He was denied medical treatment for several days
A seaman from South Carolina is suing Liberty Maritime over injuries sustained onboard one of the US shipowners pure car carriers.
James Batista, a chief steward onboard the 6,000-car Liberty Pride (built 2009), claims he was denied medical treatment for several days in October 2009 after notifying his superiors of a painful neck wound.
According to court documents, Batista was forced to undergo emergency surgery for an infection upon arrival onshore.
The seamans luck went from bad to worse nearly one year later when a desk chair onboard the vessel snapped at the seat, which caused him to fall and hit his head on the desk and land on his back, hand and shoulder, the complaint contends.
In the filing, New York-based personal injury attorney Stephen Krawitz wrote: The chair was not fit for its intended use. Other chairs like it had previously been broken and failed in a similar manner.
Batista’s lawyers claim the vessel was unseaworthy as a matter of law because it is undisputed that the chair was defective at the time the alleged incident occurred.
He has requested a trial by jury in which he would seek judgement against Liberty Maritime for damages related to medical expenses, pain, mental anguish, loss of earnings and attorney fees.
The Liberty Pride maintains insurance cover with the North of England P&I Association, according to data from Equasis.
Calls to Liberty Maritime requesting comment were not immediately returned on Tuesday.
Source: TradeWinds
