Murphy v. Gulf Oil Corp.

BARD, District Judge.

Plaintiff, a merchant seaman, instituted a civil action to recover damages for injuries which he sustained during the performance of his duties aboard a ship owned and operated by the defendant. The ship was travelling in convoy under rigid blackout regulations, and plaintiff fell from the midship deck to the shelter deck as a result of mistaking, in the darkness, an unguarded doorway for a passageway.

The complaint contained three counts. The first of these was based on defendant’s negligence in failing to maintain a chain across the doorway, and the second was for…