Circuit over troubled waters: Ninth Circuit comparative fault principles in seamen's personal injury actions

Maritime personal injury actions employ the comparative fault doctrine, und er which damages are allocated between mutually negligent parties according to their proportionate fault. This Comment focuses on recurring issues Nin th Circuit courts have faced in this area: apportioning liability in cases of violations by seamen's employers of Occupational Safety and Health Act ( OSHA) regulations, and determining whether to include both causation and fa ult in making the apportionment. This Comment argues that the Ninth Circuit should adopt rules consistent with the pronounced congressional and U.S. S upreme Court policies of achieving uniformity in domestic and international admiralty and providing liberal recovery for seamen.