A St. James Parish individual is suing a Convent-based stevedoring business alleging negligence in a 2012 fall which purportedly caused him severe and permanent disabling injuries.
Marquette Mitchell sued St. James Stevedoring Co. LLC in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana on Aug. 13 alleging negligence in a August 2012 workplace accident on the Mississippi River.
According to the grievance, Mitchell was employed as a deck hand on a rig called Gene H. The suit states that when he was training a co-worker on or about Aug. 16, 2012, the rig moved in a rocking motion, causing the plaintiff to lose his balance.
The suit states that when Mitchell attempted to grasp a crane bucket frame, he fell, struck his back on a step and pulley, and “then as if in a cartwheel motion, fell at least 10 feet to the deck of the rig.”
According to the suit, the plaintiff experienced excruciating pain and was transported to a medical facility, where an MRI allegedly revealed spinal injuries requiring surgery and continued treatment, including a herniated disc.
Charging the defendant with failure to provide a safe workplace with a properly instructed captain, Mitchell alleges ongoing severe pain, anxiety, depression, permanent disability and medical expenses.
Requesting $3 million in damages, wages, maintenance and cure, attorneys' fees, expenses, and court costs, the plaintiff is represented by Daniel E. Becnel III and Kathryn Becnel of Becnel Law Office in LaPlace.
U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Louisiana Case 2:15-cv-03444-MVL-DEK