Justice Department Files $100 Million Claim in Fatal Baltimore Bridge Collapse
Posted on 09/18/2024
The U.S. Justice Department filed a legal claim on Wednesday against the owner and operator of the container ship that collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge last March, killing six workers and paralyzing the Port of Baltimore for weeks.
The lawsuit asserts that the companies? actions leading up to the catastrophe were ?outrageous, grossly negligent, willful, wanton, and reckless.?
The government is seeking more than $100 million in damages to cover the costs of the sprawling emergency response to the disaster and the federal aid to port employees who were put out of work. The action also seeks punitive damages, but does not name an amount.
Filed in federal court in Maryland, the Justice Department?s action lays out in detail what investigators have learned about the ship?s short and catastrophic journey that night, describing a cascade of failures onboard and multiple points when the disaster could have been prevented.
Because of poor maintenance or ?jury-rigged? fixes to serious problems aboard the ship, known as the Dali, ?none of the four means available to help control the Dali ? her propeller, rudder, anchor, or bow thruster ? worked when they were needed to avert or even mitigate this disaster,? the suit asserts.
The Dali is registered in Singapore and owned by Grace Ocean Ltd. and managed by Synergy Marine Group, both of which are based in Singapore.
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The lawsuit asserts that the companies? actions leading up to the catastrophe were ?outrageous, grossly negligent, willful, wanton, and reckless.?
The government is seeking more than $100 million in damages to cover the costs of the sprawling emergency response to the disaster and the federal aid to port employees who were put out of work. The action also seeks punitive damages, but does not name an amount.
Filed in federal court in Maryland, the Justice Department?s action lays out in detail what investigators have learned about the ship?s short and catastrophic journey that night, describing a cascade of failures onboard and multiple points when the disaster could have been prevented.
Because of poor maintenance or ?jury-rigged? fixes to serious problems aboard the ship, known as the Dali, ?none of the four means available to help control the Dali ? her propeller, rudder, anchor, or bow thruster ? worked when they were needed to avert or even mitigate this disaster,? the suit asserts.
The Dali is registered in Singapore and owned by Grace Ocean Ltd. and managed by Synergy Marine Group, both of which are based in Singapore.
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