Trial Court Not Obligated to Construe Conflicting Medical Evidence in Favor of Seaman

Court Decisions

Oct 4

Written By The Current Loyola Maritime Law Journal

Witbart v. Mandara Spa (Hawaii), LLC, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 29285 *, 2021 WL 4439132 (11^th Cir., Sept. 28, 2021).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that Vaughan v. Atkinson, 369 U.S. 527 (1962), does not obligate the trial court to construe conflicting medical evidence in favor or the seaman seeking maintenance and cure. In the per curiam opinion, the panel stated that the Vaughan opinion resolved the amount of maintenance and cure owed to a seaman. To read the case to require the trial court to resolve evidentiary disputes in the seaman’s favor would strip the court of making determinations of credibility.

In addition, the court upheld the McCorpen defense raised by the seaman’s employer.

The Current Loyola Maritime Law Journal

The Current is the blog of the Loyola New Orleans Maritime Law Journal, where we post updates to keep our readers up to date about new decisions in maritime law. We also post news about the Journal and its' members.

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