Fishing Boat’s Owner Didn’t Negligently Cause Helper’s Injury

A fisherman’s helper got caught in a herring net hauler and suffered serious injuries to his arm. He sued the owner of the fishing boat, claiming his injuries were caused by negligence. He said the owner didn’t provide a safe work environment or adequate training. The court noted that the plaintiff had considerable experience as a fisherman’s helper and experience with a net hauler. The boat’s owner did have a duty to take reasonable steps to provide a safe work system. But the court wasn’t satisfied that the owner was negligent and had breached that duty of care. In addition, even if the helper had proven the alleged acts of negligence, those acts didn’t cause his injury. So the court dismissed the lawsuit [Doyle v. Roberts Estate, [2015] P.E.I.J. No. 53, Dec. 9, 2015].