HOUSTON — A mechanic aboard a BP owned vessel alleges lack of proper equipment and manpower led to his injuries.
Adam Gajewski filed a complaint Aug. 30 in Harris County District Court against BP America Production Company, BP Exploration & Production Inc., and BHP Billiton Petroleum (Deepwater) Inc., alleging negligence, unseaworthiness, wrongful termination and other claims.
Gajewski was employed as a mechanic on a fleet owned and chartered by the defendants, according to his complaint. He alleges he suffered injuries while working aboard the Atlantis PQ from October 2020 through April 2021 due to the lack of proper equipment and manpower aboard the vessel. Specifically, Gajewski claims a shipping spool broke which required him to manually uncoil heavy wiring and feed it to a crane by hand which put unnecessary stress on his back.
He also claims the vessel was undermanned which caused him to work over 12 hour shifts and that the vessel's lack of proper rigging on pumps and equipment required him to lift heavy items. Gajewski alleges he also had to manually lift and carry buckets of oil up a ladder for the crane, lift transport carts that weighed over100 pounds and that he was forced to "take the greater load of lifting" due to a co-workers's age. He claims the defendants failed to supervise and train its crew and that their vessel was unseaworthy.
Gajeski seeks monetary relief of more than $1 million and all other just relief. He is represented by Michael Doyle, Patrick Dennis and Jeffrey Avery of Doyle LLP in Houston.
Harris County District Court case number 2021-54808