Stowe v. Moran Towing Corp.

995 F. Supp. 2d 570, 2014 WL 247544, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7782
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 22, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 13-0390
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 995 F. Supp. 2d 570 (Stowe v. Moran Towing Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stowe v. Moran Towing Corp., 995 F. Supp. 2d 570, 2014 WL 247544, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7782 (E.D. La. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

MARTIN L.C. FELDMAN, District Judge.

Before the Court are two motions: (1) Moran Towing Corporation’s Motion for Summary Judgment; and (2) the plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Issue of Whether Moran Towing Breached Its Duty of Care. For the reasons that follow, the defendant’s motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, and the plaintiffs motion is DENIED.

[573]*573 Background

This case arises from allegations that Moran Towing failed to provide timely, adequate medical treatment after its engineer, Michael Hebert, suffered a heart attack on board the M/V TURECAMO GIRLS.

Michael Hebert was employed by Moran Towing Corporation as the Chief Engineer on the MTV TURECAMO GIRLS, a tugboat owned and operated by Moran. On February 29, 2012 he boarded the tug, which was tied up at the Moran dock in Staten Island, New York, for a regular hitch. After Mr. Hebert completed some paperwork, he told the captain, Thomas Cassidy, that he was tired and went to bed.

Later that evening Mr. Hebert began experiencing chest pain. Several hours after the onset of the pain, Mr. Hebert went to Captain Cassidy at around 23:10 and complained that he was experiencing chest pain and weakness; he asked the captain to take him to the hospital. Captain Cassidy radioed the Moran dispatcher, informing him that he was taking Mr. Hebert to the hospital because he was feeling ill. Mr. Hebert went back below deck to retrieve his coat and insurance card; Hebert and Cassidy then walked to Cassidy’s personal vehicle, which was parked on the dock. Cassidy used the Google application on his personal telephone to locate directions to a nearby hospital, and drove Hebert there.

But the first hospital Cassidy drove to turned out to be a closed, psychiatric facility that could not provide care to Hebert. After Cassidy tried, but failed, to get into the facility, he approached an ambulance and its crew of E.M.S. workers, who happened to be in the parking lot at the facility; he asked them where the nearest hospital was located. The E.M.S. workers suggested two hospitals, and Cassidy asked Hebert which one he preferred. Hebert responded, “I don’t care, just get me to the one that is the closest”, and he got back in Cassidy’s car.

Cassidy drove to Richmond University Medical Center, arriving at around 23:51; he dropped Hebert off in front and then parked his vehicle. When Cassidy entered the hospital and realized that Hebert was still in the waiting room area, he informed the staff that Hebert was suffering from chest pains and weakness. A nurse then took Hebert back to the triage area to be treated; Cassidy asked Hebert to call when he knew something. Hebert said that he would, and Captain Cassidy returned to the vessel.1

At the hospital, Mr. Hebert was found to be “alert, awake and in no distress.” He described his pain as having begun three to four hours earlier. Upon evaluation, including an ECG recorded at 00:08 on March 1, 2012, Dr. Alexander Tsukerman determined that Hebert had suffered a heart attack; Mr. Hebert was treated with several medications. Because RUMC was not equipped to care for cardiac emergencies, Mr. Hebert was then transported to a facility capable of administering cardiac treatment, Staten Island University Medical Center; at 01:29. Hebert described four hours of chest pain, which he ignored until it became worse. Hebert was taken to the cardiac catherization laboratory at 01:49, where he underwent a thrombectomy (clot removal) and stint implantation to the left anterior descending artery. Doctors found multiple lesions indicative of pre-existing coronary artery disease. Mr. [574]*574Hebert was stabilized but was diagnosed with severe left ventricular dysfunction.

After nine days in the hospital, Mr. Hebert was discharged with instructions to follow up with a cardiologist in Louisiana for the placement of an internal defibrillator. He was also provided with materials regarding smoking and diet, and he was flown back to his hometown in Louisiana. Sixty-two days after his heart attack, he died on May 2, 2012. His cause of death was presumptive cardiac arrest from a malignant ventricular dysrhythmia, which is common in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction after a heart attack.

On February 28, 2013 Mr. Hebert’s daughter, Carolyn Francis Albarado Stowe, sued Moran Towing Corporation, individually and on behalf of the estate of her deceased father. Ms. Stowe asserts wrongful death and survival claims under the Jones Act and general maritime law; in particular, Ms. Stowe alleges that Moran’s negligence caused her father’s death by creating a stressful work environment, and by failing to respond timely and adequately to Mr. Hebert’s medical emergency; she also alleges that the TURECAMO GIRLS was unseaworthy with regard to its crew and medical equipment.

Moran Towing now seeks summary relief in its favor and the plaintiff seeks partial summary judgment on the issue of liability.

I.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 instructs that summary judgment is proper if the record discloses no genuine issue as to any material fact such that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. No genuine issue of fact exists if the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). A genuine issue of fact exists only “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the non-moving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).34

The Court emphasizes that the mere argued existence of a factual dispute does not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion. See id. Therefore, “[i]f the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative,” summary judgment is appropriate. Id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted). Summary judgment is also proper if the party opposing the motion fails to establish an essential element of his case. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In this regard, the non-moving party must do more than simply deny the allegations raised by the moving party. See Donaghey v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co., 974 F.2d 646, 649 (5th Cir.1992). Rather, he must come forward with competent evidence, such as affidavits or depositions, to buttress his claims. Id. Hearsay evidence and unsworn documents that cannot be presented in a form that would be admissible in evidence at trial do not qualify as competent opposing evidence. Martin v. John W. Stone Oil Distrib., Inc., 819 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir.1987); Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2).

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Bluebook (online)
995 F. Supp. 2d 570, 2014 WL 247544, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7782, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stowe-v-moran-towing-corp-laed-2014.