Big or small, a vessel at sea presents no shortage of hazards to its crew, from slippery decks to open hatches. One particular hazard that comes from a seemingly harmless source is the danger of lines under tension. This was illustrated by a recent case involving injury to a first mate/chef aboard a 51-foot power cat being used for charters in the Virgin Islands.
The case was heard in the District Court of the Virgin Islands when the first mate sued for injuries she sustained in July 2021 while handling a line used to tow a dinghy behind the power cat. Because of worsening weather, the vessel’s captain ordered the mate to let out the line. She grabbed the line with her left hand, but before she could unwrap it from the cleat, her fingers became trapped between the taut line and a metal post on the vessel.
The mate tried to free herself with her other hand, but the pressure was too great. She screamed, “Stop the boat. I’m hurt.” The captain cut the engines. There was a medical student aboard who used the first-aid kit to wrap the injured middle finger. With the help of the captain and guests, she continued her duties aboard the vessel. Upon returning to shore, she was diagnosed with a broken and dislocated finger.
She underwent treatment back on shore but eventually sued the captain and the vessel owner in 2022 under the Jones Act for negligence, unseaworthiness, maintenance, and cure. The Jones Act is a federal law that provides legal protections to vessel crew injured in the course of their employment. The negligence-based claim follows the same basic elements we see in injury cases on shore, with the added feature that the crew member must show they had a meaningful connection to a vessel.
Unseaworthiness-based claims essentially assert that a vessel is not safe and fit for its intended purpose. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with “seaworthiness” in a traditional sense of a powerful North Sea trawler punching through six-foot seas on a winter day and effortlessly shedding green water off her fo’c’sle. In maritime injury cases, “unseaworthiness” could cover anything from failing to replace dried rubber seals on watertight doors… to failing to keep electronic charts current with software updates.
The elements of maintenance and cure are somewhat similar to workers’ comp. As the sailor ashore recovers from injury or illness, a shipowner must cover their maintenance (living expenses) and cure (medical expenses) O’Connell v. Interocean Mgmt. Corp., 90 F.3d 82, 84 (3d Cir. 1996). The vessel is strictly liable for these benefits as long as the sailor (1) was working as a seaman, (2) was injured serving the vessel, and (3) lost wages from treating the injury (Schoenbaum, Admiralty & Maritime Law §6:28 (7th ed. 2025).
How did the district court handle the mate’s lawsuit? The court dismissed her claims against the captain but allowed her claims against the vessel owner under the Jones Act for pain and suffering and past medical expenses. The court did not grant the mate maintenance since she remained aboard the vessel and did not incur additional living expenses. Punitive damages or attorney fees were denied, the court finding that the yacht owner had not acted in bad faith. The mate appealed, and on appeal, the higher court upheld the decision of the original court.
This is the kind of accident that could happen to the most experienced of sailors in a moment of crisis during difficult sea conditions. A tow line that looks as limp as a noodle one moment can snap like a whip the next. We sometimes see this on October days after the weather turns, where mooring lines are stretched to their tensile limits by boats that buck up and down like wild broncos. That’s why commercial mariners have a healthy respect for thick lines and cables, where the forces are enormous. This is evidenced by the mechanical quick-release gear one sees on commercial tugs, whose very purpose is to keep the fingers of deckhands and mates away from taut lines and cables during towing and ship assist operations.
Ref: Kneiling (Appellant) v. Fook; Poston, No. 24-2613, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Appeal from District Court of the Virgin Islands, Case No. 3:22-cv-00036
Tim is a NY-based maritime attorney and has taught law at SUNY Maritime College. Erol is a graduate of CUNY School of Law and Farmingdale State College.