New York loses bid to limit liability in ferry crash

New York loses bid to limit liability in ferry crash    A federal court on Thursday rejected an attempt by the City of New York to limit its liability in the 2003 accident that killed 11 people and injured 75 when an out-of-control Staten Island Ferry crashed into a pier at full speed.
   The city had sought to limit liability to $14.4 million, the value of the ferry.
   The court noted that under the federal Limitation of Liability Act, instead of being 'vicariously liable for the full extent of any injuries caused by the negligence of the captain or crew employed to operate the ship' a ship owner’s liability is limited to the value of the ship — unless the owner himself had 'privity or knowledge' of the negligent acts.
   In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled the city 'failed to properly train its captains or enforce a policy that would ensure that at least two people in or near the pilothouse were aware of the navigational situation at all time' and upheld a district court decision that it was not entitled to limit its liability.
   The accident occurred when the assistant captain of the ferry Richard Smith 'lost consciousness or situational awareness.' The court said he had taken some prescription drugs for back pain the evening before the accident and had reported to work exhausted.
   In 2004 Smith pleaded guilty to 'seaman’s manslaughter' for negligently causing the deaths of passengers was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
   Patrick Ryan, the city's director of ferry operations, also pleaded guilty in 2005 to seaman's manslaughter for allowing the ferries to be operated in a criminally negligent manner by not enforcing an internal city two-pilot rule that 'generally required the captain and assistant captain to be together in the operating pilot house' when the ferry was underway, and making false statements to the Coast Guard about his practices when he was a ferry captain. He was sentenced to a year and one day in prison.
   In February 2007, a district court judge found the accident could have been avoided had the captain of the ferry been in the pilothouse with Smith. Instead he was in another pilothouse on the other side of the two-ended ferry, preparing for an upcoming Coast Guard inspection. It also said Ryan was negligent for not enforcing the 'two-pilot rule.'
   Therefore the lower court said the city was not entitled to limit liability, and this week the appeals court upheld its decision.
   The city could appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.