In the 1916 case of Valley Steamship Company v. Wattawa, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a ship's captain could be held liable for injuries sustained by a crew member due to negligence on part of another crew member. The plaintiff, Wattawa, had been injured while working aboard one of Valley Steamship Company's vessels when he slipped and fell on an oily deck that had not been properly cleaned by another crewman. He argued that his injury was caused by the negligence of his fellow seaman and therefore sought compensation from the company under maritime law. The court ruled in favor of Valley Steamship Company stating that under general maritime law, it is well established principle that a shipowner is not responsible for damages resulting from one servant’s negligent acts causing injury to another servant engaged in common employment unless there has been some fault or neglect on part of master or owner himself. Therefore, since no evidence showed any direct negligence by either captain or owners themselves towards maintaining safety standards onboard their vessel which led directly to plaintiff’s accident; they were absolved from liability.

In the dissenting opinion for Valley Steamship Company v. Wattawa, Justice Holmes disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the law and its application to this case. He argued that there was no evidence to support a finding of negligence on part of the steamship company, as required by maritime law in order for liability to be established. The plaintiff had failed to prove that any action or lack thereof by the defendant directly caused his injury; rather it seemed more likely that he fell due to his own carelessness while moving around on a dark night at sea. Furthermore, even if some fault could be attributed to the ship’s officers or crew members, they were not acting within their employment scope when they allegedly failed in their duty towards him after he got injured - hence making it unjustifiable for their employer (the steamship company) being held responsible under vicarious liability principles.