Arnold & Itkin
While employed as a marine electrician, Marcus Parker suffered an electrical shock and fell from a ladder onto the deck of a barge and is suing his employer and the ship's owner for his injuries.
Parker filed the suit against Tubal-Cain Marine Service Inc. and HMC Leasing Co. on Aug. 9 in Jefferson County District Court.
According to the plaintiff's original petition, on April 23, 2007, Parker was working as an electrician on the MWB403, a barge owned by HMC and operated by defendants.
"While the barge was docked in Jefferson County, plaintiff was working on an aluminum extension ladder and nearly died when he was electrocuted and plummeted to the deck of the barge," the suit says. "As a result of defendants' negligence, plaintiff severely injured his head, lungs, back, neck and other parts of his body."
The suit alleges that the defendants are negligent for the following reasons:
Failure to properly supervise their crew
Failure to properly train their employees
Failure to provide adequate safety equipment
Failure to provide adequate medical treatment
Operating the vessel with an inadequate crew
Failure to maintain the vessel
Failure to warn about hidden hazards aboard the vessel
Failure to cure hidden hazards aboard the vessel
Failure to intervene when it knew that others were acting improvidently
Vicariously liable for their employees' negligence and
Other acts deemed negligent
The suit also claims that on the date in question the MWB403 was unseaworthy.
"As a result of said occurrences, plaintiff sustained severe injuries to his body, which resulted in physical pain, mental anguish and other medical problems," the suit states.
Parker is seeking damages for pain and physical impairment, mental anguish, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity and medical expenses.
"Plaintiff has been damaged in a sum far in excess of the minimum jurisdictional limits of this Honorable Court, for which he now sues," the plaintiff writes.
Kurt Arnold of Arnold & Itkin of Houston is representing the plaintiff.
The case has been assigned to Judge Bob Wortham of the 58th District Court.
Case No. A179-775