BATON ROUGE – A crew member of two marine vessels, the Nikola and the Miss Isabelle, is suing his employer, Tesla Marine, for injuries he allegedly suffered while working aboard the boats.
Bryan Benson filed a lawsuit Jan. 8 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana against Tesla Marine Inc. and Barbara Ann LLC, alleging negligence for unsafe working conditions.
According to the complaint, Benson was working aboard the Nikola on Feb. 7, 2013, when an improperly secured line allegedly struck him in the neck. As a result, the suit says Benson sustained facial fractures, cuts, bruises, nerve damage and other bone, muscle and tissue wounds throughout his body. The claim states the defendant is responsible for allegedly failing to maintain the vessel and properly train workers in job safety.
The complaint also cites a second incident on Oct. 2, 2014, on the Miss Isabelle. The complaint states that Benson was allegedly injured when he slipped between the boat and the dock while unloading. He claims the defendants did not provide a safe place to work in that incident.
Benson seeks punitive and compensatory damages in an amount to be proven at trial. He is represented by attorneys Lawrence Blake Jones and David C. Whitmore of Sheuermann & Jones LLC in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana Case number 3:16-CV-00014