$5.9-Million Award in Nassco Accident
The final chapter in the worst shipyard accident ever at Nassco--when six workers were killed and six others injured--came to a close Thursday, when attorneys and company officials announced a $5.9-million settlement in a lawsuit filed by survivors of the dead employees, workers injured in the mishap and the crane operator.
Attorney Virginia Nelson, who represented two of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said the settlement was reached on Tuesday, the day before a jury was to be picked for a trial. The lawsuit stemmed from a July 10, 1987 accident, when a crane at the National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. dropped a personnel basket crammed with 12 workers.
The lawsuit was filed against Microdot Inc., AMCA International and Cleveland Machine Controls, three companies that had a part in manufacturing the crane in 1965. Officials at AMCA, a Canadian company that was the principal defendant in the case, could not be reached for comment.
Although the accident was blamed on operator error, Hugh Humphrey, who was operating the crane, was among 13 litigants who agreed to the settlement. Nelson, who was appointed spokeswoman for the attorneys involved in the case, said Humphrey had sued for emotional distress.
Humphrey, 68, no longer works at the shipyard. Humphrey, who worked as a crane operator at Nassco for 13 years, was involved in another fatal crane accident in 1986, when a piece of lumber fell from a load he was moving and struck a worker.
Nassco was not a party in the lawsuit, but played a prominent role in the settlement, Nelson said.
Under federal law, Nassco could have recovered about $1 million in costs that the company incurred in workers compensation benefits paid to the injured workers and survivors of the dead employees. However, the shipyard waived its right to recover these costs if a settlement was reached before trial.
“We could have asked for a piece of the settlement but elected not to in an effort to get all sides to agree to a settlement. We believe this is a good settlement for the workers and the (surviving) families,” said Fred Hallett, Nassco vice president and spokesman.
After the accident, the company paid all the funeral expenses for the families of the six men killed.
Nelson said the injured workers and the families of the dead employees will continue receiving workers’ compensation until they receive settlement checks.
“We were very satisfied with the settlement. Everybody reached a fair resolution and elected not to go through with the trial,” said Nelson.
Maritime attorney Preston Easley, who represented some of the victims, told The Times in April, 1988 that his investigation revealed that the accident occurred because the electric crane lacked a critical anti-free-fall mechanism. The missing part, a relatively simple device, was a backup safety system to brake a falling load.
On Thursday, Nelson said “this missing simple device” was the main ingredient in the lawsuit against the companies that built the crane.
“We alleged that (Humphrey) released the clutch and brake simultaneously, which caused the load to drop. . . . This was something easy to do and could have been prevented by a simple device,” said Nelson. “It was a big factor in the operation of the crane and led to the free fall. . . . It should have been foreseen and prevented.”
She described the missing safety device as a clutch-brake interlock.
“We said this device should have been on the crane. It is now on the crane,” Nelson added.
An official with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in 1988 that the crane was not designed to carry people and should not have been used for that purpose. OSHA fined Nassco $10,000 for using the crane and basket to transport shipyard workers on the night of the accident and again three months later.
Nassco was also fined several thousand dollars more after the accident, when an OSHA safety investigation revealed dozens of other violations at the shipyard.
The accident occurred just after midnight, as workmen secured the combat support ship Sacramento, which was being overhauled. With Humphrey at the controls, the crane lowered a 6x4-foot wire mesh basket crammed with 12 workers and their tools to a barge that was alongside the Sacramento.
While the basket was being lowered, the line carrying the crane began to free fall, unrolling from the drum. The basket plunged about 30 feet to the deck of the Sacramento. Four men died at the scene, and two others died later at UC San Diego Medical Center. Six others were injured.
Nelson identified the injured workers who agreed to the settlement as Carge Johnson Jr., 43; Robert Miller, 51; Ford Pulley, 40; Douglas Wilson, 46; George Sumner, 52; and Esteben Delgadillo, no age available.
The families of Roberto Estrella, Rafael Magana, Maurice McClure, Carlos Ortiz, William Starke and August also agreed to the settlement. It is not known how much will be received by each plaintiff.
