Shared Liability in Bridge Allison

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that liability is to be shared between the vessel owner and the bridge owner where both are at fault in a bridge allision. In the instant case, the vessel allided with the pivot-swinging drawbridge on the Detroit River. Evidence indicated that the bridge was not opened in a timely manner and that the bridgetender may have been drinking. The vessel may not have posted a proper lookout and that the vessel failed to timely drop its anchors. Grosse Ile Bridge Company v. American Steamship Company