A U.S. seaman is suing an offshore drilling company and a towing company, alleging negligence for injuries he sustained in a vessel collision.
Anthony Ryan Holder filed a lawsuit Sept. 22 in Jefferson County District Court against Moran Towing Corporation and Spartan Offshore Drilling, alleging negligence and unseaworthiness.
On April 29, 2014, the complaint states, while Holder was employed by Spartan Offshore Drilling on its rig 303, docked in Sabine, Moran Towing tugs were towing an ocean-going vessel, the Grey Fox, near the same dock, when the Moran tugs lost control of the Grey Fox, causing it to collide with Spartan's rig 303 on navigable waters.
The suit says Holder was in the rig 303 galley, bracing himself when the ships were about to collide, when he was instructed to evacuate the rig. He walked across the walkway to the shore, where he and other crewmen were instructed to retrieve a mooring cable that had landed in the water, the lawsuit says.
While attending to the task, the complaint alleges, the rope attached to the towline broke or came loose, causing Holder to fall backward and strike a piece of angle iron, injuring his lower back.
The suit says the defendants were negligent in failing to provide a safe place to work, failing to comply with industry standards, failing to provide adequate equipment to perform the assigned task and failing to properly navigate a tow, among other negligent acts or omissions.
Holder seeks more than $500,000 in monetary relief, plus costs of suit. He is represented by attorney Bristol Baxley of Rome, Arata & Baxley in Pearland.
Jefferson County District Court case number B-197582.