NEW ORLEANS — Two Terrebonne Parish men are suing the owners of a shipping vessel, alleging the defendants' negligence caused the plaintiffs to suffer carbon monoxide poisoning.
Ronald Billiot and Ralph Pellgrin filed a lawsuit Nov. 9 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against PTL LLC, Angel Annie Inc., Jerri G. Smitko, Roxanne Sevin, O’Neil J. Sevin and Symantha A. Sevin, alleging the defendants negligently installed a generator designed for outdoor use in an enclosed area, causing carbon monoxide to escape through the vessel.
According to the complaint, while in the course of their duties aboard the defendants' motor vessel Angel Annie, Billiot, the captain, and Pellgrin, a deck hand, were exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning.
The suit says on Sept. 25, 2015, Billiot passed out, collapsed and his head struck a refrigerator. The lawsuit states in September 2016, Pellgrin learned from a visit to an emergency room that he had spots on the lungs.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to provide a reasonably safe place to work, failed to adhere to appropriate safety regulations and failed to warn them of the risks of carbon monoxide leaks.
Billiot and Pellgrin seek trial by jury, compensatory damages including general, special and punitive damages, plus interest and all reasonable relief. They are represented by attorney George W. Healy IV of George W. Healy IV & Associates in Gulfport, Mississippi.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:16-cv-16207