Case at a glance
- Recovery: $485,000 Settlement
- Injury: Serious injuries to both legs
- Practice: Maritime Injuries
- Attorney: Brian Beckcom
A mooring operation changed in seconds
Brian G. was working as an ordinary seaman while his vessel was being moored at Agadir, Morocco. He was assisting another seaman when the mooring lines began parting and snapping back.
As the lines failed in sequence, Brian G. warned his coworker to take cover while he finished securing the line he was handling. A line then wrapped around his legs. The injuries included torn muscles, nerves, and ligaments in his lower right leg and a deep laceration to his left thigh.
The records showed earlier warnings
Brian Beckcom examined evidence about the condition of the lines and what the vessel’s operator knew before the injury. The captain’s accident report, written on the day of the incident, described repeated breaks and inadequate line strength.
Discovery also produced emails from the captain to company headquarters documenting problems with the mooring lines approximately two weeks before the incident. Those records put the earlier warnings alongside the failures that injured Brian G.; the case was not limited to his account of the moment the line struck.
Treatment began overseas and continued at home
Brian G. first received hospital treatment in Morocco. After returning to the United States, he continued treatment for approximately two years. His medical expenses were about $80,000.
The nature of the injuries and the extended course of care were important parts of the damages claim. The earlier reports about the mooring lines supplied a separate, concrete record of the equipment problems involved in the incident.
A $485,000 settlement
Brian Beckcom negotiated a $485,000 settlement for Brian G.
The result followed a claim supported by both the seaman’s injuries and contemporaneous vessel records documenting problems with the lines before they failed.
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