Chahoc v. Hunt Shipyard
Chahoc v. Hunt Shipyard
Opinion of the Court
Ralph Chahoc was injured while employed by Hunt Shipyard in its Drydock No. 4 making repairs to Ingram Contractor, Inc.’s Dredge No. 4. He died after bringing suit below and his wife was substituted as plaintiff, individually and for the benefit of two minor children of the couple.
Chahoc, with three co-workers was carrying a heavy steel knuckle plate across the dry dock deck to be welded to the dredge when he slipped and fell, receiving severe injuries. The suit seeking recovery in addition to that allowed under the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, asserted a “Yaka” seaman’s
We accept as correct appellant’s contention that a floating dry dock may under some circumstances be a vessel.
It therefore becomes unnecessary for us to determine the existence vel non of the other elements requisite to recovery under Reed v. Yaka: (a) whether Chahoc was doing work traditionally performed by seamen and (b) whether there are present here the factors which compelled the Supreme Court to ignore the
We find no error in the granting of summary judgment by the district court.
Affirmed.
. Reed v. The Yaka, 373 U.S. 410, 83 S.Ct. 1349, 10 L.Ed.2d 488 (1963).
. See United States v. Moran Towing and Transportation Company, 4 Cir. 1967, 374 F.2d 656, 663, holding “we conclude that this floating dry dock while un-moored and under tow was within the Wreck Act * * * ”.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.