In their response to Seacor's attempt to limit liability, the family of a man who died in the disaster alleges that he waited for rescue for three days after the disaster before he died.
Seacor Liftboats, Seacor Marine and Falcon Global Offshore filed a document earlier this month, asking the court to set a limit on the companies' liability in the April disaster. The Seacor Power lift boat capsized eight miles off the coast of Port Fourchon in Lafourche Parish on April 13 with 19 crew members on board. While six of the crew members were rescued by the United States Coast Guard, six have been confirmed dead and seven are still missing at sea.
You can see more of KATC's coverage of the Seacor Power at KATC.com/GulfSearch.
This process has to be completed before any of the myriad lawsuits filed in the disaster move forward. The company states in the suit that the incident was "not due to any fault, neglect or want of care" on their part and that they are not responsible.
The suit also states that the company is bringing the civil action so that “all claims by all interested parties can be promptly and fairly adjudicated in a single forum.”
In their answer to that filing, the widow of James Wallingsford and his estate includes a request that the court add Talos Energy and DonJon Marine to the list of companies held responsible for damages in the disaster.
In that answer, Wallingsford's attorneys write that they believe he lived for three days before dying in the ship.
"Upon information and belief, DECEDENT survived the capsizing but ultimately perished while awaiting rescue onboard the Seacor Power for 3 days. At this time a portion of Seacor Power’s hull protruded above the water less than 3 miles from the jetties of Port Fourchon, Louisiana," the Answer states.
The Wallingsford estate requests that the court add Donjon Marine Co. Inc. and Talos Energy to the companies held liable for their damages, alleging that Talos Energy was responsible for the capsizing due to negligence, and Donjon Marine failed to properly execute rescue operations.
