Man critically injured in Boating Accident

Law enforcement agencies in north Palm Beach County are searching for a man whom police say was operating a 23-foot boat on the Intracoastal Waterway Saturday night, when it collided with an illuminated channel marker. The impact caused severe head injuries for one of the passengers on board. Kai Woodstock, 26, of Jupiter, who was flown by helicopter to St. Mary's Medical Center after the accident, which occurred around 9:46 p.m., according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Investigators say the boat operator fled the crash scene and had not been located nearly 24 hours later. According to Jupiter police, the boat's operator, 21-year-old Timothy Doran, also of Jupiter, took off on foot after the accident and was still wanted for questioning early Monday. Alcohol was believed to be a factor in the accident, police said.

SEARCH FOR SANDY POINT CREW MEMBERS CONTINUES Three men missing after collision in Gulf

GULFPORT -- Divers will continue their search today for three missing crew members of an Omega Protein pogy boat that sank in the Gulfport shipping channel after a collision with a ship carrying bananas to Texas.A team of four divers from the state Department of Marine Resources and one from the Biloxi Police Department spent several hours Thursday in the dark, murky waters where the Sandy Point rested 25 feet below the surface, U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Timothy Williams said. DMR Chief Walter Chataginer said the three could have been trapped inside the boat in air pockets that could keep them alive.

Palm Valley Boat Accident

PALM VALLEY -- A 65-year-old woman was hospitalized after a boat she was riding in slammed into a dock along the Intracoastal Waterway on Saturday, practically two years to the day after a deadly boat wreck killed five people in the same area. Jo Ann P. Valenti of Ponte Vedra Beach sustained head injuries after a 1999 Vessel powerboat smashed into a dock about 2:45 p.m. behind a vacant house at 75 S. Roscoe Blvd., the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office said. Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-04-20/story/boat-crashes-palm-valley-dock-two-years-after-deadly-wreck-near-same#ixzz1K6ZzGFln

Texas law firm sued for allegedly filing incorrect Jones Act lawsuit

A Mexican national is filing a lawsuit against a Texas law firm for improperly filing a lawsuit against his employer causing his workers' compensation benefits to be terminated. Juan Puga filed suit against The Hastings Law Firm and Tommy R. Hastings on March 3 in federal court in New Orleans. According to the complaint, on Sept. 24, 2008, Puga was employed by Fluid Crane and Construction Inc. as a pipe welder when he was injured off the coast of Louisianan while being transferred from a vessel in a personnel basket. The lawsuit claims that Puga was solicited by the Hastings Law Firm within one week of the accident, while he was still in a Louisiana hospital. When he signed an attorney-client contract, he was receiving compensation benefits from Fluid Crane's carrier in excess of $1,000 per week, plus all medical expenses. The Hastings Law Firm filed a Jones Act lawsuit against Fluid Crane in Brazoria County District Court. The Hastings Law Firm argued that Puga was a Jones Act seaman and as a result, Fluid Crane terminated the compensation benefits and began paying him maintenance at $15 per day. Puga states his employer had no exposure to liability as a result of being his employer and his non-seaman status. He states he attempted to contact the law firm about the loss of his benefits but was unable to receive a reply. He terminated their representation in December 2008.

Man's Foot Severed by Boat

NAPLES — Two days after a boat propeller severed his left foot, a 69-year-old Bonita Springs swimmer remains in fair condition at Lee Memorial Hospital, according to Pat Dolce, a hospital spokeswoman. Rosario ‘Sal’ Pucciarelli was swimming within a marked swimming area near the shoreline of the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Vanderbilt Beach on Saturday when he was struck by a boat, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report. Brandon Ruganis was traveling east toward the shoreline in a 22-foot Pathfinder fishing boat when the boat struck Pucciarelli, according to the report.

Uncle: Gardens girl hit by boat propeller lost part of left leg

Doctors were unable to save the leg of a 14-year-old girl struck by a boat propeller on Saturday. Gabby DeSouza's leg was amputated below the knee Tuesday, according to news partner WPTV-Ch. 5. The Palm Beach Gardens High School student was airlifted to St. Mary's Medical Center after the accident, and has remained in critical condition since. The teenager and friends were in the water south of the Juno Pier when a boat approached carrying other friends. As she was trying to climb onboard, the driver revved the engine in an apparent attempt to keep the boat from getting beached, according to an eyewitness. The boat hit three of the girls, knocking them down, and the propeller struck DeSouza's leg.

