McDermott International, Inc. v. Wilander
United States Supreme Court
498 U.S. 337, 111 S.Ct. 807, 112 L.Ed.2d 866, 1991 AMC 913 (1991)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Jon Wilander (plaintiff) worked for McDermott International, Inc. (McDermott) (defendant) as a paint foreman on offshore oil-drilling platforms. Wilander was assigned to a paint boat, chartered by McDermott, which served as a base used for sandblasting and painting the platforms. Wilander was injured on a platform when a bolt blew out from a pipe under pressure and struck him in the head. Wilander sued McDermott in federal district court for negligence under the Jones Act, a federal statute that allows injured seaman to sue shipowners for accidents at sea. McDermott moved for summary judgment, claiming that Wilander was not a seaman and therefore not covered by the Jones Act. The district court denied McDermott’s motion. The jury held that Wilander was a covered seaman under the statute and that McDermott was partially liable for Wilander’s injuries and awarded Wilander damages. The court of appeals affirmed the ruling. Both parties appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Connor, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
