The lawsuits continue to flow over the fire that led to the evacuation of a Baja Ferries-controlled ferry off Puerto Rico.
At least 13 federal cases have been filed against the Mexican owner and US affiliate America Cruise Ferries, as well as insurer Steamship Mutual, less than two months after a blaze sparked in its engineroom.
Passenger Wanda Alvarez of the Dominican Republic added the latest lawsuit in the to the legal melee with a claim for $1.5m.
In a legal papers filed Monday, her lawyer, Humberto Guzman-Rodriguez, alleged that she became entangled in the slide used to evacuate passengers. She suffered a leg injury and high blood pressure.
Alvarez alleges negligence and unseaworthiness, and she is seeking direct action against Steamship Mutual.
“It was evident by the despair and chaos that ensued as soon as the abandon-ship was ordered, that the crew of the M/V [motor vessel] Caribbean Fantasy had not been properly trained in emergency and evacuation procedures,” Guzman-Rodriguez wrote.
As TradeWinds has reported, 512 people were evacuated as a result of the August casualty, which also saw the Panamanian-flag Caribbean Fantasy run aground.
A lawyer for vessel interests in the case could not be immediately reached for comment.
In court papers, Miami-based America Cruise Ferries has denied allegations of negligence.
Baja Ferries board member Daniel Berrebi has said that the ship had just come back from three months in drydock, under the supervision of classification society Registro Italiano Navale (Rina) when the fire broke out. The Caribbean Fantasy had also just passed its inspections by the US Coast Guard, and its certificate of compliance was approved a week before the blaze.
