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26MNMarch 2012 but the damages shall be diminished by the jury in pro- portion to the amount of negligence attributable to such employee: Provided, That no such employee who may be injured or killed shall be held to have been guilty of con- tributory negligence in any case where the violation by such common carrier of any statute enacted for the safetyof employees contributed to the injury or death of such employee.? Specifically interpreting Section 53 of the FELA, courts have found that where a seaman was injured due to a ves- sel operator?s violation of a Coast Guard manning statute, the seaman cannot be charged with contributory negli- gence. This means the seaman?s monetary damages cannot be reduced even if the seaman is also at fault in causing or contributing to cause the accident. He is essentially exon- erated, or immunized, under Section 53 by the employer?s statutory violation. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed this precise issue in 1985 in a case entitled, Roy Crook & Sons, Inc. v. Allen. In the Allen case, Captain Newell Allen drowned in the Gulf of Mexico while attempting to bring in the anchor of the M/V Lady Patricia, a ship owned by Roy Crook & Sons, Inc. At the time, only two crewmembers were aboard: Captain Newell Allen and a deckhand. The M/V Lady Patricia was sixty-five feet long, had a capacity of 89 gross tons, and operated under a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection which required a crew of two ocean operators and two deck-hands. The appellate court found that the vessel operator had indeed violated the Coast Guard manning statute (which requires a vessel be manned in accordance with its COI) and thus that Captain Newell could not be charged with any com- parative negligence. CIVILLIABILITY STANDARDSUNDERTHE GENERALMARITIMELAWFOR UNSEAWORTHINESS Separate and apart from exposure to a seaman?s Jones Act negligence claim, vessel operators face liability to their sea- men employees in the crewing context under the general maritime law (or federal common, or judge-made, law)under the warranty of unseaworthiness. Under this doc- trine, vessel owners essentially promise to provide for their LEGALMN#3 (18-31):MN 2011 Layouts 3/2/2012 9:48 AM Page 26