Milin v. United States Lines, Inc.

If a seaman or longshoreman be injured by the unseaworthiness of a vessel, hi^ action against the shipowner is governed by Federal maritime common law, and liability is “ absolute ” (Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, 362 U. S. 539; Pope & Talbot, Inc. v. Hawn, 346 U. S. 406). “ It is a form of absolute duty owing to all within the range of its humanitarian policy ” (Seas Shipping Co. v. Sieracki, 328 U. S. 85, 94, 95). This liability is independent of Federal statutory responsibility (Mitchell, 362 U. S. 539, 549) and, as Justice Stewart there wrote for the court, there “is a complete divorcement of…