A 20-foot-long tank containing argon in a super-cooled liquid form was being prepared for transport aboard a ship when a series of failures led to the deaths of three longshoremen.
The tank had a rusted and broken safety wire on an important valve, indicating that the valve had been tampered with. According to the case, someone had overtightened the valve, likely in an effort to preserve more of the argon product for the end user.
The tank was lowered into the bottom of the ship’s hold for transport to another country.
Before the vessel could leave port, however, argon began leaking excessively from the tank and accumulating inside the hold.
Because the leaking argon displaced the oxygen in the enclosed space, the ship’s hold became deadly.
Three Longshoremen Enter the Ship’s Hold
One longshoreman went into the hold to inspect the leaking tank. With the oxygen displaced by argon, he was overcome and suffocated.
A second longshoreman, a father of five children whom BRILL & RINALDI, The Law Firm represented, entered the hold in an attempt to rescue the first man.
He, too, was overcome by the oxygen-deficient environment and suffocated.
A third man followed and suffered the same fate. All three longshoremen died.
Pursuing 14 Companies for the Fatal Incident
The investigation into the tragedy extended far beyond what happened aboard the ship.
BRILL & RINALDI, The Law Firm led the prosecution of the wrongful death cases against 14 different companies alleged to have contributed to placing the defective tank into commerce and causing the deaths of the three men.
The case required tracing how a dangerously compromised tank reached the vessel and identifying the numerous companies whose actions allegedly contributed to the chain of events that resulted in three longshoremen losing their lives.