Liability, awards and settlements

9.4, Andrew J. Barberi, settlement

US: the family of a man killed in the 2003 crash of ferry Andrew J.Barberi agreed to a $1.5mn wrongful-death settlement with the city, their lawyer said. The victim was one of 11 people who died when the vessel crashed into a maintenance pier near the St. George Ferry Terminal on Oct 15, 2003. Scores were injured. The vessel’s assistant captain, who was at the controls, blacked out. The latter said he was extremely fatigued and on painkillers. The captain was in the other pilot-house on the opposite end of the boat. The settlement came less than two weeks after an appellate court upheld a ruling in Brooklyn federal court last year that found the city negligent in the crash and denied the city’s bid to limit its liability. The city “did not act with reasonable care” by letting a single pilot operate the vessel without a backup nearby to help in an emergency, a three member panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled. The city contended Smith was at fault for not revealing he was taking certain medicine. Moreover, it said it was covered by an 1851 act limiting a boat owner’s liability to the vessel’s value less repair costs —$14.4mn, in this case.