The owner of a towing vessel operating near Granite City seeks exoneration or limited liability from a former deckhand’s suit alleging he suffered a respiratory incident due to unfiltered airborne particles.
SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting LLC filed the complaint in admiralty for exoneration or limited liability in a lawsuit filed by Kevin Mogensen. The suit was filed June 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
According to the complaint, SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting is the owner of the motor vessel Velda Taylor, which “was a commercial towing vessel built in 1982, of 58 gross registered tons, which was operating within the harbor area of Granite City, Illinois, on the Mississippi River, a navigable waterway of the United States, within this judicial district.”
SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting claims is used due diligence to make the vessel seaworthy, arguing that the Velda Taylor is “tight, staunch and strong.”
The plaintiff allegedly provided tugboat services to a commercial dock on the Chain of Rocks Canal on the Mississippi River near Granite City. The crew moved barges to and from the dock, which are loaded with cargo and placed into fleets for shipment.
The suit states that from 6 p.m. on March 17 to 6 a.m. on March, 18, 2018, Mogensen, who was employed as a deckhand, completed his shift and departed the vessel as normal. SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting alleges Mogensen did not complete any written report of injury or illness during his shift.
The next day, Mogensen did not show up for a scheduled work shift. The plaintiff learned that around 2 a.m. on March 19, 2018, Mogensen reportedly suffered a respiratory incident and was taken to the hospital, the suit states.
According to Mogensen’s medical records, he was diagnosed with a “severe asthma exacerbation due to bronchitis.”
He was released from the hospital on March 23, 2018, and never returned to work for SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting.
The suit states that on March 29, 2018, attorney Gregory Tobin of East Alton notified SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting that he had been retained to represent Mogensen in a lawsuit asserting “a count for negligence under the Jones Act, as well [as] general maritime law claims for unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure.”
“Mogensen generally alleged that ‘while employed as a boat mate and member of the barge crew,’ plaintiff negligently failed to provide a safe place to work and proper safety equipment to filter airborne particles, which caused him to suffer injuries to his lungs on or about March 17, 2018,” the suit states.
“No negligence on the part of plaintiff caused or contributed to Mogensen’s alleged injuries or damages, and plaintiff’s (sic) exercised reasonable care with respect to workplace safety,” it continues.
SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting alleges it did not contribute to Mogensen’s respiratory incident and argues it was caused by pre-existing medical conditions.
SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting states that Mogensen asserts his claim could exceed the value of the Velda Taylor, which the plaintiff claims does not exceed $800,000.
Therefore, SCF Lewis and Clark Fleeting seeks the benefit of limitation of a vessel owner’s liability.
The plaintiff is represented by Jacob Curtis and Neal Settergren of Goldstein and Price LC in St. Louis.
U.S. District for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:20-cv-520