Brown & Root, Inc. v. DeSautell

PEDEN, Justice.

Brown & Root, Inc. and Taylor Diving & Salvage Co., Inc. appeal from a judgment rendered in favor of plaintiff, Warner L. DeSautell, under the Jones Act and general maritime law for an injury incurred when he slipped and fell while working in a submerged diving bell at sea. Appellants raise questions concerning the duty of seaworthiness, the evidence supporting the findings of unseaworthiness and negligence, and the computation of damages.

When injured, DeSautell was working as a diver for Taylor Diving from Brown & Root’s barge “Hugh W. Gordon” in the North Sea on the…