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Accu-Fab & Construction3/14/2000
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 04/16/95
TRIAL JUDGE: HON. KATHY KING JACKSON
COURT FROM WHICH APPEALED: JACKSON COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - WRONGFUL DEATH
TRIAL COURT DISPOSITION: $2,000,000 VERDICT FOR WRONGFUL DEATH
DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND REMANDED - 06/29/1999
MOTION FOR REHEARING FILED: 07/13/1999; AFFIRMED - 03/14/2000
MODIFIED OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
EN BANC.
. Each of the motions for rehearing filed in this matter are granted. The original opinion issued in this case is withdrawn, and the following opinion is substituted as the opinion of this Court.
. A Jackson County jury awarded damages for the death of Richard Ladner to his family against Roy Anderson Corporation (Anderson) and Accu-Fab and Construction, Inc. (Accu-Fab). Anderson and Accu-Fab appealed that jury verdict based on several issues and subsequently filed a motion for rehearing. Ladner has filed a motion for rehearing relative to this Court's ruling regarding whether Bracken should have been considered a "party" for apportionment of damages. This Court finds no error in the trial court's decision not to include Bracken in apportioning fault under Miss. Code Ann. § 85-5-7 (Rev. 1991), as well as the other issues presented in the motions for rehearing filed by Anderson and Accu-Fab; therefore, we affirm these matters.
FACTS
. In November 1993, Boomtown, Inc., a casino operator, had employed Anderson as general contractor to construct the Boomtown Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Anderson subcontracted a good portion of the work. Among the subcontractors were Accu-Fab, a metal fabricator, and Bracken Construction ("Bracken"), which employed Ladner as an iron worker.
. On Monday morning, March 7, 1994, while working on the roof of the Boomtown Casino, Ladner fell through a hole cut in the roof and subsequently died of the injuries received. Ladner's family filed suit against Anderson, Accu-Fab, and Boomtown, Inc., seeking compensation for Ladner's death. Boomtown Inc., dismissed at the start of the trial, is not a party to this appeal.
. The Boomtown Casino was being constructed on a barge that was on a navigable waterway. As a result, injuries sustained by construction workers were covered under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, codified as 33 U.S.C. § 901, a federally sponsored workers' compensation program covering some maritime workers. Because this coverage was provided by the employer and is an exclusive federal remedy, Bracken, as Ladner's employer, was not a party to this action. 33 U.S.C. § 905. Both Anderson and Accu-Fab requested jury instructions to include Bracken in the apportionment of liability, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 85-5-7 (1972). The trial judge denied the requested instructions citing McBride v. Chevron U.S.A., 673 So. 2d 372 (Miss. 1996).
DISCUSSION
I. WHETHER THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN EXCLUDING BRACKEN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY FROM APPORTIONMENT OF FAULT.
. Bracken, as required by 33 U.S.C. § 902, maintained Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation coverage for its employees engaged in covered maritime work. Benefits were paid to the Ladner family under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. These benefits were the exclusive remedy available to Ladner against Bracken. Because Bracken was not a party to this action, the trial court refused to allow the jury to consider, in the case sub judice, the extent of fault, if any, of Bracken in causing Ladner's injuries.
. Mississippi Code Annotated § 85-5-7 (1972) provides fo
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