Klineburger v. Maritrans

WIEAND, Judge:

The issue in this appeal is whether a ship’s captain can recover under general principles of admiralty law or under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.App. § 688, for physical or emotional manifestations of work related stress. The trial court held that there could be no such recovery and entered summary judgment in favor of the defendant ship owner. After careful review, we affirm.

In July, 1986, Joseph R. Klineburger, an employee of Maritrans with sixteen years experience, was serving as captain of Tanker Barge 71, which had been engaged to transport a cargo of molten asphalt from…