John Stevenson
Advento Cano claims he was injured while at sea. Invoking the Jones Act, Cano says his injuries were negligently caused by the dredging company he works for and has filed suit.
Cano's personal injury lawsuit, filed on July 27 in the Jefferson County District Court, lists King Fisher Mariner Service Inc., King Fisher Marine Service and Orion Marine Group Inc. as defendants. All three defendants work as one group.
According to the company's Web site, for more than 50 years King Fisher Marine Service has been the leading dredging company on the Texas coast, performing hydraulic, mechanical, environmental, and specialty dredging with a highly efficient fleet and equipment designed, built, and maintained in-house.
"Every year, we create and maintain hundreds of miles of waterways and dredge millions of cubic yards of material for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, municipal port commissions, and other public and private customers."
The suit does not describe how Cano was injured. The suit only says on June 13, 2007, he was severely injured and that "nothing Cano did or failed to do…caused or in any way contributed to cause his injuries."
Legislation aimed at curtailing frivolous lawsuits against dredging companies by limiting where plaintiff's lawyers could file suits from was recently approved by the Texas Legislator.
"Defendants owed Cano a duty to furnish him with a safe place to work and a seaworthy vessel," the suit said. "The defendants breached their legal duties and such breaches caused damages and injuries to the plaintiff."
The suit goes on to say that before the incident Cano was "a healthy, able-bodied working man."
"It is yet too early to ascertain the full extent of the damages sustained by Cano, but they are clearly within the jurisdictional limits of this court."
Cano is suing for past and future physical impairment and disfigurement, medical treatment, loss of earning capacity and loss of household services.
He is represented by attorney John Stevenson Jr. of the John Stevenson & Associates law firm.
According to the firm's Web site, John Stevenson & Associates is a specialty litigation firm, handling highly sophisticated personal injury cases. The firm has extensive experience trying maritime and industrial accident cases.
Judge Bob Wortham, 58th Judicial District, will preside over the case.
Case No. A179-723