Surviving family members can suffer significant financial hardships when a loved one dies suddenly. A spouse or parent’s death may erase half or more of a family’s income. Passaic County courts consider a family’s loss of support among other damages in wrongful death claims.
The death of a New Jersey sea captain remains under investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard. The husband and father worked for Sea Tow Atlantic City, operated by Tide Runner Marine based in Brigantine. The 35-year-old mariner was aboard a boat in April 2013, which set off from Atlantic City bound for Somers Point.
Three hours into the trip, the Coast Guard received a distress call. Efforts to contact the captain went unanswered. The Sea Tow employee died when the boat sank.
Ten-foot high waves were recorded that morning at the Great Egg Harbor Inlet. The captain’s widow claims her husband was pressed for time to reach Seaside Heights to assist a crew clearing Hurricane Sandy damage. She blames Tide Runner Marine and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. for contributing to her husband’s death.
A $10 million wrongful death action accuses Tide Runner of forcing the captain to operate an understaffed, unsafe vessel that wasn’t outfitted with adequate equipment. Great Lakes, named in a separate negligence lawsuit, allegedly endangered the captain’s life by illegally moving and removing buoys during a sand dredging operation — actions the company later admitted doing.
The defendants have blamed one another for the fatal boating accident. Each has filed legal claims against the other. Tide Runner wants the dredging firm to pay for the lost boat, while taking blame for the captain’s death.
Donations have allowed the captain’s widow and daughter to stay in their home, purchased less than a year before the accident. Damages awarded for wage losses in wrongful death lawsuits replace income a decedent might have made had an accident victim survived.
Source: The Press of Atlantic City, “Memories, questions remain a year after sinking that killed Sea Tow captain” Derek Harper, Apr. 20, 2014
