New LHWCA Case from Fifth Circuit - Cooper v. Int'l Offshore Servs.

New LHWCA and Jones Act case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.  The case sets out the impact of a LHWCA settlement on a claimant's other non-LWHCA claims (i.e. Jones Act, Maintenance & Cure).  The case is  Cooper v. International Offshore Services,  2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16133 and can be found here.

Per the court,

Charles Cooper was seriously injured while loading supplies onto the M/V INTERNATIONAL THUNDER during the course of his employment. He settled his compensation claims with his employer, International Marine, and its parent company, International Offshore Services, (collectively “International”) through the administrative processes in the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”). Thereafter, he filed a complaint against International for negligence and sought damages, maintenance, and cure. International’s motion for summary judgment was granted. We AFFIRM.

The court found that the because the claimant did not appeal the order approving the settlement with the employer, he was barred from bringing a separate suit for damages because the settlement agreement settled all claims.