Seaman Files Jones Act Suit For Crushed Hand

A seaman has filed a personal injury suit against his employers, claiming that a piece of machinery on one of the company’s vessels cause his left hand to be crushed.

According to the suit filed under the Jones Act by Nicaraguan Marco Jacobo against Greece-based Harbor Shipping & Trading SA and Sunrise Shipping Agency Inc. on May 15 in Texas’ Galveston County District Court, the company failed to make sure that the water pump he was working with on the M/V Chios Princess on September 30, 2006 was free from defects.

The suit says that on the day of the incident, Jacobo had been ordered to extract water from a tank using the pump. As he was performing his assigned task, he says a malfunction in the pump caused serious injuries to his left hand.

Jacobo claims his injuries were because of the defendants’ negligence and the vessel’s unseaworthy condition.

Jacobo claims the incident caused him to experience excruciating pain and mental anguish and rendered him unemployed and therefore unable to pay the medical expenses he incurred.