Kendall Walker Danderson v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.,Case No. 10-5933-CA-13; Judge Thomas Rebull
Mr. Danderson, a 36 year-old galley worker from Costa Rica, alleged a traumatic brain injury following an episode of unexplained unconsciousness. Danderson, who was found unconscious in his cabin, claimed he emerged with retrograde amnesia that impeded his ability to recall several years of his life. His employer, Royal Caribbean, arranged medical treatment in the United States and his home country of Costa Rica, where he was eventually declared at maximum medical improvement (“MMI”) by his treating physicians. Danderson filed a five-count complaint alleging Jones Act negligence, unseaworthiness, failure to provide entire maintenance and cure, failure to treat and provide adequate cure, and failure to pay unearned wages.
Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel Partner, Carlos J. Chardon, briefed the motion for summary judgment and argued it at the hearing. The Court agreed with Royal Caribbean and found that Danderson failed to proffer evidence to support the existence of a negligent and/or unseaworthy condition and similarly failed to establish proximate causation. The court also found Royal Caribbean fulfilled its maintenance and cure obligation and that Danderson failed to adequately controvert his physician’s MMI declarations. The court denied Plaintiff’s motion to continue the summary judgment hearing to allow additional discovery finding, in part, that Danderson failed to submit an affidavit addressing the material evidence he expected to uncover.