Recent Development by Robin Richard Lambourn
Randall Thibodeaux, an employee of Grasso Production Management, Inc. (Grasso), injured himself in the territorial waters of Louisiana while attempting to inspect a discharge line that was leaking oil below the fixed oil production platform on which Thibodeaux worked. The platform, on which Thibodeaux did the majority of his work as a pumper/gauger, sits on wooden pilings driven into a small bank and extends over marsh and water. The platform is accessible only by boat and includes a docking area for two vessels. Thibodeaux injured himself while jumping from the main deck of the platform to a lower platform on which the discharge line sat. The wood of the lower platform gave way, causing Thibodeaux to plummet into the marsh below, where a nail punctured his hand.
Thibodeaux filed a claim against Grasso and Signal Mutual Indemnity (Signal) seeking benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA). An administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled that the LHWCA did cover Thibodeaux, finding that Thibodeaux was a maritime employee and that his injury occurred on a situs covered by the LHWCA (a pier). Grasso and Signal appealed to the Department of Labor Benefits Review Board (Board). The Board reversed the ALJ, holding that the fixed oil production platform was not a covered situs under the LHWCA. The Board did not address the ALJ's finding that Thibodeaux was a maritime employee within the meaning of the Act. Thibodeaux then appealed the Board's holding to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit addressed whether the situs of Thibodeaux's injury is a pier under the LHWCA. The Fifth Circuit held that the LHWCA does not cover injuries sustained on fixed oil production platforms because such platforms do not have a sufficient maritime purpose. Thibodeaux v. Grasso Production Management, Inc., 370 F.3d 486, 494, 2004 AMC 1694, 1699-1704 (5th Cir. 2004).
About the Author
Robin Richard Lambourn. J.D. candidate 2006, Tulane University School of Law; B.S. 2003, Trinity College.
Citation
79 Tul. L. Rev. 1573 (2005)