Gerd Haupt v. Atwood Oceanics, Inc., Third Party N. L. Shaffer, Third-Party-Defendant-Appellee

CLARK, Chief Judge:

Atwood Oceanics, the defendant in this Jones Act suit, appeals from a jury verdict for the plaintiff, Gerd Haupt, and a directed verdict for the third-party defendant N. L. Shaffer. We affirm.

Haupt was employed by Atwood as a derrickman on Atwood’s drilling vessel, the M/V Gettysburg. On April 11, 1975, he was working below the rig floor dismantling a pipe known as a mud flow line. He sat on the pipe while performing this task. When finished, he tried to stand up on the pipe to begin his return to the rig floor. However, because the pipe was covered with mud, he slipped. In…