Split High Court Upholds Judgment over Pipefitter's Fall on Ship

A shipowner should not have been entitled to judgment in its favor in a negligence suit based on a pipefitter's fall from a ledge in the vessel's cargo hold, two members of the Alabama Supreme Court argued in a lengthy dissent to the majority's decision to summarily affirm.Case: Carwie v. Knudsen, No. 1100697, 08/24/2012, published. Facts: Emil Harris, a pipefitter, suffered a severe head injury in a 7-foot fall from the "tween deck" of the M/V Vinland Saga to the floor of the cargo hold while the ship was undergoing repairs at the Harrison Brothers Drydock & Repair Yard. ...