Ferry Crash Sees First Lawsuit, Bloomberg Gets Snippy

AP Photo/Robert Mecea

A passenger from Queens will be the first to file a lawsuit over a wrenched back he got on board the crashed Andrew J. Barbieri ferry this weekend. Flabio Silva, a construction worker, said he thought the ship had been taken out of service after the 2003 crash, and is filing a $5 million suit today, claiming he has had a difficult time sitting down since the crash. His lawyer, who represented six victims of the 2003 crash, told the Daily News, "The City of New York is responsible for the action of its employees, the crew and the operation and maintenance of this boat."

An NTSB investigation has also ruled out criminality in the crash, but it could end up taking them a year and a half to determine the cause of the accident. They have determined that Capt. Donald Russell was actually on the hull of the ship instead of at the wheel at the time of the crash, and Assistant Capt. Maqbool Ahmed had taken over control of the ship. Perhaps Russell felt more comfortable at the hull, as it was only his second day as a captain.

Though Russell had worked as an assistant captain for almost two years, Saturday was his second day as the ship's captain, and his first time working with Assistant Capt. Ahmed. But surveillance showed they weren't doing anything that would distract them from the situation, and completely followed protocol. After engaging the reverse thrust failed to curb the ship's speed, they sounded the ferry's horn and warned passengers to brace for impact.

They also got some assistance from dock worker Ari Vidana, who is being hailed as the hero of the day for lowering the docking footbridge to absorb some of the ferry's impact. His brother-in-law said, "A lot of guys would be tailing it. If he didn't react quick enough, the ship would have went under the bridge and hit the terminal."

Mayor Bloomberg, who did not make an appearance at the scene of the crash, finally held a press conference yesterday, saying the crash was a "plain and simple" mechanical failure. He also dodged questions about his whereabouts over the weekend, asking if anyone had “Any other questions that’s not a social thing?” When asked if he had heard the complaints about his absence, he responded, “I didn’t hear them, so I’m not sure whether there are, but if you’ve reported them you’ve found someone to complain. What was the problem?" He said he handled the situation by phone from wherever he was, and that the NTSB was doing a good job with the investigation.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jaya Saxena in News on May 11, 2010 9:53 AM

Comments [rss]

kazubes

Sounds like a simple guy who got sucked right up by an ambulance chaser. I'm sure as soon as Mr. Rubenstein saw on the news that another ferry crash had occurred he went racing to his car to get to the victims asap.

Politburo

And if you're that guy, there's really no downside to suing. It's like a free lottery ticket.

John L

Wow this is troubling on many levels, first of all the lawsuit. How can you know you have permanent injuries that require a lawsuit in two days? That's amazing!

Then I have a problem with having an absentee mayor. If he wasn't prepared to be a full time mayor why the hell did he "buy" himself the election? It's incredible that the city that doesn't sleep has a part time mayor who's only on the job 4 out of 7 days. I wrote a comment yesterday about another article and I think it applies to this too so I hope you don't mind if I repost it.

Here it is:

Bloomberg is the emperor of NYC, he conquered this city when he, against the will of the people, bought off everyone in town and got himself another term. The worst part is that he can do no wrong because he has the media in his pocket. No one dares to go against Bloomberg's Billions. Of course he has high approval ratings because he's the media's darling after all he's a media mogul himself, he knows exactly how to play the game. So he spends on obscene amount of money on the reelection and all of NY's media outlets profit from it and now he can do whatever he pleases and no one questions it. He pushes the agenda of his rich real estate developer friends, hooks up their kids with ridiculous salaries straight out of college, etc and no one dares question him. If any other politician had off shore accounts they'd be hell to pay but Bloomberg simply says "mind your business" and they do as he says. If another politician has caught going working four days and spending the next three on an island somewhere (17 weekends since December) the media would jump on it but again he says "its none of your business" and everyone shoos away. Imagine another politician was discovered to have set up fictious companies for the purpose of "laundering" campaign money? That would pose a real problem, unless your name is Michael Bloomberg, then it's ok. The NYPD is fudging the numbers, crime is going up and no one dares question the mayor or his commissioner. The mayor walks around with his head in the clouds thinking of new pet projects, new pedestrian walkways, while threatening to lower the number of cops, teachers, close down senior citizen centers, get rid of firehouses, closing of hospitals and the media says nothing. Traditionally the media has been the gatekeepers they make and break politicians by questioning and doing investigative work but they continually give Bloomberg and his administration a free pass so he does whatever he pleases. This city is his playground, a billionaire's version of an ant farm. What do you buy a billionaire who has it all? The greatest city in world of course.

longacre

tl;dr

Spirit of 76

ts;dc

Papercutninja

i rode the 5 Boro Bike Tour for 42 miles and had trouble sitting down afterwards. to my bicycle seat: expect a call from my lawyer.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Where was Bloomberg. Is this man ever in NYC?

longacre

What exactly could he have done to help?

kafkask

um, well, he's sort of the Mayor and this thing happened in the town he's been charged with overseeing.

He wanted this job. Now he just has to keep doing it.

kafkask

He was on one of his islands schtooping some young thing from rentboy.com

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

and also scoring some good weed.

Mr. Shankly

This guy needs a tube of 'Head On'...up his ass.

drewo

This boat crash may be the best thing to ever happen to all these lawsuit-hungry passengers!

This is where your tax money will be going New Yorkers.

Rory Dolan

I ran on the treadmill at the NYSC for an hour on Saturday and im having trouble sitting down. Who can I sue?

jt10000

I can't comment on the merits of this suit w/o knowing about the plaintiff's injuries and more information about the accident, but the concept that due to a single accident an entire huge ferry is supposed to be scrapped is offensive to me as a taxpayer and a resident of planet earth.

How do attorneys like that guy live with themselves as they spout such hyperbole? I don't get it.

Politburo

Plus the 1st accident was 100% human error, so it's even more offensive.

Kojak

How the hell can you file a lawsuit when the investigation has yet to produce any definitive causes? And the 2003 Crash was PILOT ERROR, not mechanical malfunction.

Judge, please beat Flabio Silva over the head with something hard and blunt. Please? I beg of you.