LOS ANGELES (AP)—A crewman injured while escaping the fire that killed 34 people aboard a dive boat off Southern California sued the vessel’s owner and the company that chartered it.
Ryan Sims filed the lawsuit at the end of September in Ventura County Superior Court saying the boat was unseaworthy and operated in an unsafe manner.
Sims had only worked on the boat three weeks as a cook when he was awakened by loud noises before dawn Sept. 2 and found himself trying to get away from fast-moving flames.
Sims jumped from the upper deck, where he and other crew members had been sleeping, down to the main deck, breaking his leg in three places, and hurting his back and neck. He managed to get in the water, where he was eventually rescued by a fellow crew member.
Attorney Kurt Arnold, who represents Sims, said it was a terrifying experience, and his client is now in a wheelchair.
“The worst thing you can imagine,” Arnold said. “Jumping in the water in the dark with your leg – you can’t swim – it’s broken. Fire all around you.”
The lawsuit names the owners of the boat, Truth Aquatics Inc., and Worldwide Diving Adventures that chartered the vessel...
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