GALVESTON – A Montgomery County man asserts a defective captain’s chair caused him to suffer injuries during a 2016 fishing trip off the coast of Panama.
Spring resident David Groppell’s lawsuit, which was filed on Feb. 20 in the Galveston County 122nd District Court, implicates Viking Yacht Co.; Gringo Honeymoon, Corp.; Frank Murray and Sons, Inc., doing business as Murray Products; Pompanette LLC; Curbell Plastics, Inc.; and American Plastic Fab & Machine, Inc. in the Aug. 29, 2016, incident in which Groppell reportedly fell off a Murray Helm Chair Assembly after its pedestal snapped.
At the time of the event, Groppell and his longtime friend, Mike Miller, were sailing back to shore aboard the Gringo Honeymoon after a day of searching for marlin and sailfish. Groppell was taking in the breeze on the vessel’s elevated helm when the captain offered him a seat on the chair.
Court documents claim the chair’s pedestal broke off without warning, stating the plaintiff nearly went into the Pacific Ocean as he hit the deck below and crashed into the stern transom wall.
The Murray Helm Chair Assembly was recalled a few days later “due to bushing linking the chair to the pedestal may result in the bushing breaking off completely, causing the occupant of the chair to be ejected,” per the original petition.
The recall notice was for chairs installed on Viking Yachts between 2005 and 2013. The Gringo Honeymoon was manufactured in 2011, the suit says.
Viking is faulted for building and selling the vessel carrying Groppell, which was owned by Gringo Honeymoon. Murray Products and Pompanette purportedly made the chair while Curbell and American Plastic are believed to bear responsibility for the chair’s contour.
Consequently, Groppell seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
He is represented by Lance H. Lubel and McKenna Harper of the law firm Lubel Voyles LLP in Houston and Ray B. Jeffrey of the Jeffrey Law Firm in Bulverde.
Galveston County 122nd District Court Case No. 18-CV-0208