De Filippie v. Waterman Steamship Corp.

KRAFT, District Judge.

This is a suit in admiralty by a merchant seaman to recover from the owner of the vessel on which he was employed for personal injuries sustained while engaged in the performance of his duties aboard the vessel. The libellant claims that the owner failed to provide him with a safe place to work in that a short hatchboard tilted, causing him to fall into the hatch to the deck below. The owner denies this and asserts that libel-lant carelessly jumped or stepped backwards from the top of an abutting guard rail into an opening in the hatch cover of which libellant was aware.…