Wrongful death verdict may change tugboat operations, liability
A recent ruling by a federal judge has tugboat operators’ attention.
On December 18, 2009, the family of Freddie Porter, Jr., a U.S. Navy seaman who died as the result of a maritime injury, was awarded $1,250,000 by Judge Henry Coke Morgan, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The accident occurred when the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) carrying Porter was struck by one of eight barges in a flotilla propelled by the tugboat William E. Polle owned by Vulcan Materials Company. While the rest of the RHIB’s crew swam to safety, Porter was sucked under a barge in the 600-foot flotilla and killed by the tugboat’s propellers.
Although the judge ruled that the Navy was primarily at fault for ordering an inexperienced crew with inadequate supervision to conduct a nighttime navigation exercise as part of the sailors’ SEAL (sea, air and land) special forces training, 20 percent of the liability (which in the court’s opinion amounted to $1,250,000) was assigned to Vulcan because the maritime injury case proved that Vulcan failed to post a proper lookout, which in the opinion of the court would have prevented the collision.
The maritime lawyers representing the Porter family believe this ruling will have widespread implications for tugboat operators in U.S. waterways.
"The tragic accident which resulted in the wrongful death of Mr. Porter reveals safety shortcomings in the tugboat industry, which merit immediate attention," said attorney Daniel Rose, a partner at the law firm of Kreindler & Kreindler LLP who represented the Porter family. "Our investigation of this incident found that easily correctable operational changes in how and where safety lookouts are posted on tugs and barges would greatly improve the safety conditions for all boats in the vicinity of tugboats as they traverse the nation's waterways."
Porter’s maritime attorney believes this ruling clearly proves that tugboat operators can be found liable for failing to do their part to prevent such collisions. Commercial vessels must post lookouts as operators of other vessels may be off course or improperly positioned on the waterways.
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