A group of 12 passengers on a Baja Ferries vessel that ran aground and caught fire off Puerto Rico has lobbed a $41m lawsuit against the Mexican shipowner and charterer America Cruise Ferries.

The four families from the Dominican Republic and two Puerto Rican passengers are alleging physical injuries from the August incident on the 950-passenger Caribbean Fantasy (built 1989) as well as smoke inhalation, emotional distress and anxiety suffered during the evacuation of the vessel.

Their lawyer, San Juan attorney Carlos Rosado, is pursuing claims for negligence and breach of duty. He is seeking $1m in punitive damages.

The lawsuit only details claims that are about $400,000 to $850,000 per passenger, which does not total anywhere near the $41m total sought.

Rosado tells TradeWinds that the figure includes other items, such as attorneys fees and punitive damages.

The lawsuit also targets the ship's insurer, Steamship Mutual.

As TradeWinds has reported, the ship had 512 passengers and crew when the incident led to the evacuation of the Caribbean Fantasy. 

While initial reports claimed there were no major injuries from the casualty, it has led to a flood of lawsuits describing a chaotic evacuation in which smoked filled the vessel and life boats slammed against the side of the ship and malfunctioned.

Rosado says in the lawsuit that crew did not at first alert passengers to the emergency. Passengers were told to go to the upper deck then to descend to another level. 

"The lack of clear instructions by the crew members unleashed a real chaos and panic among the passengers, including plaintiffs, and totally exacerbated plaintiffs' uncertainty, fear and anguish about the outcome of this incident for their families and themselves," the lawyer wrote.

After the abandon ship announcement, passengers were screaming, fainting and hysterical, the lawsuit claims.

Then, neither the lifeboats or rescue slide functioned properly, Rosado alleges. He told TradeWinds that some of his clients were in the life boats and suffered injuries when the boats hit the side of the Caribbean Fantasy, while others evacuated in the rescue slide and were hurt when it failed to open.

The US Coast Guard is investigating the casualty. TradeWinds has requested comment from Baja Ferries and America Cruise Ferries.