Seaman seeks $5M for wrongful termination after head injury

GALVESTON - Claiming he was wrongfully terminated after receiving a head injury on the job, a Galveston County seaman is seeking $5 million from his former employer. James Gowdy filed a Jones Act suit against Kinder Morgan Inc. on Jan. 13 in Galveston County District Court. He alleges he was injured on March 24 while working aboard the M/V Audrey. According to the original petition, Gowdy and a co-worker were tightening a mechanical wench when the co-worker lost control of a stainless steel teeter bar. The bar then shot across the deck and struck Gowdy in the head, the lawsuit states. Gowdy claims he recalls nothing after the incident until he woke up five hours later in a Sulphur, La., hospital, the suit says. The suit states that Gowdy sustained contusions and abrasions as well as injuries to his neck, legs and other parts of his body. He says he was unable to maintain his balance after the injury and unable to return to work. Gowdy claims his employment was then terminated. He consequently seeks a jury trial along with the $5 million in damages. The Buzbee Law Firm is representing the plaintiff, and Galveston County 56th District Court Judge Lonnie Cox is presiding over the case.

Mayport shrimp boat Miss Alberta capsizes; 1 dead

Mayport Coast Guard crews were off the coast of Amelia Island today, trying to determine if any pollution was caused by the Monday capsizing of a shrimp boat that killed a crew member.As of Tuesday morning, the Coaast Guard still had not identified the crewman, said Petty Officer 1st Class Christopher Evanson of the Mayport Coast Guard station. The sunken vessel, the 36-foot Miss Alberta, is posing no hazard to navigation for other ships and boats, Evanson said. The shrimp boat’s owner is responsible for removing the underwater wreckage, he said. Shrimper Tony Malone, first mate aboard another shrimp boat, the Joe Bip, said his boat got a distress call about 3 p.m. Monday from the Miss Alberta, which was shrimping nearby, about a half mile from shore. Waves were about 5 feet offshore and winds were coming from the south at 17.5 mph and gusting at 21 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather buoy off the coast of St. Augustine. Malone dove into the water to save the two-member crew. “The boat was already upside down,” he said. He said he found the captain, who he and witnesses identified as Bo King of Mayport, swimming with his dead crew member tethered to him with a rope.

Iraq war vet killed in boating accident

DELAND, Fla. (AP) — Authorities have found the body of an Iraq war veteran who was thrown from a boat during a collision on a central Florida river.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says divers from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office found the body of 36-year-old Jamie Orsten on Saturday. Orsten was thrown into the water after the boat he was riding in crashed with another vessel on the St. Johns River Friday evening. Officials say he was not wearing a life jacket. Commission spokeswoman Joy Hill said Orsten was an Army veteran of the Iraq war. Charges are pending the outcome of an investigation. ___ Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Florida seaman files Jones Act lawsuit against Houston company

9/27/2010 1:36 PM By Michelle Massey, East Texas Bureau A Florida seaman has filed a lawsuit against barge company claiming he was permanently injured. Robert Occhiogrosso filed suit against Maryland Marine Inc., doing business as Higman Barge Lines Inc., on Sept. 16 in the Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division. According to the lawsuit, the accident occurred on June 27, 2009, as Occhiogrosso was working as a member of the crew of the Tugboat Annopolis in Houston. He states the vessel's unsafe and unseaworthy conditions caused him to suffer permanent personal injuries to his body. Further, he states the accident was caused by the negligence of the defendant or the defendant's employees. The plaintiff is seeking more than $75,000 in damages for physical pain, mental anguish, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity, medical expenses, loss of life's pleasures, loss of physical capacity, disfigurement, loss of ability to perform household services, interest and court costs. Occhiogrosso is represented by Harold Eisenman in Houston. Case No. 1:10-cv-00576

