34 F. 760 | D.S.C. | 1888
The libel is for injuries sustained by libelant on board of the steam-ship Phoenix, on- 11th February, 1888, she being at the time at Adger’s wharf, in this port. The steam-ship, taking in a cargo of cotton, was in full charge of-a stevedore, selected by the charterer, and paid by the ship. She furnished the appliances for loading, — derrick, windlass, blocks, chains, rope slings, and the steam for the winch. The
When a stevedore lias full charge of the loading or unloading of a vessel, and one of his gang suffers injury by reason of defective tackle furnished by the vessel, she is responsible if there be absence of due care ujion the part of her master in furnishing the tackle, or in maintaining it in a safe condition; that is to say, if he knew, or if the circumstances were such as to put him on the inquiry so that he could know, that the tackle was not safe. The Rheola, 19 Fed. Rep. 926; The Harold, 21 Fed. Rep. 428; The Carolina, 30 Fed. Rep. 200, affirmed, 32 Fed. Rep. 112; The Dago, 31 Fed. Rep. 574. The general principle appears in The Malek Adhel, 2 How. 210, and it is illustrated in The Yoxford, 33 Fed. Rep. 521. The question in this case is, was the sling thus furnished by the ship on this afternoon defective within the knowledge of the officer furnishing it, or wore the circumstances such as to put him upon inquiry as to its condition? The sling had been in use only two hours when it parted. On this essential question the testimony is contradictory. The stevedore, his foreman, the gangway man, and the man at the winch, all of whom handled the sling, swear that one at least of the slings furnished for and used in hatch 4 that afternoon was very dark in color, having all the appearance of an old sling. Two of these, the stevedore and his foreman, to whom the master exhibited the broken sling after the accident, swear that it not only was very dark in color, like an old sling,
In determining the extent of the liability of the ship other considerations, however, enter into the question. The gangway man failed in his duty, and gave no warning. It may be — but on this point the evidence is not strong — that the man at the winch was unskillful. Both of them