Articles Posted in Boating Accidents

Anthony Buffinet was aboard the Cry Baby, the fishing vessel Cry Baby, when it was struck by another vessel, according to the suit filed by Buffinet on March 29 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Purportedly, on March 25, 2013, the Cry Baby, owned and operated by Buffinet, was moored at dock in Leeville when it was struck by the DMO Resolve, owned and operated by Dale Martin Offshore LLC.  Buffinet’s suit names Dale Martin Offshore LLC as the defendant, asserting that the fault of the matter is their’s as they failed to maintain proper course and speed, failed to take preventative measures in averting the collision, and negligently operated their vessel.

In addition to damaging the Cry Baby, Buffinet himself was allegedly injured to such a degree that he has been unable to perform his usual duties and has been rendered disabled.  Additionally, he has suffered financial loss and mental pain.

After allegedly suffering a work injury, Lloyd Willis, an employee of United Fire & Safety, filed a lawsuit against Woods Group PSN Inc., Energy XXI USA Inc., and JNET LLC in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on February 16, citing negligence and failure of obligations.

According to the suit, on or about June 14, 2015, Willis was being transferred from a platform to the JNET vessel via a personnel basket attached to a crane.  JNET is owned by Energy XXI and was located in South Timbalier Block 26A in the Gulf of Mexico.  Willis alleges the basket struck the vessel with such force as to cause injury, and that the named defendants acted in a negligent manner when they failed to observe safety measures, failed to exercise reasonable care, and failed to provide proper tools and a safe work environment.

As a result of the blow, Willis allegedly suffered a possible ruptured disk, nerve damage, injuries to his bones, muscle joints, and organs, as well as general body trauma and resultant medical expenses.

A project supervisor is suing multiple companies for injuries allegedly sustained on a barge-loading job.

Dale E. Loveall Jr., individually and on behalf of his minor child, Sadie Loveall, and Robin Loveall, filed suit January 28 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against multiple defendants.  Nordic Underwater Services Inc., AMI Consulting Engineers P.A. Inc., ADM Grain River System Inc., and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. are alleged to have negligently caused Loveall Jr.’s injuries.

The complaint states that the Loveall Jr. was hired by the defendants on or about February 18, 2015 to fix the pilings of the ADM Dock in Destrahan on the Mississippi River.  It is further asserted that Loveall Jr. was appointed project supervisor and was part of the crew of the American 12, a vessel owned by ADM or ADMC and provided by Nordic and/or AMI.  One of the tasks was required for the project was the transport of items from the American 12 to a barge.  According to the suit, the barge did not have a crane which required the crew, including the plaintiff, to lift all equipment, including several thousand pounds of cement bags, out of the American 12, above their heads, and onto the barge.

A lawsuit has been brought against Chevron for a shrimp boat that sank last year, allegedly due to an underwater and unmarked vessel owned by the company.

Hosea Wilson and Shajaun Turner filed suit on January 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Chevron USA, Inc.  They claimed negligence on the part Chevron which resulted in damage to personal property and personal injury.

According to the suit, on March 19, Wilson and Turner were piloting a 36-foot Newton shrimp boat in Garden Island Bay in Plaquemines Parish.  It was at this time that their vessel collided with a submerged and unmarked vessel owned by Chevron.  The collision caused heavy hull damage to Wilson’s boat, and injured both men, according to the complaint.  Additionally, the hull damage was so severe that Wilson’s boat took on water and sank.

Two men’s routine fishing trip was literally and figuratively upheaved when another marine vessel’s high rate of speed resulted in the capsizing of their boat, allegedly leaving the two men with various injuries.

Benjamin Lee Hines, Sr., and Andreas Damone Vitto sued Southern States Offshore Inc. on January 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana., alleging negligence and personal injury liability.

According to the suit, the two men were fishing out of a recreational vessel around Maxie’s Grocery Store near Intercostal City in Vermillion Parish on September 27, 2014.  At a certain time that day, Southern States Offshore’s vessel, the Southern Belle, entered that waterway at an alleged high rate of speed.  The suit states that the rate was much too fast for prevailing conditions that day, and caused an intense wake.  It is this wake which allegedly capsized the boat Hines and Vitto were fishing out of, knocking both men into the water.

