Abstract: On September 7, 1994, Employee #1 began working for the employer, a federally-funded, nonprofit organization. She was hired to work as an Emergency Relief Worker II on a reshelling oyster project in Apalachicola Bay after tropical storm Alberto. Her immediate supervisor instructed her to wear a life vest while the boat was out in the water. Employee #1 was monitoring the oyster relay discharge sites and issuing receipts to oystermen who were relaying the shell stock. On the boat with her was her husband, who was operating the 22-foot flat-bottomed wooden boat with an outboard motor. At some time, Employee #1 fell overboard. Her husband, who was employed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, attempted to rescue her but could not. Employee #1 drowned and her husband, who had dived in the water to save her, was able to swim to shore. There were no other witnesses to the accident. Even though there were two U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation devices aboard the vessel, neither Employee #1 nor her husband was wearing one.