Mar 27, 2008 4:05 pm US/Eastern
Appeals Court: NYC Is Fully Liable In Ferry Crash
NEW YORK (AP) ―
-
-
Emergency workers search Staten Island Ferry boat Andrew J. Barberi damaged in fatal accident at terminal, Staten Island, New York. (file photo)
CBS
The city could face tens of millions of dollars more in liability for a 2003 ferry crash that killed 11 people after an appeals court ruled Wednesday that officials should have made sure the boat's pilot had a backup.
Even before the decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan, the city had settled all but 59 of 186 personal injury claims for a total of $35.5 million. Nine of the remaining cases, though, involve deaths.
The appellate court found that the city was not entitled to limit its liability from the accident to $14.4 million, the value of the Staten Island ferry that smashed into a concrete maintenance pier at full speed with about 1,500 aboard.
Its pilot, in the wheelhouse suffering from extreme fatigue and on painkillers, had become incapacitated.
The appeals court rejected the city's argument that it was general practice in the ferry industry to let pilots work alone, just as bus drivers and train conductors do.
The judges said it would have been a "relatively small" burden on the city to take adequate precautions, including enforcing a two-pilot rule requiring a second person to be in the pilothouse at all times.
At the very least, the city should have made sure at least one other person was near the pilothouse in case of emergency, it said.
The judges conceded that the odds that the pilot would become incapacitated at such a crucial moment was very small.
"But the risk, while small, is undoubtedly foreseeable," they wrote.
City attorney Michael A. Cardozo called the crash a "terrible tragedy" and said the city will continue to focus on "resolving these cases and bringing some measure of closure to people's lives."
Attorney James E. Ryan, who argued the appeals case on behalf of the plaintiffs, said he was delighted by the decision.
"Some of the injuries are horrific. The liability is so clear. The negligence is so egregious," he said.
Lawyer Anthony Bisignano, who represents plaintiffs in their damages claims, said it was likely that the city's total settlement cost would be less than $100 million.
"It's been a long battle and hopefully at this point the city will make every effort to compensate the families of those who lost their loved ones and those seriously injured," he said.
The cases that have not settled include some that are likely to bring large payouts. Although 100 of the cases were settled for a total of $3.6 million, another $9 million went to a single victim who lost both legs.
In 2005, city ferry director Patrick Ryan was sentenced to a year and a day in prison after pleading guilty to negligent manslaughter and admitting he failed to implement or enforce the rule requiring two pilots during docking.
The pilot, Assistant Capt. Richard Smith, pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter and lying to investigators and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Water Cooler: Today's Big Talkers
Click to enlarge
BONA FIDE WINTER BLAST 4 mins ago 
Bats Given Treatments For Fatal Condition 9 mins ago
Stumble It!
Comments