Opinion ID: 300303
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Motions for a Directed Verdict and Judgment

Text: Notwithstanding the Verdict 4 The evidence supporting plaintiff's claim tended to establish that he had requested the chief officer in 1967 to make certain repairs on the circular saw, that there was no blade guard on the saw at the time of the accident, that the tabletop had never shifted before, that it was the duty of the chief officer to inspect the equipment in the carpentry shop, and that these inspections were casual, involving merely an observation of the saws if they were in operation when the chief officer happened to be in the carpentry shop. 5 Defendant's evidence consisted of testimony by the two men who alternated as chief officer that plaintiff had never complained of any defects in the saw or requested any repairs, that they had observed no defects in the saw, and that the tabletop did not move when the chief officer leaned on it in connection with filling out the report immediately after the accident. There was also testimony of the second mate who used the machine in June 1967 without observing any defects in the saw, and testimony of a carpentry expert that a blade guard would be unnecessary in a grooving operation. 6 Defendant contends on this appeal that the evidence established that the accident was solely the result of plaintiff's negligence because he knew of the lack of a guard on the blade, and that the district court erred in allowing the jury to pass on whether the lack of a blade guard was the proximate cause of plaintiff's injuries. We affirm the denial of defendant's motions for a directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. 7 The standard for determining whether plaintiff has presented sufficient evidence to raise a jury question as to defendant's negligence is whether, viewing the evidence in the record in the light most favorable to plaintiff, there is a complete absence of probative facts to support the conclusion reached by the jury. Lavender v. Kurn, 327 U.S. 645, 653, 66 S.Ct. 740, 744, 90 L.Ed. 916 (1946). See Ferguson v. Moore-McCormack Lines, Inc., 352 U.S. 521, 77 S.Ct. 457, 1 L.Ed.2d 511 (1957) which adopted for Jones Act cases the standard established in Rogers v. Missouri Pac. R. R., 352 U.S. 500, 77 S.Ct. 443, 1 L.Ed.2d 493 (1957) for F.E.L.A. cases. The same test applies in determining the sufficiency of the evidence as to a plaintiff-seaman's contributory negligence. McBride v. Loffland Bros. Co., 422 F.2d 363 (5th Cir. 1970). 8 Applying these standards we find that in the present case there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's conclusion that defendant was negligent and that plaintiff was less than 100% contributorily negligent. There was testimony that the tabletop moved under plaintiff's weight when it had never so moved previously, that the inspections of the saw were infrequent and cursory, that plaintiff had requested that the saw be repaired, and that there was no blade guard. Defendant's proof flatly contradicted plaintiff's assertions that he had requested repairs and that the tabletop moved, thus raising issues of credibility for the jury to resolve. There was evidence by which the jury could have concluded that a guard could have prevented this accident and the lack of one was the proximate cause of the accident.II. The Claim for Future Loss of Earnings 9 The district court granted defendant's motion to set aside the verdict granting damages for future loss of earning power, on the ground that the plaintiff offered no proof that he could have earned more than he is presently earning but for the accident. Reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, we hold that the district court erred in holding that the jury's verdict was wrong as a matter of law. 10 Plaintiff was hospitalized from the date of injury, December 12, 1967, to December 18, 1967, and underwent surgery on his left hand. After receiving treatment as an outpatient for five months, plaintiff was certified fit for duty on May 3, 1968, and from May 17 until August 31, 1968 he worked as carpenter on the s/s Constitution. On the latter date the ship was taken out of service. On November 7 plaintiff took a job as a watchman with an annual salary of $7,800. The parties agree that plaintiff's annual salary as a ship's carpenter prior to the injury was $10,000. 11 Plaintiff testified that, because of the condition of his left hand, he could not perform the type of carpentry done on land because skilled carpentry requires closing and building and building a flooring and that and I couldn't hold a handful of nails to do a floor or work on the side of a shaft securely. The defendant offered no evidence to rebut this assertion that plaintiff could not work ashore. 12 A physician, formerly of the United States Public Health Service Hospital on Staten Island, who had treated plaintiff, described plaintiff's injuries and testified that they were permanent. He concluded: 13 Because of the almost complete loss in the use of the index finger and the partial loss of the middle finger due to the laceration of the extensor tendon that does not permit him to straighten this finger, I feel that he could not do the type of things that one would expect of a carpenter to do with his other hand, so to speak, even though he is right-handed and he would hold almost all his tools in the right hand; he would have to have a fairly accurate use and dexterity with the opposite hand in order to hold other objects which are a part of the work of a carpenter and because of the fact that he has such limited use out of this hand, I would feel that he cannot do the work of a carpenter. 14 The plaintiff also testified in response to a question by the court that he had been offered a job as a construction worker working an air hammer but that he had declined it because he could not hold that job. 15 Defendant's evidence on the issue of impaired future earning capacity consisted basically of proof that defendant's passenger ships, the only type in defendant's line that carried a carpenter rating, were withdrawn from service in December, 1968 and that the plaintiff had put in his card at the union hall but had received no assignment from August 31 until the date he was hired as a watchman. The court ruled that plaintiff presented no evidence to indicate that there now are jobs available as ship's carpenters, even to employees who have suffered no injury, (footnote omitted), and since there was no market for plaintiff's talents (footnote omitted), the award for the impairment of future earning capacity was not supported by evidence sufficient to withstand a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. 16 However, we hold that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, was sufficient to support the jury's decision that plaintiff's injuries impaired his future earning capacity. Plaintiff testified that he was unable to work as a carpenter ashore, and that in the period from May to August when he worked on the s/s Constitution he needed the help of his mates to perform work he had previously been able to do by himself. Testimony of plaintiff's doctor corroborated this conclusion. Defendant's evidence and the testimony of another physician directly contradicted plaintiff's evidence. The issue was one of credibility and within the province of the jury. The defendant's evidence did not establish that there were no ship's carpenters positions available, but only that there were none available on defendant's ships. There was testimony that at the time of trial there were at least two United States passenger ships sailing out of east coast ports. 17 Even assuming that no carpenter jobs were available, in awarding damages for loss of future earning capacity the jury could properly have considered whether plaintiff might have been able to get a job in a different line of work but for the injury. Wiles v. New York, Chicago and St. Louis R. R., 283 F.2d 328, 332 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 364 U.S. 900, 81 S.Ct. 232, 5 L.Ed.2d 193 (1960). 18 Affirmed in part, and reversed and remanded in part with instructions to reinstate the jury verdict. 19