NEW ORLEANS – A Mississippi man alleges his employer failed to recognize the hazards posed by rigorous water survival training and that he was injured.
Willis D. O’Berry filed a complaint on April 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against ENSCO International Inc. and ENSCO PLC citing unseaworthiness and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on March 17, 2015, he was a participant in a water survival training course required by the defendants. At 62 years old at the time of the training, he had great difficulty getting out of the helicopter and into a life raft, the suit states. While struggling to climb into a life raft, he alleges he was injured. As a result, he claims he has suffered physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical disability, loss of earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life and incur medical care and treatment expenses.
The plaintiff holds ENSCO International Inc. and ENSCO PLC responsible because the defendants allegedly failed to medically clear him before requiring him to attend an arduous water survival course and required him to participate in physically arduous training where he was injured by the negligence of SMTC Global personnel.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks compensation for money damages reasonable under the premises, all costs allowed by law and such other and further relief as the interests of justice may require. He is represented by Frank E. Lamothe III and Richard M. Martin Jr. of Lamothe Law Firm LLC in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-03569