On February 27, 2009, while working on an offshore platform, the plaintiff-employee was injured when a crane allegedly fell on him. The parties did not dispute that the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (“OCSLA”) applied to the claim. Instead, the dispute concerned whether the plaintiff-wife could assert a loss of consortium claim under Louisiana law. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that the plaintiff-wife’s claim must be dismissed. Ultimately, the Eastern District of Louisiana concluded that “workers injured on fixed man-made structures situated on the Outer Continental Shelf and their families may utilize the state tort law of the adjacent state,” and that Louisiana tort law provides a cause of action for loss of consortium claims. The defendant’s motion was denied.
Henderson v. McMoran Oil, No. 09-5626, slip op. (E.D. La. Oct. 18, 2010).
(Note: I originally published this post on Navigable Waters: A Maritime, Longshore and Defense Base Act Blog.)
