I. Facts:
1. In December , Mrs. Ls (age 55), accompanied by daughters He (age 28), Fh (age 34), Es and other family members departed Miami on the Cruise Ship Vr for a cruise which included the Cayman Islands.
2. After departing port the ship’s staff hosted an excursion scheduling and safety presentation. Passe...
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Category Archives: Safety
Recent Trial Appearances- 2012
David S. Smith, Ph.D
Commander, USCG (RET)
Trial Appearances- 2012
Mervilde, John W:Meils Thompson Dietz & Berish
Two Market Square Center, Suite 830
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Re: Phifer v. Smith(child drowning in camp pool) Tried Jan ‘12, ...
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Commercial tow boat drowning
I. Facts:
1. Per the Coast Guard Investigation report which involved the area of the River between mile markers 963.2-968: “On 21 June, , while the M/V Ri was moored aft to the CGB 18 fleet, two crewmen ( mate As and deck hand Jd) were washing down the decks when Jd fell into the water. The other crewman, As, attempt...
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Tubing accident case
I. Facts:
1. At approximately 7 PM on June 24, on Beye Lake, a collision occurred between a 23.5 foot, 2004 model Rinker Captiva motor boat and a tube/tuber being pulled by an 18.5 foot, 1993 Marada motor boat. The Captiva was being operated by Ht; the Marada by Hg. Ms. Rn, being towed behind the Marada was injured in ...
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Diving C-spine injury case
I. Facts:
1. On July 11, 12 year old Je broke his neck in a diving injury which took place in a back yard, above ground pool at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. De. At the time of the incident Je weighed approximately 190 pounds and was almost 6' tall.
2. Around 4:30 PM on the date of the accident, Je was at his ...
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Boat collision reconstruction
This is a somewhat typical boat collision reconstruction case which went to trial resulting in a plaintiff verdict. As with several other cases, I constructed scale models of the vessels involved for use at deposition and in court. This case also required the use of a scale figure of the operator of the jon boat to indi...
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Lifeguarding negligence case
In this case the lifeguards are clearly negligent in not properly observing the pool and not responding to requests for assistance from the patrons.
I. Facts:
1. On 11/19, at approximately 1030 PM, 15 year old As died from drowning in the pool at Central Church.
2. As was a participant in an outing sponsored by Ce ...
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