 times by the vessel’s propeller. As a result of the incident, Mr. Hebert suffered severe trauma, sunk to the bottom of the lake, and died. The Claim Mr. Hebert’s father and mother brought wrongful death claims against the steering system’s manufacturer, Teleflex. The mother ultimately settled her claims. After several years of litigation, in 2014, the claims brought by Mr. Hebert’s father were tried to a jury. Mr. Hebert’s father alleged Teleflex failed to warn of inherent dangers in the product, namely that even a very small amount of hydraulic fluid loss could lead to J-hook, ejection, and death. The evidence showed that 3.2 teaspoons of hydraulic fluid could make the difference between normal operation of the Teleflex system, and catastrophe. The evidence also revealed […]
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