A Gulfport, Miss. man is suing a Tennessee marine towing company following injuries he allegedly sustained on one of its vessels.
Gary L. Holliman filed a civil action complaint Sept. 3 in the Eastern District of Louisiana against Southern Towing Co. and Southern Towing Co. LLC, alleging negligence.
The complaint states that on Sept. 26, 2012, while Holliman was employed by the defendant as a deck hand aboard the marine vessel Dennis Collins, the vessel was towing three barges when one of the barges took on water.
Holliman and two other crewman were instructed to move all the rigging and equipment from the leaking barge onto one of the other barges, a task for which they were not provided any moving equipment, according to the complaint.
The complaint states that while the men were trying to transfer a heavy steel workbench, weighing at least several hundred pounds, to the adjacent barge, Holliman felt a pop in his back and immediate pain.
As a result of the accident, Holliman sustained permanent injuries to his back that have required several months of treatment, testing, and surgical intervention for a herniated lumbar disc.
Southern Towing initially provided him maintenance and cure payments, but eventually ceased these payments despite Holliman continuing to receive medical bills.
The complaint states Holliman's injury was the result of the towing vessel's unseaworthiness and Southern Towing's negligence.
Holliman seeks reasonable damages, plus costs of the suit. He is represented by George J. Nalley Jr. and Andrew J. Miner of Nalley and Dew in Metairie, La.
Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-04094-ILRL-SS