Court: No workers' comp in drunk dockworker case

Recent Cases

A federal appeals court says an Oregon longshoreman who got drunk on the job, urinated while standing on a dock and then fell 6 feet onto concrete should not get workers' compensation benefits for his injuries.

Gary Schwirse drank at least nine beers and half-pint of whiskey on Jan. 8, 2006. While standing on a dock, he urinated and fell over a railing. At the hospital, he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.25 percent.

Schwirse sued for workers' compensation benefits and at first was victorious, when an administrative law judge ruled that workplace hazards had been a factor in his fall. But the judge later reversed his ruling when Schwirse backed off a claim that he tripped over an orange cone.

The worker appealed it to U.S. District Court, where he lost, and the case landed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which denied a petition for a review of claims this week. The court said his injuries were due solely to intoxication and his employers could not be held responsible.

Schwirse later tried to argue that the very concrete onto which he fell, and not his intoxication, was responsible for his injuries. That argument also lost.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge N. Randy Smith wrote in the opinion that if intoxication was the reason for the fall, then intoxication was also the reason for the injury.

Related listings

  • Pitt schools segregation lawsuit in federal court

    Pitt schools segregation lawsuit in federal court

    Recent Cases 07/26/2013

    Nearly 60 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in public schools, lawyers are set to square off in a federal courtroom in eastern North Carolina over whether the effects of that Jim Crow past still persist. A trial was to...

  • Wash. gay wedding flowers case goes to court

    Wash. gay wedding flowers case goes to court

    Recent Cases 06/28/2013

    The dispute over a Washington state florist who declined to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding goes to court Friday. Oral arguments are scheduled in Benton County Superior Court. The Washington state attorney general's office sued the owner of Ar...

  • Court: Ex-Im Bank needs to explain Air India loan

    Court: Ex-Im Bank needs to explain Air India loan

    Recent Cases 06/19/2013

    A federal bank that backed a huge airplane loan for Air India will have to explain that the loan didn't hurt U.S. airlines. A lawsuit by Delta Air Lines Inc. had accused the Export-Import Bank of failing to follow a requirement that it makes sure its...

Nicholas C. Minshew - Minshew & Ahluwalia LLP

Nicholas C. Minshew, Attorney at Law, concentrates his practice in the area of Family Law including divorce, separation, child support, child custody, alimony, division of property, separation agreements, domestic violence, prenuptial agreements, and child support enforcement & modification. Mr. Minshew provides legal services to clients in Washington, D.C., and throughout Maryland, including Montgomery County, Frederick County, and Prince George’s County. Mr. Minshew obtained his Juris Doctorate degree from the American University, Washington College of Law in 2000, where he worked as an editor for the Administrative Law Review. After receiving his law degree, Mr. Minshew worked as an attorney for the global law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, and for Leonard Street & Deinard LLP representing companies in Federal proceedings. During that time, Mr. Minshew redirected his focus to provide legal services directly to individuals and families.

Business News

Surry County Criminal Defense Lawyers. At DiRusso & DiRusso, we have the legal knowledge and experience to protect you. >> read
Canton, MI Criminal Law Attorney Rita White is a metro Detroit area attorney with a focus on criminal defense. >> read