NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana has ruled against the American Marine Corporation, responding to the company's motion for a retrial regarding medical fees it was ordered to pay plaintiff Henry Luwisch.
Luwisch, in the original and partially successful lawsuit against the company, alleged to have tripped on some rope and fallen nearly 10 feet to the lower deck of the defendant's ship while working for AMC. He had filed the lawsuit seeking damages under the Jones Act.
While the court found in its first ruling that Luwisch’s actions regarding claims under the McCorpen defense were insufficient, it had ruled in favor of the plaintiff in correspondence with the defendant’s alleged violations of the Jones Act. Based on that ruling, the court ordered AMC to award Luwisch nearly $868,000, but AMC argued it was not responsible for the amount of nearly $14,000 ordered for the plaintiff’s medical expenses due to his legal representation paying off the medical expenses.
U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan
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U.S. District Court Judge Susie Morgan, in a statement released on May 16, concluded that AMC was in fact responsible for the full amount to be awarded to Luwisch, regardless of whether or not their claims of prior payment are true, as they exist independently. Furthermore, Judge Morgan stated that “AMC has failed to show a manifest error of law or mistake of fact in the court’s determination of the quantum of damages for Luwisch’s past medical expenses,” and that “under the collateral source rule, AMC is not entitled to a reduction in its damages.”