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Seaman’s suit over injury after fall from vessel settled
Maersk Line, Limited has settled a lawsuit filed by its former employee who sued over the injury he suffered when he fell to the deck of a United States merchant vessel while at port in Diego Garcia in 2011.
Seaman Chrisnoen Marquez, through counsel Bruce Berline, and Maersk Line Limited, through counsel Jehan’ Ad G. Martinez, have notified the federal court that they reached a settlement agreement.
With the settlement deal, Berline and Martinez, asked the court to dismiss with prejudice the lawsuit in its entirety.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona granted the parties’ request on Tuesday.
Manglona ordered that each party shall bear their own attorney’s fees and court costs.
Manglona said the court shall retain jurisdiction over the parties solely for the purposes of enforcing the terms and provisions of the settlement agreement.
Court documents did not mention the amount of the settlement.
In his lawsuit filed in December 2014, Marquez sued Maersk Line, Limited for Jones Act negligence, unseaworthiness, and failure to provide maintenance and cure.
Marquez asked the court to hold the defendant liable to pay him damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.
According to Berline in the complaint, M/V LTC John U.D. Page, a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel, was anchored at Diego Garcia.
A superior ordered Marquez to conduct monthly maintenance work on the vessel, which included exercising a manual release lever on a spreader.
When Marquez pushed against the length of pipe that was placed on the manual release lever, the release lever suddenly broke free, hitting Marquez in his back.
Marquez fell to the deck of the boat.
Maersk Line sent Marquez to a doctor in Singapore and he was diagnosed with injury as a slipped or herniated disc in his lower back.
Marquez was later evaluated on Saipan by a doctor, who confirmed the Singapore doctor’s diagnosis. The Saipan doctor recommended only physical therapy to treat the seaman’s injury.
