Longshoreman's lawsuit confirms legal exposure as a new COVID-19 issue

A longshoreman in Georgia alleges in a federal court complaint that he was infected with COVID-19 while working on a U.S.-flagged Hapag-Lloyd ship in Savannah, a Trade Winds report said October 2.

In his complaint, the longshoreman said he was instructed to do unspecified work aboard the Philadelphia Express in July but was not told that an unidentified crewmember had been stricken with the novel coronavirus. The crewmember's illness was not disclosed until the ship left port, the complaint said.

The complaint named Hapag-Lloyd and two other parties - Philadelphia Express Trust and Marine Transport Management. Neither defendant employs members of American Maritime Officers.

"The actions of the defendants in actively hiding the COVID-19 present on their vessel until after they got what they wanted from the longshoremen working on the vessel is unconscionable and warrants an award of exemplary damages," the complaint said.

The complaint said the longshoreman had been "stigmatized" for having fallen ill and that the ship was not under quarantine.

"The longshoremen were never advised of this situation," the complaint added. The individual longshoreman filing the lawsuit "practiced all U.S. Centers for Disease Control suggested guidelines off the vessel - in his belief, he contracted COVID-19 because of his exposure on the vessel."

The complaint seeks lost wages, medical expenses, damages for physical and emotional pain and suffering and attorneys' fees and court costs.

"This case confirms the real potential of lawsuits as a new and different difficulty during this pandemic," AMO President Paul Doell said. "Meetings, shipboard visits, nearly every aspect of day-to-day business in the maritime industry and in seagoing labor unions can result in lawsuits upon confirmation of contagion, no matter how thorough the health and safety protocols may be."