Sandra Day O'Connor

“ Congress retains superior authority in these matters, and an admiralty court must be vigilant not to overstep the well-considered boundaries imposed by federal legislation. These statutes both direct and delimit our actions.
Apex contends that Moragne's holding, creating a general maritime wrongful death action, does not apply in this case because Moragne was a longshoreman, whereas Torregano was a true seaman. Apex is correct that Moragne does not apply on its facts, but we decline to limit Moragne to its facts. ”

“ See Moragne, supra, 398 U.S., at 388, 389, 90 S.Ct., at 1781, 1782. To the contrary, the considered judgment of a large majority of American legislatures is that lost future income is not recoverable in a survival action. Were we to recognize a right to such recovery under maritime law, we would be adopting a distinctly minority view. ”

“ There are indeed strong policy arguments for allowing such recovery. See, e.g., R. Posner, Economic Analysis of Law 176-181 (3d ed.1986) (recovery of lost future income provides efficient incentives to take care by ensuring that the tortfeasor will have to bear the total cost of the victim's injury or death) . Moreover, Miles reminds us that admiralty courts have always shown a special solicitude for the welfare of seamen and their families. " [C] ertainly it better becomes the humane and liberal character of proceedings in admiralty to give than to withhold the remedy." ”

“ Speiser explains that many States do not allow any recovery of lost earnings in survival, and that among those that do, recovery is generally limited to earnings lost from the time of injury to the time of death. ”

“ Congress and the States have changed the rule in many instances. The Jones Act, through its incorporation of FELA, provides that a seaman's right of action for injuries due to negligence survives to the seaman's personal representative. See 45 U.S.C. § 59; Gillespie, supra, at 157, 85 S.Ct., at 313. Most States have survival statutes applicable to tort actions generally, see 1 S. Speiser, Recovery for Wrongful Death 2d § 3.2 (1975 and Supp.1989) , 2 id., §§ 14.1, 14.3, App. A, and admiralty courts have applied these state statutes in many instances to preserve suits for injury at sea. ”

“ Respondents in that case warned that the elimination of loss of society damages for wrongful deaths on the high seas would create an unwarranted inconsistency between deaths in territorial waters, where loss of society was available under Gaudet, and deaths on the high seas. ”

“ See Spiller v. Thomas M. Lowe, Jr., & Assocs., Inc., 466 F.2d 903, 909 (CA8 1972) ; Barbe v. Drummond, 507 F.2d 794, 799-800 (CA1 1974) ; Law v. Sea Drilling Corp., 523 F.2d 793, 795 (CA5 1975) ; Evich v. ”