$1,100,000 Settlement
Deckhand on board F/V BELLA ROSE disappeared while working his watch and is presumed to to have fallen overboard. Suit was brought on behalf of the deckhand’s wife and child. Through investigation, it was believed that the deckhand went to place a call from the bow of the boat, but in order to access the bow, one had to climb over a transverse bulkhead and one must lean out board in order to clean the overhang of the pilot house roof. It was believed that the deckhand fell overboard at this transverse bulkhead. Negligence and unseaworthiness focused on the railings extending to the transverse bulkhead, which were not proper height according to industry and regulatory standards and the defendant’s violation of USCG standards for man overboard drills.