shipowner negligence doctrine
shipowner-negligence doctrine. The principle that a shipowner is liable for an assault on a crew member if the crew member was assaulted by a superior, in the context of an activity undertaken for the benefit of the ship’s business, and if the ship’s officers could reasonably have foreseen the assault. [Cases: Seamen 29(3). C.J.S. Seamen §§ 163, 165–166.]