Floorhand sues employer over hand injuries

A Lafayette Parish resident brought a lawsuit against his employer for alleged negligence in 2014.

Jeremy Howard filed his suit against Baywater Drilling LLC of Terrebonne Parish on April 17 in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Employed as a floor hand on the defendant’s vessel, the plaintiff claims injury while at work on or about Nov. 29, 2014. According to the lawsuit, he allegedly suffered a smashed thumb, swelling and limited use of other fingers and flexion of joints, supposedly caused by malfunctioning equipment, specifically a spinning wrench.

Howard maintains that his injuries were caused by the defendant’s negligence and/or gross negligence and the vessel’s unseaworthiness. He cites his employer with failure to maintain the vessel in a safe and reasonable state of repair, take reasonable precautions for his safety, provide a safe workplace and warn of existing hazards.

The plaintiff contends that the defendant has not provided benefits of maintenance and cure in its duty to recompense its employee for medical care. Claiming Baywater is in breach of duty in its failure to reimburse him, the lawsuit states, the company's refusal to award benefits is both unreasonable and willful.

He is represented by Marcus Spagnoletti and Walter Naquin Jr. of Spagnoletti and Co. in Houston.

U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana case no. 2:15-cv-01221-SM-MBN.