Ellingson v. American Mail Line, Ltd.

This case involves the question of whether, under the circumstances shown to exist, either the master of, or the general agent for, a vessel owned by the United States government is liable for injuries sustained by a workman employed on the vessel while it was in port.

Plaintiff, Axel Ellingson, was injured on December 6, 1945, while in the employ of Marine Service, Inc., as a ship scaler on board the S. S. “Peter Moran.” The gang of ship scalers of which he was a member had spent the day scaling in the deep tanks located at the bottom of No. 1 hatch. During the day the lights in the No. 1…