A three-vehicle crash in Delcambre resulted the death of an uncle and nephew from Abbeville, according to police reports.

On November 26, 2015, Jones Mitchell and Gerald Mitchell were traveling west on Suzuki motorcycles on LA 14 and approaching an east-west crossover.  An 18-wheeler, driven by Earnest Comesana Jr.,  was traveling east on LA 14 and approaching the same crossover.   Comesana turned left into the crossover to begin traveling east and the Mitchells were unable to avoid colliding with Comesana’s trailer as it entered their lane of travel.

Although the Mitchell’s were wearing Department of Transportation-approved helmets, both received fatal injuries as a result of the collision and were pronounced dead at the scene by the Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office.  Comensana was properly restrained at the time of the crash and received no injuries.

A tugboat captain has sued a fellow tug company as a result of an injury sustained while on the water, according to the filed complaint

Troy Matthiews, a tugboat captain for Bayou Vista, and Tracey, his wife, have filed suit against Crosby Tugs, citing negligence and personal injury stemming from an alleged incident occurring in 2014.

On November 30, 2014, Matthiews was attempting to cross from his boat, the Morgan Ray, to another tugboat, when both boats were passed by a third.  According to the complaint, the third boat, the Crosby Rambler, was going at an excessive rate of speed.  As a result, the wave generated in the Rambler’s wake knocked Matthiews off balance and tossed him between the two other boats, causing severe injury.

A former employee of Phoenix International Holdings Inc., is suing his former employer as well as several affiliated parties for alleged negligence which resulted in injuries sustained while working offshore.

On October 16, John Bubenik of Florida filed suit in the Eastern District Court of Louisiana against Phoenix International Holdings Inc., MC Offshore Petroleum Inc., and its insurers.  In the suit, Bubenik alleges that unsafe conditions lead to the injuring of his eye while on the job.

Bubenik was working aboard the Odyssea Courage and was employed by Phoenix International Holdings Inc. as a dive supervisor, commercial diver and seaman.  The defendants were performing water blasting on the vessel, and at some point this activity caused metal particles to careen into his eye, causing an abrasion of the cornea.  Bubenik was airlifted from the worksite to receive medical treatment on October 21.  Bubenik’s suit alleges that the defendant’s lack of care while working was a contributing factor in his injury.

Blake David

Blake David of Broussard, David & Moroux, Lafayette, was recently named Maritime Section Chair for the Louisiana Association for Justice (LAJ). The Maritime Section of this legal group concerns itself with improving the skill and knowledge of lawyers who represent workers injured in offshore accidents so that their families receive fair compensation from negligent parties and their insurers. The Maritime Section is one of LAJ’s larger sections, due to the increased industrial activity in Louisiana state waterways, rivers, canals, marshes and also given Louisiana’s proximity to work performed offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and the Outer Continental Shelf.

Mr. David has 14 years of experience practicing maritime and admiralty law. His area of practice focuses on personal injury and wrongful death litigation with an emphasis on offshore/maritime, trucking accident, aviation, products liability, industrial accident, and automobile claims. He speaks annually at the Louisiana State Bar Association Admiralty Symposium and is frequently invited to address attorney organizations around the state.

Mr. David was raised in Lafayette and is a founding partner of Broussard, David & Moroux. He is the past president of the Lafayette Bar Association, past president of the American Inn of Court of Acadiana, and founding board member and past president of the Federal Bar Association’s Lafayette Chapter. Mr. David is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell and recognized by Louisiana Super Lawyers (2012-2016), National Trial Lawyers (2012-2016) and National Association of Distinguished Counsel, which is awarded to the nation’s top one percent of attorneys (2015).

 

A boating incident between a recreational boat and an oilfield crew boat resulted in one fatality and left two others injured in Cameron Parish last Thursday.

Wildlife and Fisheries reported that the accident occurred around 8 a.m. on October 8th.  The oilfield crew boat, which was carrying two, and the other boat carrying a family of three collided in a curve in a canal in Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge.

The family, a father and his two adult sons, were flung from their boat by the impact.  They were pulled from the water by the members of the crew boat who then docked at a nearby landing and contacted an ambulance.

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