Attorney Christopher Windsor Goodroe's Legal Cases

Admiralty and maritime

Olivera v. Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District

Jan 01, 2010

OUTCOME: Settlement at Mediation

A maritime personal injury action brought pursuant to the Jones Act, 46 USC §30104, and the General Maritime Law by plaintiff, a merchant seaman. The events giving rise to this action occurred in 2008 ... as defendant’s ferry, the M/V MARIN, was tied up along the pier in Sausalito, California ready to disembark for San Francisco. Plaintiff attempted to roll a mobile gangway away from the ferry, but the caster wheels on the gangway resisted his pushing effort. There was undisputed evidence that the gangway in question was frequently difficult to move because the caster wheels were too stocky and wide and were poorly maintained. The wheels’ resistance caused plaintiff’s right knee to buckle and he fell to the deck. For at least nine years before plaintiff’s injury, defendant was aware that the caster wheels on the gangways were frequently in need of repair. Yet instead of replacing them with more functional wheels, defendant chose to rely on periodic grease applications in hopes that would be satisfactory. But for the failures of defendant to maintain the gangways in proper working order, plaintiff would have continued to work on the water. The injury was carrer ending.

Admiralty and maritime

Atkins v. Crowley Maritime

Jan 01, 2010

OUTCOME: Mediation Settlement

This was a maritime personal injury action brought pursuant to the Jones Act, 46 USC §30104, and the General Maritime Law by plaintiff, a merchant seaman. Seamen injured in the service of a vessel on ... which they are employed are entitled to damages upon proof of negligence of their employer, the shipowner, and/or proof of unseaworthiness of the vessel. The events giving rise to this action occurred in September 2006 when plaintiff was injured working as a deckhand aboard defendant’s tug, the SEA ROBIN. Plaintiff was in the process of tying up the vessel, but the mooring line he was using to secure to the SEA ROBIN was caught between the dock and fendering. In his efforts to free the line, he suffered a right shoulder rotator cuff tear. Crewmembers were expected to pull the mooring lines off of the concrete dock, then navigate the lines over a rough wood fender and between tall wood pilings. Prior to plaintiff’s injury, defendant was aware that the mooring lines would often become stuck in an opening between the concrete dock and the wooden fender. Despite that knowledge nothing was done to remedy this ongoing problem. Defendant’s negligence has resulted in four surgeries to plaintiff’s right shoulder. Unfortunately, almost five years of medical procedures did not put plaintiff in a position to return to any type of gainful employment. Plaintiff also had complaints of pain in his left shoulder, which was diagnosed as a left shoulder rotator cuff tear. His physicians opined that the left shoulder tear was a medical consequence of the right shoulder injury. Plaintiff was declared permanently not fit for duty.

Christopher Windsor Goodroe's Legal Cases (2)

Olivera v. Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District

Atkins v. Crowley Maritime