In a new offshore injury lawsuit against the Dutra Group, a crew member alleges the company was responsible for maintaining a safe working environment and, in failing to do so, caused him to suffer significant injuries after he fell over a tripping hazard.

The offshore injury lawsuit details that plaintiff Dennis P. was classified as an American seaman between December 2016 and July 2017. He worked as an employee of the defendant, The Dutra Group. The plaintiff says in his offshore injury lawsuit that he was a member of the crew that was assigned to serve aboard the defendant’s dredge ship, the Columbia.

On Dec. 15, 2016, the plaintiff says that he suffered from a preventable offshore injury while the Columbia was on the territorial waters of the state of Texas near Galveston.

The offshore injury lawsuit alleges that the defendant, The Dutra Group, was installing new decking near the engine room on the ship. An area next to that engine room had a section in which angle stringers or irons were placed above the old deck.

The purpose of these irons and stringers was to support new decking. Dennis says that these were an uncovered tripping hazard present to all crew members working on the ship who had duty responsibilities in the engine room.

According to the lawsuit, the defendant retained a contractor or another person who was not a regular crew member to perform engine room work on the generator. That person working in the engine room allgedly requested that the plaintiff pass a wrench into the room when an explosion or arc flash was emitted from the breaker box on the bulkhead near the generator.

Dennis says he was startled and became tangled up in the angle irons and stringers and he sustained injuries when his body was hit against the metal interior of the engine room.

The offshore injury lawsuit says that the defendants are responsible for failing to properly maintain and manage the vessel, failing to inspect the vessel, and failing to provide the plaintiff with a safe working environment.

Dennis says that he sustained injuries to his thorax and spine and continues to experience inconvenience, mental anguish and physical pain on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, the risk of an offshore injury is severe and can lead to physical injuries, lost wages, and other losses because of the accident.

A European study determined that the primary hazard on offshore oil and gas operations included explosions and fire, but there are many different risks that can be faced by a person working on a ship if proper precautions have not been taken.

Data collected and shared by the Centers for Disease Control in the United States show that contact with objects or equipment are the second leading cause of fatalities on ships.

The Offshore Injury Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00437 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division.