David Lazzell v. Booker Drilling Co., Inc.

ALVIN B. RUBIN, Circuit Judge:

The issue is whether, under Louisiana tort law, a company that had promised to help a non-employee wireline operator plug an offshore oil well is liable for injuries sustained by the operator when, after being refused assistance by the company’s employees, he attempted alone to lift a 150 pound valve. Because the operator was acting in continued reliance upon the prom ise made, we affirm the judgment in the operator’s favor.

I

On August 24,1983, David Lazzell and a co-employee, Wayne Pellerin, were dispatched by their employer, Otis Engineering Corporation, to a…