Jones Act Repeal Would Hurt Jacksonville Shipping Companies

Sen. John McCain’s proposed repeal of an 80-year-old maritime law could, if passed, shake up Jacksonville’s most entrenched trade lane and endanger three hometown shipping companies dependent on it. McCain, R-Ariz., argues that requiring all goods shipped between the nation’s ports to be transported by U.S.-built ships and sailed by American crews is protectionist and raises prices by excluding foreign competition. Supporters of the Jones Act counter that the law preserves security and the domestic maritime industries. The repeal of the law “would be devastating,” said Fred Schloth, Sea Star Line LLC’s assistant vice president of marketing. “When you look at [shipping] rates to Puerto Rico, they’re already competitive and can’t come down more.” Read more: Jones Act repeal would hurt local shipping firms - Jacksonville Business Journal

Recent Florida Boating Accidents

News on two recent boating deaths:

It is the second boating fatality in four days in the Fort Pierce area. On Saturday, commercial fisherman Cory Brangan, 26, of Fort Pierce, was found dead alone in a 20-foot-long fishing boat that ran aground before dawn on a spoil island in the Indian River Lagoon north of the North Bridge in Fort Pierce. “It is certainly tragic,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Gabriella Ferraro said Tuesday about the deaths. “In both cases, the men had a lot of experience on the water. Brangan was a commercial fisherman and McPhall had 25 years on the water.”

Seaman hit by ship 'tugger' sues two captains and a company

Claiming the "tugger" winch he was operating broke free from the vessel's deck and struck him, seaman Jesse Turner filed a Jones Act suit against the ship's owner and two captains. Turner, along with his wife Sonja, filed their suit against Cal Dive International and Captains Allen Brough and Glen Delahoussey on Aug. 16 in Jefferson County District Court. Court papers show Turner was a tension machine operator working aboard the vessel Rider owned by Cal Dive and captained by Brough and Delahoussey. On Aug. 20, 2008, Turner operated the ship's "tugger" winch laying pipeline between Alabama and Mississippi when it "broke free from the deck and slammed into him, causing in injuries," court papers say. "Unbeknownst to plaintiff, the tugger winch used to lay pipeline was improperly fixed to the deck," the suit states. "Cal Dive transported plaintiff ... past several facilities in order to take him to what they termed 'our hospital' in New Orleans." Turner claims the defendants negligently installed the winch and that the vessel was unseaworthy. He claims that two years after the incident he is still unable to return to work and is suing for past and future lost earnings and medical expenses. Huntsville attorney Hans Barcus of the Cantrell, Ray & Barcus law firm is representing him. Judge Gary Sanderson, 60th District Court, has been assigned to the case.

Changes to maritime laws motivated by politics, lawyer says

Since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in April, some groups, including trial lawyers, see the incident as an opportunity to make changes to the federal statutes that cover injuries and deaths in the maritime industry. However many business interests see the changes as unnecessary and fear the proposals would open the flood gates to needless litigation that will cripple the maritime industry and destroy jobs. Mark Freeman, a maritime defense attorney with Baldo Stevens Freeman & Lighty in Beaumont, thinks the push for change is not necessarily motivated by a desire to help families. "It is a political reaction to the BP issue," Freeman said in a telephone interview. "An environmental event is being used to change not only the Jones Act, but other marine statutes and ship owners' liability as well." By a voice vote in early July, the House of Representatives approved the Securing Protections for the Injured from Limitations on Liability Act. The SPILL Act amended the decades-old Death on the High Seas Act, the Jones Act and the Limitation of Liability Act. The changes would allow families of the deceased oil workers to recover non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, loss of care, comfort and companionship. The change would also apply to passengers of ships on the high seas, including cruise lines.

Critics call Valdez cleanup a warning for Gulf workers - Workers getting sick - Flu like symptoms and illness

Anchorage, Alaska (CNN) -- Two decades ago, Roy Dalthorp helped clean up the rocky shores of Prince William Sound after the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground, producing what was then the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Today, with that record surpassed by the 11-week-old disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Dalthorp struggles to breathe. He coughs, and his failing eyes sometimes tear up uncontrollably. Dalthorp told CNN that he was "slowly poisoned" during the Alaska cleanup effort -- and he says some of those now working to clean up the BP spill off Louisiana and neighboring states are risking the same fate.