In Southwest Marine v. Gizoni, 502 U.S. 81 (1991), the plaintiff was employed as a rigging foreman in connection with a ship repair facility. His duties included working on floating platforms; he rode on the platforms as they were towed into place; occasionally served as a lookout; gave signals to the tugboat operator; and received lines passed to the platforms by the ships' crews to secure the platforms to the vessels which were under repair. Plaintiff suffered injuries when his foot broke through a thin wooden sheet covering a hole in the deck of a platform. Plaintiff submitted a claim for, and received, medical and compensation benefits from his employer pursuant to the LHWCA, but later brought suit under the Jones Act alleging that he was a seaman injured as a result of his employer's negligence. The Court held that even though ship repair is a specific category of occupation listed under the LHWCA, "because a ship repairman may spend all of his working hours aboard a vessel in furtherance of its mission--even one used exclusively in ship repair work--that worker may qualify as a Jones Act seaman." Issues of fact existed as to whether the plaintiff was a seaman, i.e, "regarding whether the floating platforms were vessels in navigation, and whether plaintiff had sufficient connection to the platforms to qualify for seaman status." In addition, the Court held that, "It is by now "universally accepted" that an employee who receives, voluntary payments under the LHWCA without a formal award is not barred from subsequently seeking relief under the Jones Act."