In February 2019, the Fifth Circuit issued a per curiam opinion affirming a district court’s granting of summary judgment to an offshore platform owner for injuries sustained by the employee of one of its contractors. The case is Mosley v. Wood Grp. PSN, Inc., C.A. No. 18-30523, 2019 US App. LEXIS 3803 (5th Cir. Feb. 7, 2019). 

While the decision did not create new law within the Fifth Circuit, it nonetheless provides a helpful discussion and overview on an issue of significant relevance to all offshore owners/operators: When is a contractor’s employee considered a “borrowed employee” of the owner/operator? 

If a contractor’s employee is considered the “borrowed employee” of the owner or operator of the platform, he has no tort claim against the owner or operator and must instead proceed against the owner/operator under the LHWCA. In other words, the claim against the platform owner or platform operator is one of worker’s compensation, not tort.

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