Michael James Ardoin v. J. Ray McDermott & Company, Inc. And Xyz Insurance Company

JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge:

Before us is a case arising under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688, in which the jury returned a verdict for the defendant employer, and the plaintiff, Michael Ardoin, now appeals. Because this case has been to this Court once before, Ardoin v. J. Ray McDermott & Co., 641 F.2d 277 (5th Cir. 1981) (reversing summary judgment for the defendant employer), we only briefly recite the facts.

Michael Ardoin was employed as an offshore welder on J. Ray McDermott & Co.’s (McDermott) vessel Derrick Barge No. Eight. The work of the barge was to construct offshore oil…