NEW ORLEANS – An Alabama man who worked for two Louisiana vessels owned by Candy Fleet claims he was injured when Aluma Brite cleaning chemicals irritated his skin and respiratory tract.
Dermoris Kidd filed a lawsuit Jan. 7 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Candy Fleet LLC, alleging negligence, wrongful termination and other counts.
According to the complaint, Kidd suffered injuries while working aboard two of the defendant’s vessels, the Candy Stripe and the Candy Machine. In the first incident, the suit says Kidd suffered skin, respiratory and digestive irritation when he used Aluma Brite to clean the engine room.
When he returned to work some months later in February 2015, he claims he was assigned to pull lines with insufficient equipment aboard the Candy Machine, an allegedly improperly manned vessel. The suit claims that when Kidd reported his injuries to supervisors, he was harassed and fired, allegedly to avoid covering his injury claims.
Kidd seeks a jury trial and damages of more than $75,000. He is represented by attorneys Michael Patrick Doyle and Patrick M. Dennis of Houston and Charles C. Bourque of the St. Martin & Bourque firm in Houma.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-CV-00071