Admiralty - Exclusive Coverage by Longshoremen\u27s and Harbor Workers\u27 Act of Railway Employer\u27s Liability to Employee for Accident on Car Float

Respondent, a freight brakeman employed by petitioning railroad at its Jersey City yards, was injured while releasing the hand brakes on a freight car which was being pulled off a car float docked in navigable waters. He brought suit under the Federal Employers\u27 Liability Act, alleging that his injury was caused by a faulty brake mechanism maintained in violation of the Safety Appliance Acts. The suit was dismissed in the district court on the ground that the Longshoremen\u27s and Harbor Workers\u27 Act applied exclusively, because the injury occurred on navigable waters. The court of appeals reversed, holding that this act did not apply, since respondent\u27s employment was not maritime in nature. Held, on certiorari, such a case is within the exclusive coverage of the Harbor Workers\u27 Act. Four justices dissented. Pennsylvania R. Co. v. O\u27Rourke, 344 U.S. 334, 73 S.Ct. 302 (1953)