Court Opinion

ID: 9483033
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 09:08:19.02589+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:49:22.175216
License: Public Domain

POLITZ, Chief Judge,
with whom JERRE S. WILLIAMS, Circuit Judge,
joins, specially concurring:
I join in the judgment of the court. I do not agree with the majority, however, that in the resolution of this case it is “unnecessary for us to decide whether the Jones Act permits recovery for purely emotional injuries,” without physical injury or contact. I believe such to be an imperative for that is the entirety of the Plaisance claim. He seeks recovery solely for emotional injuries arising out of an occurrence which happened to him. He claims no physical injury. I would reach and decide whether purely emotional injuries are recoverable under the Jones Act. In doing so I would again conclude, as did the majority of the panel, Plaisance v. Texaco, 937 F.2d 1004 (5th Cir.1991), that such an injury may serve as the basis for recovery under the FELA and Jones Act.