Joel Raybourne v. Gulf Atlantic Towing Corporation and the Tug Gatco Carolina

HAYNSWORTH, Circuit Judge.

Raybourne, a seaman, sought compensation, in addition to maintenance and cure, for injuries he claims he suffered in a fall caused by an unseaworthy ladder on the tug, Gateo Carolina, and the negligence of her acting captain. There is agreement that, somehow, one of his ribs was broken. Whether he was otherwise injured, whether he fell when and where he claimed, if at all, the condition of the ladder and the actions of the acting captain, all of these crucial questions of fact were in sharp dispute. The District Judge, who heard and saw the witnesses, found that the…